Pastel Galaxy Nail Art

I have got back into the swing of more detailed nail art over the past few weeks.  I have been doing some more simple things recently, and whilst pretty, I haven't felt overly inspired.  This week I decided to break out lots of shimmery pastel colours and some brights to create a fun pastel galaxy.

I had always thought galaxy nails would be difficult to do, until I had a go myself using more typical purple shades.  You can see them here.  This time around I wanted to try them them in more spring friendly colours, so as I said, I raided my shimmers and brights to see what I could come up with.

Polish Party: Glitter and Gems - Purple Galaxy Nail Art... and Giveaway

Hi all,

August seems to have flown by, so once again it's Polish Party time.  This month the vote was for glitter and/or gems.  If you follow me or have visited here before you'll know I love a bit of sparkle.

Now, I know I'm late to join in with the galaxy nails craze, but I've recently been enjoying spotting the ISS on it's orbits that have passed over the UK, and also seeing the super moon (although there was no cape in site!).  I was also inspired to give them a go when I saw the pastel galaxy nails that sophiedoesnails posted on Instagram a couple of days ago.

I used quite a few different polishes for this design and it took a while to do because of all the layers, but I am really pleased with how they turned out.

I started with a base of Laka in number 25.  I went to Westfield and they have a express manicure stand on the ground floor with lots of pretty colours to choose from, so thought I needed to try it out.  I used two coats, as the first was a little streaky, but it goes on really smoothly.  The brush is very small in comparison to others that I am used to using, but this does mean that you can paint it on very carefully preventing cuticles from being flooded with polish.  It's a beautiful deep purple with a shimmer finish.  The photo shows all the purples a little more blue than in person, but it's so tricky to get purples right.

After that I used NYC Lights-Camera-Glitter for my first layer of stars.  To create the milky way glow in the middle of my nails I used a make up sponge to carefully add layers of Models Own Snow White, Sinful Colours Fig, and Laka 25 until I was happy with the shape and colour.  To top this off and make it extra sparkly I added a few coats of Jessica Starlet, just to the milky way area on each nail.  The main stars in the foreground were added using my Barry M nail art pen in white.

Just to show you the true sparkle and colours I took a quick picture on my phone outside and a quick video so you get the full effect...

I hope you like my purple galaxy for this months theme.  Make sure you take a look at what the others girls do by following the links below.  Don't forget to check out my giveaway at the bottom of this post

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Don't miss the giveaway

Today was a very exciting day... I hit 600 followers on Twitter.  So in light of that I thought I would be fun to host a giveaway!!

To enter all you will need to do is

• Follow me on Twitter
• Retweet the giveaway tweet that will be pinned to the top of my profile
• Use the hashtag #pinkglows600

The winner will receive the following

• 1x Models Own - Gumballs (See it here)
• 1x Barry M Matte- Rhossili
• 1x Essence - It's Raining Men (See it used here and here)
• 1x Essence - Party Never Ends
• 1x Barry M - Nail Art Pen in Black
• 1x Models Own Artstix Nail Beads in Gold Fizz
• 1x Nail Embellishment Wheel
• 1x Pack of Nail Polish Remover Pads
• 1x Pink Gem Glass Nail File
• 1x Pack of 20 Manicure Sticks

The giveaway will be open to UK residents only due to posting.  Giveaway closes on 04 September 2014 at 7pm (GMT).

Good luck x

Models Own: Sun Hat Butterfly Nails

Hello all,

Today I have super pink manicure that Barbie would be jealous of.  What better colours to pick from other than neons for this sunny weather that we've had recently so I have chosen to use Models Own Sun Hat from the Polish for Tans collection.

I have used two coats of Sun Hat all on nails other than my ring finger which is Models Own Snow White.  I used my MoYou London Scholar 05 plate to stamp the butterfly on my ring finger.  I love this plate so much, the doodle like images are so cute and fun.  To add a little something extra to my nails I added two coats of Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter on my thumb, middle finger and little finger.  Then on my index finger I attempted a waterfall of white polka dots but it didn't quite work out as I'd hoped.  To finish off I added a matte top coat.

I'm really pleased over all with this and I'm very happy with my stamping.  I'm getting better at it with practice.  What are your go to shades and designs for the summer? I'd love to see.  Leave me a link in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by
Aimée x

Polish Party: January Blues - Cinderella Nails

Hi all,

It's nearing the end of the month again and for me that means it's Polish Party time.  This month we decided out theme would be January Blues, doing designs using blue to help cheer up what is supposed to be the most depressing month.  It actually comes in handy that I have to post this month's early as today is Blue Monday, which is supposed to be the most depressing day of the month!

Anyway, enough of that, on to something happy!  What a brilliant way to use one of my Secret Santa presents Sinful Colors in Cinderella.  If you are interested to find out more about the Secret Santa I took part in you can read about it here.

When you move it in the light it has a colour shift effect, with loads of tiny pink glitter particles in it.  You can't really see that in the picture unfortunately.  This is a really sheer colour so would be perfect over the top of another colour for some added shimmer, or if you want to wear it on it's own you will need at least three coats, like I have here.

I was inspired by the name of the polish to create a Disney Cinderella look.  This is one of those colours that really is as described, as it matches Cinderella's dress.  To add a Disney princess touch to my manicure I added silver swirly nail stickers and some simple dots to finish off the pattern.  I thought this looked a bit like the magical swirls when Cinderella's fairy godmother gets her ready for the ball.

I am really pleased with these nails and think they are simple but effective.  Also, what could be better to cheer you up in January that pretty nails combined with Disney!  I'd love to see what different things other people have done with Sinful Colors Cinderella, leave me a link in the comments so I can take a look.

You'll be able to see the other ladies taking part in this months Polish Party by clicking the links below.  Enjoy and share the love x

What I got for Christmas - Loads of Nail Goodies!

Hello all and Happy New Year,

I always love seeing haul / stash posts and having a good old nosey at what people have, so I thought I would share all the nail goodies I got for Christmas with you...

I was a very lucky girl and got 21 new polishes and lots of other bits as you can see.  This is quite a picture heavy post, but I wanted to show things in more details so keep on scrolling if you want to have a closer look!

Lets dive in shall we...

Sinful Colors: Nail Junkie with Stripes

Hello all,

This weekend saw some more nail vanish purchases as you may have seen from my Twitter or Facebook page.  I couldn't resist the Models Own Bottleshop and the launch of the new Splash Polishes.  I had my eye on Golden Shore since I had seen the press pictures of the Splash Polish collection.  I was lucky enough to pick out a 'prize' ticket in the lucky dip at the Bottleshop at got a make up bag with attached mirror.  I also got a Sinful Colours polish in Nail Junkie.



I decided to use my Sinful Colours polish for my design this week, but I have something in mind for Golden Shore next week.

I wanted to have a go at a tape manicure with the colour peeping through and I thought Nail Junkie was perfect for this.  I was originally going to do the taping on all my nails, but I wanted to let the glitter shine away, so opted to just do my thumb nail and ring finger.

To create this look I first painted all my nails with my base colour and left it to dry.  I added a top coat over this to smooth it out as the glitter is quite chunky and gritty.  After this had dried I added four strips of nail tape across each of my accent nails and painted over the strips in a coat of black polish.  Before this is dry you lift the tape away from the nails following the pattern that you have stuck the tape in.  I used tweezers to add and remove the tape as it can be quite fiddly otherwise.  I finished off with a top coat to protect my design.

I think I did well for my first go at a tape manicure where you remove the tape, I'll have to try some different colour and pattern combinations in the future as it was a lot of fun to do.  I'd love to see your tape manicures if you have had a go, leave a link in the comments so I can take a look.

This week I am very excited as tomorrow is the day I will be in Look magazine - I'll be itching to get away from work as quickly as possible so I can go and get my copy x