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31DC2013

31 Day Challenge, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 18: Half Moons

18th September 2013

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For my half moon nails I’ve gone back to that old favourite, black and gold! I was trying to figure out ways to spice it up – maybe adding a gradient, a waterfall, some glitter – but then I thought why mess with the proven formula? I do love half moons. I think they’re very, um… sexy, especially in any combination that includes red, black or nude. I mean there’s a reason it’s Dita Von Teese’s nail art of choice!

I used NYC Full Metal Jacket as my base colour followed by a coat of No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat to dry it quickly. Next I used hole reinforcers to mark off the half moon and painted over the rest of the nail in W7 Black. Then I topped it all off with another two coats of Stay Perfect Top Coat.

I wrote a full tutorial for half moon nails here.

Day 18: Half Moons 2012

Day 18: Half Moons 2011

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31 Day Challenge, Glitter, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 17: Glitter

17th September 2013

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Press Sample

Even though Glitter was the only prompt that I had an idea for before the challenge even began, today’s design still isn’t as glitter packed as I’d originally planned because I kept changing my mind about the specifics! I ended up with one glitter covered nail and a few sprinkles here and there so I think it can still pass right?

As I mentioned in my Day 15 post, I’m working my way through a selection of Hex nail charms and second on my list is the Unicorn! ($1.75 at hexnailjewelry.com HERE). I wanted to do some nails that were ethereal, mystical and enchanting to match the charm so I knew it would have to include holographic glitter and pastels which is why I saved it for Day 17. I’m so in love with this nail art and it’s made me realise that I definitely need more holographic glitters.

The creme colours are China Glaze Pink-ie Promise and Barry M Prickly Pear. The glitter is H+M Jo Is In The House. To get full coverage on my index finger, I used a base coat of Barry M Prickly Pear and then sponged on the glitter. For the nails with glitter on, I used a base coat of PVA Glue to make for easy, peel off removal.

I topped everything off with two coats of No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat and applied the nail charm using a dot of nail glue.

Day 17: Glitter 2012

Day 17: Glitter 2011

See what’s coming next in the 31 Day Challenge 2013!

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31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Glitter, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 16: Tribal Print

16th September 2013

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I love tribal nail art. As far as freehanded nail art goes, I personally find tribal fairly easy although I could do with expanding my repertoire a little. I always stick to zigzags and dots but there is such an abundance of tribal patterns out there that I’ve never tried! I struggled over the colour combination for a while until my eyes stumbled over W7 Mosaic and the decision was made for me. Luckily, I found a creme in my collection that matched Mosaic’s jelly base and set about doing some mixy-matchy tribal nail art. I was a bit shorter on time today so I cheated and just did two fingers.

I used W7 Mosaic for the glittery fingers. I had to use 3 coats for opacity as the base is a jelly.

The creme I found to match was A-England Galahad so after two coats of that on the remaining fingers, I freehanded on some tribal nail art using Sally Hansen Plum Luck, Barry M Gold Foil and a nail art brush.

It’s all topped off with two coats of No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat.

Day 16: Tribal Print 2012

Day 16: Tribal Print 2011

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31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 15: Delicate Print

15th September 2013

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Press Sample

Today’s nail art is another labour of love inspired by the Mehndi patterns traditionally associated with Hindu weddings. I have a few charms from Hex Nail Jewelry to show you guys this month and each one of them has a completely different theme which inspires me in its own way. Today’s charm is Elephant No. 2 which is what brought about the eastern inspiration for this nail art.

Elephants are actually my favourite animal ever! I was too young to remember but my Mum always tells me the story of when I got to feed apples to ‘Wendy the Elephant’ at Bristol Zoo in the early 90s when I was just a toddler. You were allowed to take your own apples in to the Zoo to feed her so we would always pick up a bag of ‘happles’, as my little brother would call them, on the way there!

I used Barry M Lychee as my base colour and freehanded on the Mehndi patterns using brown acrylic paint and a nail art brush.

For the accent finger I painted on NYC Midtown Mink and added a top coat. When it was dry, I attached the Hex Charm using a blob of clear nail polish. In the future I’ll probably attach the charms with nail glue because I didn’t feel 100% confident that the charm would stay on with just nail polish. I thought it was worth a go though!

Everything (except the charm) is top coated with Sally Hansen Dries Instantly.

Day 15: Delicate Print 2012

Day 15: Delicate Print 2011

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31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 14: Flowers

14th September 2013

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Today is the first time all week that I’ve had time to really sit down and dedicate a lot of time to a manicure and it felt goooood! I miss having the time to focus on these more detailed, fun manicures and I know you guys like to see them just as much as I like doing them.

A little while back I found myself in a Cath Kidston store and I just wanted everything on my nails so when I sat down to paint my nails today, that experience came back to me and I went straight to the Cath Kidston website. I spent a bit of time browsing the website for a pattern that was clean, simple and eye catching and decided on Provence Rose.

I started with a base coat of Barry M White and let that dry before moving on to the art.

I started by painting on the shapes of the flowers using a nail art brush and Collection Think Pink. I added a bit of detail to the flowers using Rimmel Heart on Fire and painted on some leaves with NYC High Line Green.

Next I took NYC Raindrop and freehanded the scalloped line around the flowers then filled in the blue sections by whatever means necessary! I used a combination of the brush straight from the bottle and a few different nail art brushes in order to get it smooth.

I added on the little spots using a dotting tool.

I finished it off with two coats of No 7 Stay Perfect Top Coat.

Photo credit: cathkidston.com

Day 14: Flowers 2012

Day 14: Flowers 2011

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31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Uncategorised

31DC2013 Day 13: Animal Print

13th September 2013

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Last year I got really creative for Day 13 of the challenge with some real feather nail art but this year I couldn’t come up with anything half as exciting so I’ve played it safe with some classic leopard print nails!

Press Sample

All the polishes I used in this mani are from Barry M’s upcoming Autumn/Winter releases. There are 12 new polishes launching including some mattes, textured glittery polishes, a new creme and a crystal topper. I haven’t had a chance to try them all yet so I thought I’d smash a few bottles with one stone as it were, and mix them up in some nail art to get a feel for the new offerings.

I used Barry M Matte Vanilla as my base colour and then took a nail art brush to freehand on the leopard print in Barry M Countess and Majesty which are both textured polishes. I can already tell that Countess is gonna be my favourite of the textured polishes – it’s very dark and mysterious with a plum base and hidden gold flecks. Just my type!