Oh Mickey You're So Fine!

I got the idea for this post from an outfit I saw somebody wearing. They had faded polka dot jeans with a vintage-inspired Mickey Mouse sweatshirt which I thought looked pretty cool together. 

To create this look I used Barry M's Blueberry for the blue base. I then used a white nail art pen to draw on the polka dots and sealed with a coat of Seche Vite. For the accent nail I used a base of Barry M's Coconut*. I then used a fine pen (not a nail art pen) to draw Mickey. The pen kind of split from the polish which actually gave a nice sketchy feel. If you want more of a block outline then maybe go over the top with black polish and a thin brush or try drawing the whole thing with a nail art pen. I used a tiny touch of Barry M's Blood Orange for the tongue. 

In hindsight I would have used a lighter blue for the base coat - maybe Barry M's Huckleberry - and I would have practised my Mickey before drawing him as he looks a bit weird! Also, please excuse my nibbled index finger. I know it looks horrible, I am trying to stop so bear with me! 

Hugs

Minty Tribal

Mixing nudes with colour is a great look for summer, it adds a bit more depth to a mani without going overboard. For this design I mixed three Barry M shades - Almond*, Sugar Apple* and Cancun*. I really like Cancun* but it's quite a bold colour for a full mani, combining it with two pastel polishes worked a treat!

The simple tribal design was easy and quick to draw on with a Barry M nail art pen. Using the same design over mix and match colours brings the mani together and removes that random look of mish mash colours. I used white to soften the design and add another summery touch. 

You know how much we love minty shades so this design is a big win for us! What colour combos are you favourites for summer?

Love,

Splat!

I often get inspired by clothes and accessories as fabric patterns can be so unique and beautiful. The inspiration for this mani came from a bag I saw in Grazi by Meli Melo. I loved the tangy orange with the random splatters. 

I know from experience that me and splatter manis do not get on so I cheated for this look and used a black nail pen to draw on odd lines and spots. I used Barry M's Coconut* as the complementary shade on my other nails as it has a peachy undertone which looked great with the orange. The accent colour is NYC's Peach Popsicles*. 

This is a great look for summer which was so easy to create. I might even give it a go on my Cinderella hand for the weekend!

Hugs

We Are Siamese, If You Please

Today's design is inspired by my wonderful Granny and her love of Siamese cats!

Apparently she once had non-Siamese cats, but all the ones I've met were of the Siamese variety. At one point she even had a pair of brothers just like the ones in Lady and the Tramp! They were all house cats, but had an outdoor 'run' in the garden, which was basically a glorified cage. As a child I used to love sitting out there in the cage with them in the sunshine. In hindsight I think my parents probably enjoyed that time too as I couldn't unlock it from the inside and had to wait for someone to come and let me out!! 
 

I couldn't bear to just do one cat, so chose a double accent nail to give the first kitty a little friend. I did think about adding cream polka dots to the other nails, but totally forgot, and am actually quite glad I did. 

I used a fair few polish colours to create this mani:

• Models Own - Nude Beige, Naked Glow
• O.P.I - Put A Coat On!
• Barry M - Cyan Blue, White Nail Pen, Black Nail Pen
• Rimmel - Navy Seal*

Emma, aka Crazy Cat Lady, was very excited when I told her I was going to be attempting Siamese cat nails, so hopefully I haven't let her down! In fact, we were both so excited by cat nails that we have set up a new Tumblr called WeHeartCatNails!! This will feature our own designs and also other peoples cat nails, so if you have any to share please email them to us at dahlianails1@gmail.com. Oh and if you love cats and nails, give us a follow!

I'm keeping this mani on as I totally love it, and it's the closest I'm allowed to a real cat. Guaranteed these little dudes are going to have names by the end of the day, any suggestions?

Love,

P.S. I Love You

Every time I go into Primark I check out the range of nail polishes and accessories. A little while ago they had a rebranding of their range and turned it into P.S Love. It's definitely the same polish as it used to be as it has a very distinctive smell but it looks a bit prettier and the range of colours is better. 

For £1 I didn't expect a brilliant polish but this range is actually OK. It applies quite nice and evenly although you will need about three coats. Other than the price, what sold me on this range was the choice of colours. There's a great selection of neon shades. My favourite of the ones I purchased was this pink. I used Polish Me Silly's Monster Mash on my accent nail and then topped everything off with a matte top coat. 

Here are my other buys from the collection:

I wouldn't say that they were my fave polishes ever but I think they are great if you are planning to use them for nail art where longevity doesn't really matter as they do chip quite easily. 

Have you tried any of Primark's nail polishes or nail accessories? What did you think?

Hugs

Little Lobsters

As you know, my gorgeous niece Monika was born last week (did you see our baby nails?). Having superstitiously held back from making any purchases until she was here safely, I found myself in Baby Gap within a matter of hours!

 

There were so many cute little outfits but the vey cutest was this tiny lobster-print number. As soon as I saw it I knew it would end up as nail inspo - like most pretty patterns do for us! The mix of coral and pastels on white is just so lovely for the summer, and lobsters are a fairly unusual animal to see on clothing. I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to draw a lobster so gave it some practise during a particularly dull conference call. I came up with a rather simplified lobster design which I was confident I'd be able to recreate on my nails. Annoyingly I got their tails wrong, they should be fanned rather than pointy!

 

It turned out Barry M had just the colours I was looking for, so ended up using all their polishes for this mani. The base is Matt White and the others are (L-R) Strawberry Ice Cream, Bikini*, Cancun* and Pink Flamingo.

 

We love a good animal print design and I can't get over how lovely this colour scheme is! Who knew Baby Gap would be such a wealth of inspiration!!

 

Love,

Lemon Goddess

Rimmel released some new shades for summer in their Salon Pro collection. I will do a review of all of them a little bit later in the month as they are, in my opinion, better for late summer/early autumn but I thought I would show you one of my faves from the range: Goddess*. I adore this colour. It's a beautiful peach with a very subtle shimmer. For the swatch above I used three coats although you could probably get away with just two. 

I don't know what it is with me and fruit manis at the moment but I can't seem to get enough. I'm not 100% convinced that these lemons are the best compliment to the lovely peachy Goddess but I went with it anyway! I used my white Barry M nail pen to draw on the lemons and then filled with two shades of yellow: Barry M's Lemon Ice Cream and the aptly named Yellow. I finished off with my black nail pen and a Seche top coat. 

I wasn't completely happy with the result so I added some white spots for good luck. I think I prefer this version but I still wish I had drawn the lemons a bit better. No doubt I will use this polish again as a base colour so I will be able to redeem myself! 

Hugs

Wimbledon 2014

I love this time of year, warm weather, long nights and endless hours of tennis to watch! The Wimbledon  Championship starts today so we've created a tennis themed nail design for you.

Barry M - Spring Green is the perfect shade to reflect the green lawns of the All England Tennis Club. I added a retro Wimbledon logo using our tried and tested method of drawing the design on with a white nail pen, then filling the colour in on top. It didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped. 

For the second accent nail I added some little tennis balls, again, using a coat of white first, then topping it with neon yellow O.P.I - Life Gave Me Lemons. 

Although he's a bit of a grumpy sod, I'll be cheering Andy Murray on again this year. Who are you supporting?

Love,

Let's All Go Navajo

I have been thinking for a while about creating a summer mani with the Models Own Hed Kandi set that I purchased earlier in the year but I just couldn't think of the perfect look. Then I was flicking through my Wah nail book (the second one who's name I have forgotten. Something about Downtown!) when I came across the tutorial for Navajo nails and I knew that I wanted to try them. 

They were harder than they looked, I'm not going to lie! Trying to get the lines straight and even was a challenge for someone as impatient as me. My black Barry M pen was slightly too thick for this kind of intricate work as well so if anybody has any recommendations for thin nail pens I shall be most grateful. 

I started by painting two coats of Barry M's Lychee. I then started with the middle stripes and worked my way out. I used Bora Bora, Beach Party, and Hedonist by Models Own as well as Barry M's Turquoise. I had wanted to use Balearic Cool by Models Own but the formula is pants and the colour didn't pop enough. 

Overall I was pleased with the results of this but I can see myself recreating this in a year or so once I've had more practise at fine lines. 

Hugs

Marbelous!

On a recent trip across Italy we drove through the coastal town of Carrara. Whilst passing we saw lots of marble quarries and stock yards full of enormous chunks of beautiful white marble. I couldn't resist trying to recreate a marble-esque nail art pattern!

To create this effect I started with a base of Barry M - Matte White. I then used a scrunched up ball of clingfilm to add smudges of Black, Foil Effects Gold and a hint of purple Bikini*, all from Barry M. Finally I added a black outline with a nail pen to tidy it up and frame the nail. 

I'm really pleased with how this design came out as it was really quick and easy. Perfect for a fancy event or wedding! 

Love,

Artist Inspo: Van Gogh

Today's artist inspiration comes from Van Gogh - Almond Blossom (1890). We do enjoy a good floral design, so this painting was begging to be turned into nail art. I just love the rich blue background framing the delicate blossom tree. I'm not 100% sure I did it justice, but I'll let you judge for yourself.
 

Almond Blossom (1890)

I used all Barry M products to create this mani, three earthy tones and a bright bright blue! The green is Key Lime, brown is Mushroom, blue is Malibu* and the yellow is Lemon Ice Cream. My black nail art pen is about to run out, which is a disaster, but actually helped get the thin lines and detailing I needed for this design! 

As I said, I'm not sure my attempt really does the original justice, but it is a different take on our usual florals. I wouldn't have thought to use such a bright background, but it works really well. This design reminds me of long summer days and clear blue skies, heaven!

Are you inspired by any artists?

Love,

Acceptable In The 80s

I have been looking for Maybelline's Bleached Neon collection for ages. I went on a mission searching New York for them but couldn't find them - where do people buy nail polish in New York? I couldn't find any of the brands I wanted. Anyway, I finally came across two of the colours in my local Superdrug this week. They only had Tropink and Coral Heat so if you know where I can find the rest I will be most grateful. I also snapped up Lilac Rebel and Top Splatter from the Acid Wash effect range as they looked pretty interesting. 

I was intrigued by these polishes because they are really bright pastel shades rather the highlighter colours that you think of when you hear that a neon range is out. They remind me of the Models Own Polish for Tans range, especially Coral Heat. The colours really popped without being too much. I think they are absolutely perfect for summer. 

Lilac Rebel applies like an indie polish as the blue has a jelly consistency making the white bits get lost. I was a bit underwhelmed by this until I created the look below where I thought it looked pretty cool. The Top Splatter is quite pretty but I don't think it will make other polishes have that same acid wash effect as it will stand out too much. You could try it with a jelly polish to try and create the look yourself but I can't be bothered to mess about with that! 

I found that all of these polishes applied really nicely. I think the Maybelline Color Show range is great; it is affordable, the ranges are getting more and more interesting, and the formula works like a dream on my nails. 

What with all the bleach and acid I decided to go for a classic WAH Nails design on my fingers. I think this design is called Downtown and is really easy to create - just draw some random black and white graphics over your base colour and seal with a top coat. 

Have any of you reviewed the Bleached Neons collection? I'd love to see some swatches of the other shades. 

Hugs

Beautiful Baby Girl

This week we finally got to meet the newest member of Jo's family, and she was usurped from her long-standing position as baby of the family! Jo's beautiful niece, Monika, arrived happy and healthy early Monday morning and we could not be more chuffed, what a cutie!

Of course, in honour of the new arrival we had to create a couple of special nail designs! We both set to work (completely unknown to each other at first - great minds eh!) on our girly pink manis and put them together in a joint post for you.

Jo went for pink, monogrammed, and a pair of teeny tiny little tootsies! We used Nicole by O.P.I - At Least I Pink So* as it's the perfect shade of girly pink. The white is O.P.I - Put A Coat On!* and the detailing was done using a Barry M nail pen and small brush. The matte finish was created using Barry M's new Matte Top Coat*.
 

Emmas design is also pink with white polka dots! There are some little baby motifs on there too though - little footprints, a baby bottle, some stacking cubes, a rattle, and a dummy. The base colour is Barry M's Rosehip*.  The little pics were drawn using a white nail art pen and then painted over with an array of Barry M shades using a little brush. All topped off with a coat of Seche. 
 

Welcome to the world Monika, we can't wait to get to know you and have lots and lots of cuddles!

Love and Hugs,

Candy Stripes

Just a quick and simple striped design for you today folks! I've been itching to try O.P.I - Push & Pur-Pull, it's such a bright vivid shade. 

The base is Nicole by O.P.I - Yoga-Then-Yogurt. I used a striping brush to add the purple stripes. As I was doing this design I realised how much it reminds me of the little paper bags you get at old fashioned sweet shops. It's such a happy colour and lovely bright design, looking at it put a smile on my face!

Stripes are really quick and easy to do. If you're new to nail art just get yourself a striping brush (a long thin brush - really cheap on Amazon), choose your polish, dip the brush in making sure it's evenly coated, then drag it across the nail, laying the brush as flat as you can. Perfect stripes every time! 

Love,

Okay? Okay.

I recently read 'The Fault In Our Stars' and it has really affected me! It was such a lovely story but so sad from beginning to end that I don't know how I'm going to get over it! There are some beautiful quotes too that I just want someone to say to me, like 'It would be an honour to get my heart broken by you.' Argh my heart is melting! 

I went for a simple look on my nails in homage to the book. I had wanted to do something other than the 'Okay? Okay' cloud thing but it seemed the most fitting. All my other ideas involved something waaaay to elaborate or just not specific enough to the story. The blue I used here is Barry M's Cyan Blue which was the best match in my collection. 

I thought a bit of TFIOS nail art would help to get it out of my system but with the film trailer playing nearly every day on TV (definitely not on repeat on YouTube) I just can't see the end of my obsession. 

Have any of you read the book? Any of our American friends seen it?

Hugs

Happy Father's Day!

We have an added extra post for our dads today. Without whom this blog would not be possible as we would not be alive! 

Happy Father's Day!

Love, 

Daria Nails! La La La La La.

After Jo's amazing 'Saved By The Bell' mani we were thinking of other 90's shows that we could put on nails. In the mix were some real classics but Daria stood out for both of us. That show was the best. I used to watch Daria religiously on Channel 5 on Saturdays right before Sunset Beach. Ahhh those were the days. Daria and Jane were two arty, sarcastic gals that I could relate to and I had a huge crush on Trent. I KNOW that he's a cartoon character but sometimes they are kinda sexy (like the guy in Mulan).  

Aaaaanyway! We forgot about Daria for a couple of weeks and then I hit a block. Jo requested these so I dusted down my black Barry M pen and got to work. To get me in the mood I procrastinated with some Daria quotes on Buzzfeed.  

The green I used is Max Factor's Cactus Green which I bought specifically for leaves on floral manis. It was the only green I have that is similar to Daria's coat. I topped it all off with Rimmel's Matte top coat which I love. 

I think I have an old VHS of Daria series one at my mum's house. I might have to dig it out after doing these. Or just pay £35 for the 8 series DVD box set on Amazon. Tempting!

Who are some of your favourite TV characters?

Hugs

Lemons and Limes

L-R: Green Machine*, Life Gave Me Lemons*,
Green Gladiola

Those of you who have known me since childhood are already aware that I'm a sucker for lime green. Why my parents let me paint the walls of my bedroom this colour I will never know, but I spent my teenage years waking up to the most wonderful bright spring mornings, all year round!

When I found O.P.I's - Life Gave Me Lemons*, a limey yellow shade, in our Coty goodie bag I was so excited - it made it onto my nails within a few hours! When I had a little more time on my hands I tried teaming it with a couple of lime green shades, Sally Hansen - Green Machine* and Models Own - Green Gladiola. 

To create this design I started with a white base coat, O.P.I - Put A Coat On!*. I then painted the yellow and green polishes onto a clean make up sponge and printed it onto my nails. I added two coats of polish in this way. Once the gradient was dry I added a coat of Green Machine* glitter on top. In the bottle this glitter looks a little strange but it absolutely transformed when I put it on my nails. There are various glitter sizes and a mixture of gold and pastel green pieces. It brought the two citrus shades together perfectly!

This is a very bright mani that may not be for everyone, and even I would have doubted you if someone else suggested it. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it once it was on but I loved it. Somehow the pastel, neon and glitter all combined to give a beautiful sparkly, summery mani. One of those that makes you smile when it catches your eye. Although this is one of our simpler designs I was really sad to take it off!!

What's your favourite colour? Are there any other lime green lovers out there??

Love,