Pink and Purple Skittle

Inspired by Nail Polish Society

Base (pink) - Jacava - Raspberry Bavarois

Base (purple) - Jacava - Lavender Court

Base (black) - Sally Hansen - Blacky O

Base (gold) - Barry M - Gold Digger

Stamping Plate - UberChic 14-03

Blue and Sliver Fishnet Nails

Who wouldn't want fishnet nails?

Base (blue) - 17 - Midnight Sapphire

Base (silver) - Barry M - Silver lining

Stamping Plate - UberChic 14-03

Summer Sunset Nails

Summer sunset and flowers

Base (orange) - Rimmel - Oragasm

Base (yellow) - Barry M - Yellow

Stamping Plate - UberChic Plate 3-03

Shrimply Devine

Nails that Barbie would be proud of

Base (pink) - Sally Hansen - Shrimply Devine

Base (white) - Barry M - Cotton

Glitter Topper - Barry M - Amethyst Glitter

Grey with Silver Stamping

When a combo just goes right

Base - Barry M - Grey

Stamping - MoYou - Silver Dust

Stamping Plate - UberChic 14-02

Summer Flowers

Isn't it just so lovely when the sun shines?

Base (orange) - Rimmel - Oragasm

Base (white) - Barry M - Cotton

Glitter Topper - Collection - Sparkle Top Coat

Dots - Barry M - Yellow 134

Subtle Blue Ombre

Blue and sliver is such a pretty combination.

Base - Barry M - Rain On Me

Blue Ombre Barry M - Pacific

Stamping Plate - UberChic - 14-03

Stamping Polish - MoYou - White Knight

Barry M Liquid Chrome

Chrome has been a big thing recently in the world of nails, and lots of companies have been bringing out gorgeous shiny polishes for us to keep our nails looking their best.  I have been sitting back quietly watching all the releases and being very good at not splurging, until now!

Loving Barry M

I know I said two months ago that I was back from a blogging break, but for some reason I just didn't seem to get back to it properly.  So here goes again...

I've really been loving Barry M recently.  I always have loved their polishes, and you can't go wrong with such a decent price and with the fact that they are cruelty free.  I've found myself heading to my Barry drawer, and even buying a few new ones to add to my collection.

Starting with the most glittery one first, this is Fashion Icon.

This beauty is a new addition to my collection.  I was out shopping, just having a look around and this was just glittering away on the shelf.  I just couldn't leave it behind.  I already had Socialite from the Glitterati collection and loved it so figured that I couldn't go far wrong with another glitter from the same collection.  Also I do love a bit of sparkle and you'll often find it on my nails!  

Back from a Blogging Break

I've been away from my blog for a little while now, but my love for nail painting didn't stop, I was still posting weekly on Instagram, but felt I was struggling to keep up with posting, along with finishing the planning for my wedding.  I have enjoyed my little break, but I want to get back to my blog again.

I thought I'd share the nails that I did whilst I was away.  I won't go into details about them as there are quite a few, and they are all on Instagram, but I thought it would be a nice post to get me started again.

January - Blues and Sparkle

January tends to be grey and miserable, so it's always nice to have pretty nails to brighten the month up.

I'd asked for some MoYou goodies for Christmas, so I decided to use them for my first  design for the month.

Ciaté Regatta was the perfect base for my MoYou Silver Dust stamping with SciFi Plate number 08.  I was a little disappointed that I managed to smudge my stamping when I added my top coat, but I was still happy with my design overall.

I love darker colours in the colder months, and hadn't used OPI Black Cherry Chutney for a while so thought I'd do a simple manicure with a glitter accent nail.  This colour is such a gorgeous deep purple red, and is perfect for a gothic look.  You can't see how pretty In True Stefani Fashion is in this photo, but trust me when I tell you, all the different shapes and sizes of the glitter really catch the light.

Despite the previous manicure to this one, and loving darker colours for winter, I've got a rather important even coming up in a few weeks time so want to steer clear of the darker shades for a bit to avoid any staining.  Bearing this in mind I decided to go for Heather from the Barry M Silk collection.  It's such a pretty and delicate colour on its own with a beautiful shimmer, but I couldn't resit adding a coat of NYC Lights, Camera, Glitter.  It has to be one of my all time favourite glitters and I have used it over many different base colours and haven't found a combination that I didn't like.  My mum looked for a new bottle of this one, as she likes it too, but couldn't find it in Superdrug, so I headed to Amazon, and bought three bottles to be sure we didn't run out any time soon!

I still can't decide whether my final design for the month was a nail fail or not.  I wanted to do a bit of a different kind of ombré across the nails rather than on all nails, so I chose Models Own Beth's Blue and Grape Juice.  I think the colours complimented each other and gave the ombré look, but I'm just not sure it's what I had in mind.  I added some little love hearts with Jacava Lavender Court to finish off the look.

My favourite this month has to be my sparkly Lights, Camera, Glitter, nails.  I can't resit sparkle and shine, so it just ticked all the right boxes.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

December - Christmas Fun and Sparkle

December of course meant that it was time for Christmas nails and what says Christmas more than cute characters and glitter?

It's always difficult to decide which Christmas style to start with, and normally for me it would be snowflakes, as I do snowflake nails each year, but I saw lots of them popping up all over Instgram, so thought I'd save them for later and go for a cute snowman design first.

Back in September I had thought of a snow scene design using China Glaze Chillin' With My Snowmies, so I incorporated this in with the snowman.  I started with a base of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream for a chilly feel and added a coat of the China Glaze topper on all my nails, expect my middle finger.

I then used White Knight from MoYou London to paint a small circle for the snowman's head.  I then used Barry Mushroom, and Graffiti Nails Tuscany for the details.

A couple of years ago I did a dotticure Christmas tree design which I absolutely loved, so I thought I' recreated it, but in non traditional Christmas colours.  I used Models Own Snow White as a base and then used, Kiko 277, Barry M Sparkling Amethyst, China Glaze Frostbite, and OPI Turn on the Haute Light for all the fun dots.  Dotticures are one of my favourite nail designs to do, so it's always lots of fun to add them to a Christmas design.

As I mentioned before each Christmas I do a snowflake design, and inspired by my 'non traditional' colours in my previous design, I decided to use Sparkling Ruby from Barry M for some dramatic snowflakes.  For the base of the snowflake nails I used Happy Anniversary by OPI which came in my November Nail Box.

 

To finish off the year, I went for something simple, but gorgeous.  Thunder and Lightning from Models Own is just the perfect choice for new year's, the holographic glitter looks just like all the fireworks set off to celebrate.  It is a little thin on application, so you need at least three coats, but that's a small price to pay for the amazing glitter.

What was your favourite design this month?

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

November - Odds and Ends

I have had a bit of a mix and match month this month, with some darker nails, some lighter ones, and a bit of fun nail art.

I was inspired by the colours in my October Nailbox box, and for my first design this month I did some cute owl nails.

I started off bt masking my nails with round stickers on my middle finger and ring finger.  I then painted a base colour of NailsInc Kensington High Street on all fingers.  I had to peel the stickers off carefully to create the ears of the owls.  I decided to add a reverse glitter gradient on the 'non owl' nails with Essie Summit of Style.  This is just such a pretty antique gold glitter that really sparkles.

For the details on my owl nails I used Rimmel Caramel Cupcake for the tummy feathers, with individually placed glitter particles from Summit of Style.  Then I dotted on white and black for their eyes and orange for a beak.

With a little less time to come up with a nail design I tend to fall back on to nail stamping because it's quick and easy and looks really effective.  I went for a lacy butterfly effect with this design using Essie Ballet Slippers as a neutral base, and white stamping over the stop using MoYou London White Knight and the number 10 Princess Plate.  I really liked the overall look, but wish that I had been able to vary the stamped image.

I was recently having a look around in Kiko, and I was taken with three sparkly shades.  I was going leave them and put them on my Christmas, but my fiancé wouldn't let me leave and bought them for me.  This is 531.  How pretty is this?  I am a little disappointed that it doesn't have a fun name to match the beautiful sparkle.

To finish off the month I decided to go with a metallic and black plaited nail design.  I only added the plaited effect on my ring finger and thumb because it can take quite a bit of time to get the finished look depending on how long your nails are.  I used True Brit London Taxi Cab, Barry M Grey, and OPI Turn on the Haute Light for this look.

So, as you can see, a bit of a mixed bag overall.  I think the owls were my favourites this month.  What;s yours?  Leave me a comment and let me know.   I can't believe December is already knocking at our door, but that does of course mean it's time for Christmas nails - yay!

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

October - Autumn Fun and Glitz

Autumn is my favourite month, I love all the changing colours and being able to snuggle up in cosy hoodies and boots.  I also love darker nails.

At the start of the month I went to see The Martian, so I decided to do some space nails.

Now I know that The Martian is about Mars, and that Mars is the red planet, but I thought that it was pretty fitting to use Rimmel's Space Dust in Total Eclipse polish for this manicure.  I love the MoYou Sci-Fi stamping plates, and this little astronaut is just so cute.

Barry M got it spot on with their limited edition glitter Gelly polishes, and I just couldn't resit them.  This is Sparkling Amethyst, and it's just stunning - I think it's made it's way into my list of favourite polishes.  I love the subtle glitter and beautiful shine of the Gelly formula.  I also got Sparkling Ruby, which will be making it's way into Christmas designs.

As I said before, I love the changing colours of the autumn leaves, so really wanted to do a manicure to reflect them.  I remembered that I had come across this design on Pinterest a while a ago and it gave me the inspiration for my falling leaves design.  I used Graffiti Nails Tuscany, Barry M Mushroom, and Bright Red, and Jacava Cherry Brandy for my autumnal colours.  I added in quite a few more dots and falling hearts than in the original design, and was worried that I might make a mess when drawing the tree, but I was really pleased with my design and it was my favourite this month.

I think it's part of nail law that in October you must do at least one Halloween design.  This year I had order some brilliant nail vinyls from She Sells Sea Shells, so it made my pumpkin nails really easy to do.  Tuscany from Graffiti Nails was the perfect base.  I got Taxi Cab from True Brit London and Queen Victoria Street Nails Inc, in my Nailbox subscription and both were perfect additions.  I think my pumpkin leaves look a bit more like hair than leaves, but they are still cute overall anyway.

Do you agree with my favourite this month or did you prefer one of my other designs more?  Make sure you follow me on Instagram to keep up with me weekly.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

August - Colours and Designs

You may have read in my previous entry that my posting schedule was going to change and the end of August brings my first round up of what I have been up to.

Overall I kept things quite simple this month, which gave me the chance to try out some colours that I hadn't got round to using yet, and some new colours that just happened to fall into my basket whilst out shopping.

At the beginning of the month I got my first Butter London polish so, of course, I had to try that out right away, and I paired it with a beautiful new Orly colour as well.

I started with Fluorescent Fuchsia from Orly, as my main colour and used The Black Knight from Butter London as an accent nail.  Orly polishes that I have tried before have a lovely smooth application and this is no different.  With it being a florescent colour it dries to a matte finish, but I simply used my normal top coat to as shine.  The Black Knight is opaque in two coats, which also means you get a good helping of glitter.  The glitter particles are tiny pink and blue flecks, with even smaller gold sparkles running throughout.

I have really been enjoying watching the International Space Station fly recently, so I thought I'd do some nails inspired by watching the night sky.  I started with a base of Essence It's Raining Me, which has a subtle shimmer so it seemed like an appropriate colour to start with.  For extra stars I added a coat of Disco Ball from Rimmel because it has varying sizes and colours of glitter giving the idea of distant stars in the sky.  To finish off I stamped the ISS and The Plough constellation from my MoYou Sci-Fi 03 plate.

I hadn't done a gradient in a long time so thought I'd crack out some nice summer coral shades so this one.  I started with a base of white to make the colours really pop and then sponged on the gradient with a make up sponge using Model Own Peach Melba and OPI Toucan Do It If You Try.  I smoothed it all out with a glitter top coat and then added small white hearts with my dotting tool.  I got lots of compliments with this design.

I have had a busy few days towards the end of this month so I used my limited nail painting time to try out Models Own Blue Spray which I've had for a long time, but never used.  The Artstix from Models Own are a really brilliant idea meaning that you have a colour and a glitter polish all in one. You can use just the base colour or just the glitter, or both together.  Blue Spray is made up of Blue Maldives and Sea Spray which you used to be able to get as full sized polishes, but I think they have now been replaced by other collections.  The Sea Spray glitter has silver bar shapes, red glitter dots and large diamond holographic flecks that really catch the light.

Lastly this month I tried out Barry M Sunset nail paint.  This is another new one, but I didn't even put it in my basket... It was my fiancé, so I don't feel guilty about the purchase - ha ha!  When I first read about the Sunset collection I wasn't sure that the daylight curing finish would be much different from a gelly, but it does feel different somehow, plus, look how pretty Fuchsia Generation is.

Which has been your favourite design of mine this month?  Make sure you visit my blog again at the end of next month for my next round up, but in the mean time keep up with my designs weekly on Instagram.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x 

Pink Ombré Nail Art

I think sometimes simple can be more effective, and that's what I've gone for this week with a pink ombré.

I've done a similar look before with purple tones, but it was a long time ago now.  I think the colours that I picked this time around compliment each other much better and I prefer the light to dark ombré starting with the lightest shade on my thumb.  I think it looks more balanced.

From thumb to little finger I have used the following colours - Essie Ballet Slippers, Models Own Strawberry Tart, Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream, Revlon Fuchsia Fever, and China Glaze Traffic Jam.  To match the finish up on all the shades I've finished with a coat of Collection Sparkle Top Coat.

I've got some exciting reviews and a nail swap coming up on my blog so keep an eye out for those soon.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

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.

Pretty in Peach - Sparkle and Studs Nail Art

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do on my nails this week, and when that happens I always find that going for something simple is the best plan.  I had seen a peach manicure whilst scrolling through social media and the colour just stuck with me.

I chose Models Own Peach Melba from the Fruit Pastel collection and can't stop smelling my nails.  Overall I'm not sure if it smells like peaches, because I can't remember the last time I had a peach, but it's a pretty scent anyway.  I would say, if I had to, that it smells a bit like a fruity sorbet.

I paired this with Crystal Glaze from Barry M.  This is such a pretty topper.  The flecks of iridescent glitter are so subtle but give a really lovely shimmer when they catch the light.  I then finished off my whole manicure with small gold studs at the base of each nail.

Just a quick post this week.  I hope to get back to some more detailed nail art soon.

Thanks for stopping by
Aimée x

Nautical Nail Art

I've often wondered about painting some nautical nail art, but have always decided against it, until now.  I think my main reservation has been that there seems to be a lot of similar looking designs around and I didn't want to create anything too samey; I wanted to do something a bit different and I hope that I have achieved that.

A while ago I bought some new stamping plates from MoYou including The Sailor 03 plate.  This is where I started planning my design.  I first chose the pattern that I was going to stamp, and worked from there.  Other nautical nails I have seen seem to use white, red, and blue as their main colours, but I decided that I just wanted blue and white.  I started off with a white base on all my nails and then stamped my waves with Barry M Blue Grape, on all fingers other than my ring fingers.  My original plan was to paint anchors on the plain white base to go with the waves, but then I remembered that I had some anchor nail tattoos left from when I reviewed Fake Tattoos Nail Tattoos.

I thought a single anchor on a plain white base might look a bit lost, so I added a large sized tattoo to my thumb nails and then smaller sized ones on the rest of the nails with stamped waves, making sure to put them at different angles and positions on my nails.  I was then left with a conundrum with what to do with my accent nails as I had changed the design I had planned in my head.  I painted over them with two coats of Blue Grape and added three different sized gold studs from the Born Pretty Store.

I am not sure how I feel about this design overall because, once I had finished, I kind of wished that I had started with a blue base on all nails and stamped the waves in white.  Blue Grape is such an amazing colour I am not sure that the stamped design does it justice.  Having said that, I don't think the anchors would have showed up so well if my base had been darker blue, so there's benefits to both.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by
Aimee x

My Top Three Nail Colours

Posts like this are really difficult to write because how, out of my collection of 192 colours, can I just pick three?  I figure that if I use a colour a lot that it must be a favourite otherwise why would I keep reaching for it over and over?

I whittled down my choice to these three beauties, and tried to include something for everyone, and to suit most budgets.  Also, they are all great for spring.