5 Winter Colors & Design Ideas featuring DND Duos

 

Hello nail art enthusiasts!  November has begun and so has the winter and holiday season.  I wanted to create some simple winter/holiday designs using DND Duos. The DND Duos are 15ml bottles that come with a nail lacquer and a matching gel polish.  So far, every color I have purchased, the nail lacquer and gel color have matched just about perfectly.  I chose some classic winter/holiday colors as well as some not so classic colors to include in the designs.  I hope this gives you guys some inspiration and ideas to create your own designs potentially using these colors.  This post will be a mash of a review, swatches and designs.  Let’s jump in to it.

 

Glitter for You

 

Glitter for You is a cool-toned gold.  It’s a mix of silver and gold micro glitters.  Glitter for You is a clear base that is really packed with the micro glitters which makes it easier to get full coverage.  Both the polish and the gel are packed with these micro glitters. This gold in my opinion is a perfect gold to use in any design as it can be used with warmer colors or cooler colors.  I used clear full coverage nail tips for this design and I did three thin coats, but on natural nails or enhancements that have a nail bed color, I think two coats would provide full coverage.  With the glitters being so small, they laid flat on the nail so only one top coat was needed for the nail to be smooth.  I kept all of the designs simple.  In this design I did three thin coats of Glitter for You gel on the thumb, middle and pinkie finger.  I then did two thin coats of Pink Salt gel on the index and ring finger. Then using Clear Jelly Stamper plate Frosted-CJS-144, I stamped designs on the index and ring finger using Essie Good as Gold polish.  I used DND-600 Top Gel to seal everything in.

 

Mistletoe Mania

 

Mistletoe Mania is a sheer jelly green base with green and yellow gold shimmer running throughout it.  Over natural nails or enhancements with a nail bed color, you may be able to get full opacity without using a similar color base.  I liked this color green.  It is a holiday-christmas green.  The shimmer in it just gives it that extra oomph!  The polish has more of a shimmer look, but the gel has more of a micro glitter look.  It just catches the light a tad more as if the pieces of shimmer are just a smidgeon larger.  Since this is a shimmer, there was no issue with it having texture after applying a top coat.  This for me is going to be a staple for holiday designs.  I used two coats of Mistletoe Mania gel over one coat of a green base gel that was a similar color.  Then I used Born Pretty stamping polish in Pure (white) with Born Pretty stamping plate Christmas-L009 and Clear Jelly Stamper plate Frosted-CJS-144.  Again, I used DND-600 Top Gel to seal the designs in.

 

Nutcracker

 

Nutcracker is a bright fiery red micro glitter in a red jelly base. This color is a pretty red.  The micro glitters are a little bigger than Glitter for You but not much.  This is a warmer toned red and when the glitters flash in the light they really give it the “fiery” look.  This is another staple for the holiday season but can be used any time of year.  Since this color too had a sheer jelly base, I used one coat of a similar red tone for a base, then two coats of Nutcracker gel on the thumb, middle finger and pinkie.  On the index and ring finger, I used two coats of OPI Alpine Snow gel.  For the nail stamping, I used Twinkled T-Lit stamping polish, Maniology Winter Kingdom BM-XL482 stamping plate, and Born Pretty Christmas-L009 stamping plate.  To seal in the designs, I used DND-600 Top gel.

 

Bizzy Blizzard

 

Bizzy Blizzard is an icy blue metallic shimmer.  As with Mistletoe Mania, the shimmer in Bizzy Blizzard gel just catches the light a little more than the polish.  It is a blue metallic base with blue and silver shimmer running throughout.  It is such a pretty blue and it reminds me of the movie Frozen.  Haha!  In keeping with a simple easy design, I used two coats of Bizzy Blizzard gel on the thumb, middle and pinkie finger.  On the index and ring finger I used two coats of OPI Alpine Snow gel.  For the design, I used Born Pretty Time Fly (silver) and Pentagram (blue metallic) stamping polishes and Clear Jelly Stamper plate Frosted-CJS-144.  DND-600 Top Gel was used to seal everything in.

 

Snow Way!

 

Snow Way! is a gorgeous holographic silver glitter in a clear base.  There are micro glitters and larger glitters that make up this color. This is the chunkiest of the polishes in this post.  This color looks like snow glistening in the light.  It is just stunning, that’s all I can think to say.  On the thumb, index and ring finger, I applied two coats of OPI Alpine Snow gel.  For the middle and pinkie finger, I applied two coats of Snow Way.  Back to the thumb, I did a glitter fade with Snow Way over the white starting at the cuticle area and bringing it down towards the tip.  On the index and ring finger I used Clear Jelly Stamper white sticky stamping polish with the Born Pretty Christmas-L009 stamping plate.  I stamped the designs on and then used a Born Pretty chameleon powder on the sticky polish.  The designs didn’t show up as well as I had hoped.  It is easier to see with the naked eye than what the camera had captured.  I could have used the black sticky polish with the powder, but it would have made it a different color than it was over the white sticky polish, so I stuck with the white sticky polish.  It still came out pretty.  I used DND-600 Top Gel to seal in the nails.

 

My Thoughts

I really liked these DND Duos.  I use the gel more than the polish because it lasts longer and holds up better on my fingernails.  My hands are in dish water, using cleaning chemicals and so on.  Gel polish is my preference for my fingernails.  Now my toenails are a different story.  I prefer regular polish on my toenails.  It lasts a long time and it way easier to remove.  Since the DND Duos come with a matching polish and gel polish, this is a perfect fit for me.  I use the gel on my fingers and the regular polish on my toes.  All of these colors were pretty and will be a great addition to anyones collection, where I included some quick links below. If you found this review helpful consider supporting our store where you can check out and purchase these polishes and much more here: “Shop Jenaes Nails Store“, or easily select from my  favorites below.  Happy shopping and Happy Holidays!

My DND Favorites from this Review

$8.00

$8.00

$8.00

$8.00




Nail Necessities

Scroll to Top