Nothing To Disclose Every so often I take on the task of doing nails other than my own. Last time it was my cousin Ambria, and this time it's my partner in work shenanigans, Deniese.


What she wanted was simple. something that would fit a Harlem Nights theme, something that wasn't incredibly time consuming, and she had to have twerkers. Sounds almost impossible right? Well after taking some time to brainstorm I finally came up with a concept my home girl would love.

I started with a gradient using Dare To Wear Flawless White, OPI My Vampire Is Buff, and Jessica Banana Peel.


Next, I laid down some Laced Gold nail art foil that I bought years ago, but somehow managed to never use until the very moment this mani took place.



And finally, for the thumbs, I added some twerk team decals as an accent.


Miss the original Twerk Team mani? Catch that post here.
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Nothing To Disclose

Nothing To Disclose Yesterday was the end of September and the Proud Beauty Bloggers of Color prompt of the month was black & white. I should've had this post up yesterday but, let's just face it, I suck at time management and I completely forgot yesterday was the 30th.


Just gonna address the elephant in the room for a moment here. Yes my nails a re nubbins again. After a series of breaks to my left index finger and my right thumb, I got tired of constantly having to repatch them so I just decided to cut them off completely.

Okay, now back to the mani.

I started with a gradient of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Créme--I can't stop telling you that this has been my go-to black nail polish for years! Then, because I had to break a monochromatic theme and throw in a lil bit of neon somewhere, I splattered on Dare To Wear Violetta. And to bring it home I added a layer of  Nanacoco White Witch.


Nothing To Disclose

Press Sample The holiday weekend is over and I have one last patriotic mani to share with you.


This mani is pretty much a mash up of pieces Salon Perfect's Paint the Town Red, White, & Blue Collection.

I started with a base color of  He's With Me on all of my nails. For my index and pinky I used Grand Finale and Starred & Striped.

On my middle and ring fingers I used some stickers from the Star Struck Nail Decal Kit.
And finally for my thumb, I used Fool's Gold.

All of the lacquers and kits in the Paint the Town Red, White, & Blue Collection retail for $3.98 each at select Walmarts nationwide.

Now that the holiday weekend is over, I'm gonna start wearing obnoxiously neon nail polish again. What about you? Let's chat in the comments!
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Purchased by Me | Press Sample July 4th is Friday and if you're like me, you still have no idea what you nails are gonna look like. To help me (and you lovely folks) decide what polish to use I dug through my stash and picked out some very holiday-esque lacquers. And yes, this post is incredibly picture heavy.

Let's start this post off right with my favorite nail polish finish. CRÉMES!

Press Sample It's been awhile since my last installment of When Nails Imitate Art, but that doesn't mean it's been awhile since I've been inspired. 
One night I was lying in bed just surfing Instagram--Have I mentioned IG is my favorite social media site? Because it sooo is.--and I landed on the feed of Michelle Robinson, aka mister_michelle, and immediately fell in love with her work! And now here we are.


My favorite color is gold so that probably explains how and why I fell for this painting of hers.

I laid down a white base color and used acrylic paint for the black stripes and other details.

And for the gold shade you wonder? Zoya Brooklyn!

I really can't explain the joy I get attempting to recreate others' art on my nail beds. The really small shapes were the most work and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Not that I was frustrated or tried, but I was so excited to see the outcome!

Here's one more look at my nail art recreation of Michelle Robinson's Symmetrxxx #1

Zoya Brooklyn is part of the Awaken Collection retails for $8 on Zoya.com.

Hope your weekend is filled with art!
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Press Sample
Purchased by Me
Affiliate Link As all of you nail art lovers know Valentine's Day is this week, and I put together a small series called Nail Crush. Everyday between now and Friday this blog will be packed with nail art of my own, products I love, a few giveaways, and guest posts from a few ladies I emailed and asked, "Would you be my my nail crush?" So let's things started with the first contribution to Nail Crush, some nail art featuring products I'm pretty crazy about!

I usually don't lean toward "soft shades" but I felt after years of turning my nose up at them I should give them a try.


I used two coats of Barielle Dusting Powder on all of my nails to start and then I mixed things up a bit!
My ring finger has a stripe done in Orly Instant Artist Crisp White and topped with China China Glaze Passion via a Born Pretty stamping plate.
My middle and ring fingers are gradients using, again Barielle Dusting Powder and China Glaze Passion, LOVE and lemniscate (a.k.a. infinity) charms I got in a six pack from Charlotte Russe for (wait for it) .99¢!


And lastly my pinky is another gradient, but this time done in Barielle Enduring and Barielle Dusting Powder. After the subtle pink-to-white gradient was complete I broke out China Glaze passion and the same stamping plate I received from Born Pretty.

You can get the stamping plate I used in this mani for $2.99 at BornPrettyStore.com and if you use promo code NCL91 at checkout you get 10% off your total purchase!

But wait! there's more! You can actually win items from some of the brands mentioned today! Ready to see what could be yours if the price entry is right?

I've mentioned on more than a hand full of occasions that I love three things when I comes to nail polish collections.
1. A good crème finish.
2. Bright Summer collections.
3. Barielle's amazing formula.
So why not giveaway something that embodies all three of these? I mean, it only makes perfect sense.

But that's not it!
Nail Art Society relaunched and I was waiting for the perfect time to giveaway these brand new Orly Istant Artist shades! And remember when Hard Candy did some revamping and we all collectively fawned over Black Toe Optional? Well one winner will receive that, both Barielle Summer 2013 5-packs, and four Orly Instant Artists.

Tired of my teasing you with what you can win? Wanna Enter? Fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No purchase neccesary.
Must be at least 18 years or have parents permission to enter.
Contest open to residents in the Contiguous United States.
Please allow 2-4 weeks for shipping.
Once prize is shipped Nail A College Drop Out is NOT responsible for lost or damaged items.
Winner will be notified via email and will have exactly 48 hours to respond before new winner is chosen.

Any brands, nail artists, or nail bloggers you're nail crushin' on? Let me know in the comments.
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Press Sample Today I've got one of my first attempts at nail art using gel polish and a quick tutorial if you want to try it out yourself!
Before I get started with the tutorial, I must stress the importance of curing every single layer. Does it take a little more effort? Yes. Will your nails come out fabulous if you don't? Not a chance.

The first step is three cured coats of nailuv What's Up.

The next step is to lay down some striping tape.

After the striping is down, paint semi circles on the right and left sides of your nail bed using nailuv Dynamic Duo and Lovestruck, remove the tape, and cure.

Finish off with a layer of gel top coat and wipe with gel polish cleanser and you're done!

Don't know what I mean when I say "cure"? Curious about the nailuv At Home Gel Polish System? See my review of the starter kit here.

nailuv Gel Nail Polish ranges from $8 to $14.95 on nailuv.com.

Here's to stepping out of my nail art comfort zone and using a medium I'm not all that familiar with!
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Press Sample
Here we are, the last day of July. Summer is almost over and some fall collections are already upon us. *sigh* Admittedly, fall is my least favorite season for nail polish. Why? Not because I hate all the dark, shimmer/jewel tones it has to offer, but because I love brights and neons all year round! Thankfully a brand finally released a fall collection that understands (and fulfills) my lacquer obsessed needs.




For this look I used four of the six shades from this collection. They are Silly Billy, Cake Hole, Giddy Kipper, and Cotton Buds.
the butter LONDON Colour Clash collection retails for $15 per bottle at butterLONDON.com.


Dear bL,
Thank you for finally understanding me.
Much love,
Briana <3


Press Sample Are you a habitual fiend for bright polish all year round?
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Press Sample Ah yes, July 4th. A day off work, and a day of delicious barbeque. Did I mention a day off work? Anyway, I was pushing around a few red, white, and blue lacquers and decided to give the pinwheel nail art look a try.


I started with a base of Sation Strumming My Nails and used Sation Peppermint Pedi, Sation Cast A Spill On You, and Sation Paint Some Sugar On Me for the design.


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If you follow me on Instagram (@DropOut_Nails by the way) you've gotten a sneak peek to some of the products I'm using for today's post. What you didn't see is the actual nail art, until now!

Today I've got some nail art using Juliet's Passion and Portia's Wit from Dazzle Dry's Fall 2012 Collection Renaissance of Romance.
I started off with four, yes four, coats of Portia's Wit. (A white polish with pink undertones, or possibly a super, super, super, super subtle pink?) The formula wasn't completely horrible; it just had a problem with evening itself out.
Then I started randomizing lines and triangles with Juliet's Passion. (A rich dark brown with red undertones.)

Welcome to the fifth and final installment of wedding week! You should know that I'm itching to get back to my neons and show you a few Icing polishes I picked up the past few days. But for now I have one last matrimonial manicure to show you.