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    Favourites, Nail Art

    Top 10 of 2014: Nail Art

    28th December 2014
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    23 Comments

    As 2014 comes to a close, I feel like it’s only natural to round up some of my favourites from the last 12 months starting with my favourite nail art creations. When I was looking back to pick out the best of this year’s nail art, I noticed that there was less variety than there has been in the years before. I could spot the months where I’d found a technique I loved and really just went all in whether it was gradients, freehand striping or stamping. Going in to 2015, I’m going to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone a little more and not get stuck in a routine with my nail art.

    So without further ado, here are my 10 favourite pieces of nail art from 2014 in no particular order! Click on any picture to go to the original post for polishes and techniques used…

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    Christmas, Nail Art, Waterfall

    My Christmas Manicure(s) 2014

    26th December 2014
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    9 Comments

    Seems like I’m not the only one who finds it impossible to decide what I should wear on my nails on Christmas Day! I saw that so many of you guys had the same problem and then I didn’t feel so bad about the whole schtick. I actually ended up painting two Christmas manis and surprisingly, the final version is one of the most simple manis I’ve posted all year. I don’t even think it counts as nail art!

    The first set I painted on Christmas Eve was a skittlette complete with a waterfall, glitter gradient and sparkly gold foil.
    I used piCture pOlish LakoDom as the base coat for the nail art. The waterfall was created with Barry M Gold Foil, Rimmel Raw as Night and Essie Mojito Madness. Waterfall tutorial here.
    The glitter gradient was created by dabbing W7 Cosmic Green on to the tip with a makeup sponge.
    The gold foil is A-England Excalibur and it’s all topped with a coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

    For mani number two, I went with something insanely simple. This velvety blue is Delush Eat Sleep Chic and I used piCture pOlish LakoDom and Lynnderella Mlle Violette de Bleu for some accents. Again, it’s all topped with a coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

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    Freehand, Glitter, Nail Art

    Purple Snowflake Nail Art

    24th December 2014
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    22 Comments

    Snowflake Nail Art

    Thought I’d take a minute out to post my Christmas Eve nails which I’m absolutely in love with. I think they were just perfect for today – purple is a kind of festive shade and the glitter certainly ups the merriness factor, but they’re not throwing Christmas in your face!

    I’m now faced with the almost impossible decision of what to wear for the big day tomorrow. My nails are bare right now while I mull it over. Just a few of my current options are an all out gold glitterfest, some red with white stamping and a green on white glitter gradient but it’s kind of a big deal and not a decision I want to take lightly! I’m going to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas (for the first time ever!) and keep thinking on it.

    For this nail art, I used piCture pOlish LakoDom as the white base.
    The glitter nails are two coats of piCture pOlish Lollipop over one of Barry M Plum.
    I freehanded the snowflakes using the Pure Color #10 Detail Brush from Whats Up Nails with Barry M Plum and then picked out a few glitter bits from Lollipop to scatter in the leftover space.
    It’s all topped with two coats of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

    Merry Christmas Everyone!

    The Nailasaurus

    piCture pOlish Lollipop

    Nailasaurus: Snowflake Nail Art

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    Nail Art, Stamping

    Wrapping Paper Nails, Christmas Gifts on eBay and a Giveaway

    18th December 2014
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    16 Comments

    Wrapping Paper Nails, Christmas Gifts on eBay and a Giveaway

    I really can’t believe Christmas is less than one week away. I feel like we were still in November last the weekend! I still have a few things on my to-do list so I’m hoping I can fit them in before the big day. I have a few days off just before the 25th so it’s going to be the usual mad dash to the finish line! This year has been another dry one for me when it comes to Christmas nail art and even when I do create some, it’s just ‘barely there’ Christmas! Today I’ve gone for a Christmas paper look. All classy, like!

    My Inspiration

    Believe it or not, I don’t get gifted a lot of nail themed items at Christmas. I’m very fortunate to have more nail polish than I’ll ever need and I think my friends and family have realised this! I have a theory that they don’t bother getting me nail stuffs in case I already have it in my stash (which, let’s face it, I probably do). However, it got me thinking – what would be the perfect gift for a nail lover who (seemingly) has everything?

    If you’re scrambling for some last minute gifts ideas, I’ve put together a collection on eBay, Gifts for the Nailista, with some ideas you might like. Most are somewhat out of the ordinary and I threw in a few of the usual suspects too! My personal favourites are a Year’s Supply of Top Coat (you really can’t go wrong with this one) and the one that’s at the top of my own wishlist this year, the Gelish starter kit!

    Click here here to see the rest of the collection and read on to find out how you can win a £20 eBay voucher!

    Nail Art

    To wrap my nails all up in paper, I used Barry M Coconut and NYC Flat Iron Green as my base colours. Flat Iron Green has turned so dark under the stamping and top coats that it just looks like a straight up black now but I think it’s quite a nice contrast to have the black vs. white.

    For the stamping, I used the baroque patterns from MoYou Fashionista 08 with Barry M Gold Foil over the white. Then stamped the snowflakes from Bundle Monster Plate BM223 with A-England Excalibur Renaissance over the black.

    It’s all topped with one coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl, then one of NYC Matte Me Crazy to finish off the look.

    Giveaway

    For the chance to win a £20 eBay Gift Voucher all you have to do is hop over to my collection of ‘Gifts for the Nailista‘ (and/or my other collection, Autumn Essentials) and give it a follow. It really is as simple as it sounds:

    • Click here to go to the Collection
    • If you like what you see, use the ‘Follow’ button in the top right of the page (just make sure you’re logged in to eBay)
    • One winner will be picked at random and they’ll be contacted by eBay on or before January 5th 2015

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    Christmas, Favourites, Glitter, Nail Polish

    Top 5: Christmas Nail Colours

    14th December 2014
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    6 Comments

    1. Delush – Glam Squad

    You’d normally catch me wearing the classic red creme at Christmas but this year I’ve been converted to this frosty metallic red by Delush. With three coats, the colour is so deep and luxe. This shade isn’t from a holiday collection but I feel like it was made for Christmas!
    See it here: Christmas Nail Art

    2. piCure pOlish – LakoDom

    I can’t get enough of this shade. White nail polish has been my go-to for plain nails these last couple of months and LakoDom immediately became a favourite from first wear! It’s a slightly grey tinted white with silver/holographic particles which makes me think of glistening snow.
    See it here: Reindeer Nail Art Tutorial, Militarised

    3. A-England – Saint George

    I had to get a green in here somewhere but the traditional forest-y christmas tones have never been a favourite of mine. Saint George is a holographic teal polish that’s been with me for a very long time and I’ve just rediscovered it this month. I think it’s the least typically festive shade of the selection but it’s the only green I’ll be sporting this season!

    4. Sally Hansen – Coat of Arms

    This metallic polish is somewhere between gold and silver; a cool gold, if you will, and very majestic as implied by the name! The finish on this one is lovely – perfect in two coats with little (if any) streaking which is rare for foil polishes.
    See it here: Turquoise and Gold Art Deco Nail Art

    5. L’Oreal – Platinum Chic

    What’s a Christmas mani without a bit of sparkle? Well, this polish has more than a bit of sparkle; it’s literally a bottle packed full of glitter. There are silver hexes in two sizes mixed in with irridescent gold micro glitter. For the swatch above, I used 3 coats for full coverage but you can also layer it over another polish for an equally stunning effect.
    See it here: Christmas Nail Art

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    Holographic, Nail Art

    Militarised

    10th December 2014
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    8 Comments

    Chevron Nail Art with piCture pOlish LakodDom and Moscow

    I got a few of the new piCture pOlish collaboration shades over the weekend and you’ve already seen LakoDom in my latest tutorial post. Today it features again, joined by Moscow which is a beautiful berry holo shade. LakoDom is just the perfect shade for Winter so I’m sure you’ll be seeing it here a few more times before the season is over. It’s a slightly grey tinted white with subtle holo shimmer – just as beautiful on its own as topped with nail art.

    For these nails, I used piCture pOlish LakoDom as my base colour. Next, I applied some chevron nail stencils from Nail Mail and applied piCture pOlish Moscow over the top. It’s finished off with a coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

    Chevron Nail Art with piCture pOlish LakodDom and Moscow

    Chevron Nail Art with piCture pOlish LakodDom and Moscow

    Chevron Nail Art with piCture pOlish LakodDom and Moscow

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