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Stamping, Uncategorised

Easter Nail Art (Sort of)

19th April 2014

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I realised today that it’s Easter tomorrow and I haven’t done a single piece of Easter themed nail art! I haven’t really been feeling the Easter vibes this year so even when I sat down to do something Easter-y, this is what came out… absolutely nothing to do with the holiday! It’s more of a general spring mani but I think it’s the closest to Easter I’m gonna get this year!

My base colour for this nail art is Maybelline Ceramic Blue.

I used BK Matt White to stamp on the dandelion designs from MoYou London Plate Pro 04 and the tiny polka dots from Pro 10.

I applied a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast and let everything dry.

Finally, I added the chevron details using Nail Vinyls Mini Chevrons and Rimmel Blueberry Whizz.

Stamping, Uncategorised

Done is Better Than Perfect

17th March 2014

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They say that ‘Done is Better Than Perfect’ and it’s a mantra that I’ve been trying to adopt recently. I’m a perfectionist to the core which can be a great thing but also means that I procrastinate whenever I doubt my ability to complete the task at hand to ‘perfection’. I have so many ideas scribbled down for this blog but because of that mind block, I’ve been putting them off for too long.

This weekend, I told myself that enough is enough – my blog has become too formulaic, too predictable and it’s no fun for anyone! I want to start mixing things up and I think the best way to do that is to proclaim my intention to you guys. If I say it, I have to do it right? And I figure that the best way to do it is to push forward with a new set of ideas. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s better than nothing!

I won’t be doing anything too drastic. There will still be a lot of my ‘regular’ posts like this one with some nail art and a bit of chat but I want to splice in some other types of posts too, like little extra treats to fill things out at least once a week!

I used Kriston 05 as my base colour as it’s a very light shade of mint.

Using the Saran Wrap technique, I created the mottled effect with the Kriston shade, NYC Water Street Blue, NYC Blue Sky and Rimmel Aqua Cool.

I added some of the Silver Triangle embellishments from She Sells Seashells. I gently curved them first using a pair of tweezers so they’d sit flush to my nail.

The stamped designs are from MoYou Plate Fairytale Collection 06 and I used BK Matte White.

It’s all topped off with a Color Club Top Coat.

Glitter, Stamping, Uncategorised

Nailvengers Assemble! New Year, New Technique

31st January 2014

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Happy Friday everyone!! I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy to see the weekend. It’s been such a hectic week that I feel like I could sleep right through to Monday morning.

I’m back today with another new project that I’m lucky enough to be a part of… Nailvengers Assemble! Myself and a few other British Nail Bloggers have gotten together to start a monthly challenge amongst ourselves and for January we’re going for New Year, New Technique which is fairly self-explanatory – pick something you’ve never tried before and do it!

The ladies that will be joining me on this quest are the amazing bloggers behind One Nail to Rule Them All, Lucy’s Stash, xAmeliax and Brit Nails. We all met at the Cosmo Blog Awards back in October and have been in touch ever since. As inspiration and creativity was drying up for us towards the end of last year, we decided we should start setting ourselves a monthly prompt and work as a group to motivate each other and get those creative juices flowing again!

For my New Technique, I’ve gone for Saran Wrap nails. It’s such a simple technique and you can achieve some amazing looks with it, yet I’ve never tried it before. I followed Amelia’s tutorial for this but with a pastel colour scheme and I really like the way they turned out. I couldn’t resist adding a bit of stamping over the top and a glitter accent too!

I used China Glaze Tart-y For the Party as my base colour. Then I got down to the saran wrap-ing with Collection Think Pink and China Glaze Fade Into Hue. Check out the tutorial on xAmeliax’s YouTube Channel.

The glitter on my middle finger is Sally Hansen Be-Jeweled and I stamped on the design from MoYou Fairytale Collection 02 plate using BK Matte White.

It’s all topped off with two coats of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.

Gradient, Stamping, Uncategorised

Purple Gradient Nail Art With Stamping

23rd January 2014

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My nails and cuticles are a bit worse for wear recently so I’ve been drowning them in cuticle oil and Nail Butter whenever I get the chance. They’re drink it up like there’s no tomorrow and I’m hoping they’ll be suitably quenched very soon. Today’s nail art is nothing you haven’t seen before but it’s a simple classic that will quite possibly always be my bread and butter!

Purple Gradient Nail Art with MoYou Stamping

I created the gradient using Revlon Cloudy and a very old Sally Hansen Lavender Colour. There’s a gradient tutorial here.

I topped a few fingers with China Glaze Fairy Dust.

The stamping is from MoYou Plate Tourist 07 and a couple of designs from the Fairytale collection but those plates don’t seem to be in stock at the moment. I used BK Matte White.

It’s all topped off with a coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

Glitter, Snippet, Stamping, Uncategorised

Snippet: Matte Metal Stamping

14th January 2014

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A-England Dorian Gray
Barry M Silver Foil
MoYou Plate Back to the 80s 03
Sally Hansen Glitz Gal

KBShimmer Clearly On Top

NYC Matte Me Crazy

Glitter, Gradient, Stamping, Uncategorised

NDLacquers Aurora Swatch with Nail Art

28th December 2013

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Press Sample

Today I found out that I topped The Crumpet’s Reader poll for ‘Nail Art Blog of the Year‘ and I want to thank everyone that put in a good word for me – you know who you are, you sly dogs! And of course, a big thanks to Debbie for holding the poll in the first place! To be voted top of the poll by readers is such an honour because you guys really know your stuff when it comes to nail blogs and if it weren’t for such a tight, amazingly friendly and accepting community, none of us bloggers would be here! So, thank you for a brilliant end to the year.Today’s nail art features a gradient (it’s there I promise!) and a pretty glitter from NDLacquers called Aurora. It’s one of three in Natali’s Holiday Collection but it’s an all-year-rounder in my book. I’m only wearing one coat in this swatch and the coverage is fantastic. This is one indie brand you’re going to want to keep your eye on in 2014 – I can feel it in my bones!

I used two coats of Revlon Cloud as my base colour and created a super subtle gradient using Maybelline Ceramic Blue. Gradient tutorial here.

The stamping is from MoYou Plate Pro 04. This plate is no longer on the site but the same design is available in XL size on the Pro 07 Plate. I stamped using BK Matt White.

The glitter is NDLacquers Aurora and I topped it all off with two coats of Rica Glossy Glam.

Christmas, Glitter, Stamping, Uncategorised

My Christmas Day Nails

26th December 2013

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I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and indulged in plenty of good food and family time! This week between Christmas and New Year is always a bit of a funny one. We’re all trying to get back in to the swing of things but there are still bank holidays and plans to be made. I’m going back to work on the 2nd so I’m just making the most of my time until then – I’ve mostly just been chilling out and sleeping!

These are the nails I wore for Christmas day! I originally painted some with an icy blue theme but ditched them for something more festive in gold and red. Make sure you click to continue reading to see both looks!

For this mani, the base colours are Essie Jag-U-Are and Barry M Majesty – a textured gold glitter.

For the fair isle pattern, I used Winstonia Plate W120 and BK Matt White.

I totally missed this plate before Christmas eve but it has to be one of the best Christmas stamping designs I own. Although I did have a nightmare transferring it on the stamper from the plate and then actually lining it up properly on my nail! I had to try 5 times before I got this one right!

I created the dots using a tiny dotting tool and Barry M White.

I topped off the red nails a coat of Glisten and Glow HK Girl.