Wallpaper Nails

Essie's Cocktail Bling is one of my favourite grey polishes. The formula is gorgeous and the curved polish brush makes it so easy to apply. I've used it so much I'm almost out, which is difficult to do when you have as many polishes as we do!

I've seen this traditional pattern used in nail art quite a few times on Instagram - although I can't remember who the artists were any more sorry. I created the pattern using a dotting tool. The white shapes are just four large interconnected dots. Using a dotting tool helps to get them evenly sized and shaped, but you could do it by hand if you prefer. I then added the same shape inside the first ones, using a smaller dotting tool. I used grey for four nails and then chose Maybelline - Electric Yellow for an accent nail. Yellow and grey are beautiful together, I almost regret not using yellow centres on every nail!

I topped this design with Essie - Matte About You top coat to give it a smooth matte finish. I don't know about you, but the matte finish makes it look a little bit like wallpaper to me!

This pattern translates perfectly into nail art and is remarkably simple to achieve, although you do need some patience - lots of dotting! This design is really wearable and slightly more sophisticated than some of our other manis, even though it does look a little like wallpaper!

Love,

Toothpick Marble Effect

L-R: Cancun*, Blueberry Ice Cream, Huckleberry*

Toothpick marbling is super easy. I hadn't tried it before because for some reason I'd got it into my head that it was quite tricky. 

For this design I just painted a white base then blobbed on three polishes, all from Barry M - Cancun*, Blueberry Ice Cream and Huckleberry*. I then used a toothpick to mix the colours together, creating a marbled effect. You might need to use two coats of top coat, as the marbling doesn't leave a completely smooth finish.

In hindsight I should have used colours which contrasted each other more as they did end up merging together a bit more than I thought. 

This design was so quick and easy, definitely one to try if you love fun nails but aren't that confident at nail art. 

We're pleased to announce that we are Coloristiq Bloggers Of The Week this week! Coloristiq is a new polish renting service, launching soon. Check them out at www.coloristiq.com! 

Love,

Three Peaks Challenge!

This weekend, today in fact, four of my wonderful friends are taking on the Three Peaks Challenge. The challenge consists of climbing (and descending) three mountains, in three countries, in 24 hours. They'll probably be somewhere on mountain two by the time this is posted! It's an immensely tough physical and mental challenge where you have to battle sleep deprivation along with the changing elements. I definitely do not have the fitness levels required to join them on this adventure, so am getting involved in my own way - good luck nails!

As the challenge starts in Scotland at Ben Nevis, then moves into England at Scarfell Pike, and finally onto Wales to tackle Snowden, I chose to include the flags of each country in my design. Scotland and England are pretty simple, but Wales was a nightmare. A dragon, seriously, I thought flags were supposed to be minimalistic!!

I added the pink nails and ribbon to highlight the charity that all this is in aid of - Breast Cancer Haven, 'the only national charity that provides free, one-to-one, personal emotional and physical support and therapies to improve the lives of everyone affected by breast cancer'. Please donate to this brilliant cause and support the girls via their fundraising page here.

GOOD LUCK!!

Love,

Textured Rims

I recently rediscovered my love of the Barry M textured collection. The finish itself is a bit annoying as it collects fluff like nobody's business but I like the interest it gives to basic manis. I love the colours in this collection too - they're perfect for this glorious sunshine we are having. 

I have seen black outline manis floating around but thought I would try the look with a white edge instead as it seemed more fitting for summer. Whenever I have tried this before it has turned out really badly as I could never seem to get the lines even but it seems that months of nail art practise are finally paying off. 

I really liked this look but forgot how much of a hassle these polishes are to take off! 

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine. 

Hugs

Revlon Nail Art Duos

I was recently given a couple of Revlon's new nail art duos, one in blue, one in dark red. The duos are made up of a matte polish with a normal brush, and a coordinating metallic with a striper brush. They looked really interesting and the colours are gorgeous so I thought I'd put a review of them here for you. 

I started with the blue version. The matte polish is really dark navy, such a lovely colour. I was a bit disappointed as the polish was thick and gloopy, but even so, it applied well and dried with a really lovely matte finish. I didn't need to top it up with a matte topcoat as you do with some matte finish polishes. The metallic polish has a great formula which is opaque in one coat, although I used two here. It wasn't easy using the striper brush for a full nail, but that's not what it was designed for! I used a dotting tool to add the detailing on my ring finger.

The red formula was much better than the blue, making me think that maybe I was unlucky getting a gloopy one. It went on so smoothly and dried to a lovely matte finish nice and quickly - important if you're not adding a top coat to help the process! I went for a simple design again, with one metallic nail. The metallic in this duo is a pale gold, again opaque in one coat and really easy to use. Again, I used a different tool to add my design, as the built in striper is quite thin. I used a small brush to draw on leopard print, the gold and the red lent themselves perfectly to a bit of animal print! 

These duos are really cute colours, lovely polishes and easy to use. You may need to additional tools to create intricate designs, but the built in striper is perfect for french tips, half and half nails or stripes. If you want to have a go at nail art without buying a load of bits and bobs these are definitely worth trying out!

These are available in Boots and other UK stores, RRP £7.99.

Love,

Sweet Like Sugar

I'm not a fan of diets as food is one of my favourite things. So much so, I've piled on the pounds recently and had to force myself into a strict new regime - including a complete sugar detox. This, teamed with the heatwave we're having, means that I'm seriously craving ice cream and other tasty treats! What better way to satisfy these cravings than drawing tiny little pictures of them on my nails! 

I used a ton of polishes for this mani, if you hadn't guessed! I wanted it to be as colourful as possible to pulled out most of my pastels collection. The total polish list is:

Barry M - Lemon Ice Cream, Strawberry Ice Cream, Blueberry Ice Cream, Mint Green, Caramel, Peach Melba, Bright Green, Bright Red and Mushroom. Black, White and Pink nail art pens. 

Models Own - Magpie Green, Duck Blue and Swan Lilac.

Rimmel - Ultra Violet 

I tried cupcake nails a while back and they were rubbish so I gave up. I'm really pleased with how they turned out this time, although I regret not adding some lines to the cupcake casing. I love baking so creating something yummy looking on my nails was really good fun. 

I did intend to have a cupcake on each nail but thought I'd mix it up a bit with an ice cream instead, seeing as it's been so hot. London has been getting temperatures up to 30 degrees this week, which is not comfortable in a crowded city. I've been so jealous of people cooling off with delicious looking ice cream!

Rather than continue the same theme, I chose to fill the remaining three nails with Models Own Speckled Eggs polishes, which remind me of mini eggs - so maybe they do continue with the theme!! The mint one also makes me think of mint choc chip ice cream mmmm my fave!

I totally love this mani, it's so silly and fun - perfect for summer fetes or parties!

What's your favourite ice cream flavour?

Love,

Summer Ready Leopard

We are having a bit of a heatwave in London at the moment which is making me feel a bit ill! I'm an autumn baby through and through and need a bit of a cold chill to function at full capacity. Having said this I am still enjoying showcasing my summer nails which look even better when I've caught the Sun a little bit. I took the opportunity this weekend to wear one colour that definitely looks better with a bit of a tan - white. 

To add a bit of a colour pop I used my new faves from the Maybelline Bleached Neons range: Sun Flare and Coral Heat (I know, I know, I'm using them again but I'm obsessed!). I decided on a simple leopard print as it was easy for me to do on both hands so that I could wear outside and blind everyone even more than the sunshine. 

What colours do you wear to show off a tan?

Hugs