DIY Nails: Caviar-Encrusted Tips

Every now and then I crave a little bit of decadence. Sure, diamonds would be nice but gem-encrusted fingertips are a bit more affordable. Lucky for us girls on a budget, Essie is in favor of this exact type of opulence. Thanks to the new Encrusted Treasures collection, my nails are getting accustomed to the finer things in life…Someone pass the caviar, I've suddenly developed a taste for luxury.

Supplies

• Essie First Base
• Tape
• Essie Parka Perfect
• Essie Lots of Lux
• Essie On a Silver Platter

Directions

1. Paint your base. Apply base coat and two coats of your base nail color. Allow to dry.
2. Tape one tip. Take a piece of tape and place it diagonally across one side of your nail. Paint the exposed area with textured polish.
3. Remove. Carefully peel back the tape before allowing the polish to dry.
4. Repeat. Move on to the next nail, alternating polishes however you see fit.

DIY: Easy-Peasy Valentine's Day Nails

When at one time we would have jumped at the opportunity to dress our nails with outlandish designs of hearts, xo's and maybe even a cupid's bow, nail art has taken a backseat to basic, simple designs you can wear anywhere. Here's my favorite design this season, just follow these steps below to get the look. Soo pretty but oh so easy to do!

Step One: File and shape your nails in a natural square or roundish shape.

Step Two: Apply your favorite base coat.

Step Three: Apply a pink shade on the entire nail bed.

Step Four: Apply a coral shade on one side of the nail, covering about 3/4's of the nail bed and ending in a subtle curve to create half of the heart shape. Then repeat on the other side, taking special care to intersect the two sides at the center of the nail.

Step Five: Apply a lovely red shade on one side of the nail covering about half of the nail bed and ending in the same subtle curve as you did when applying the Coral Peony. Repeat on the other side, again taking special care to intersect the two sides at the center of the nail.

Step Six: Finish with a high-shine top coat. Viola! Didn't I tell you it was easy? *wink*