Summer Sunset Nails

Summer sunset and flowers

Base (orange) - Rimmel - Oragasm

Base (yellow) - Barry M - Yellow

Stamping Plate - UberChic Plate 3-03

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

Watercolour Tie-Dye Nails

I decided to try out a new technique this week but it didn't work to plan, so I had to change my idea part way through painting.  Luckily I didn't have to start all over again and I am really pleased with the outcome.  I have ended up with a watercolour tie-dye effect.

I started off with a neutral base so I had something to work on, and I was originally going to add watercolour bubbles, but I'm not sure that I worked quick enough to soak up the excess polish to give the right effect, so thinking quickly I started adding my watered down polish in splodgy sections over the whole nail.  The colours started blending together really nicely.  I added a few layers to build up the colours and cover any bare patches.  To even out the sections I added a fine glitter top coat from Collection.  A adore this top coat as it transforms any polish into something extra special.

I used Tuscany from Graffiti Nails which has to be my favourite orange polish I have come across. The pink is Gumball from Models Own, so not only are my nails pretty, they smell yummy as this is a polish from the Sweet Shop Collection.  Lastly I have used Yellow from Barry M.  I think all these colours work together beautifully.  What do you think?

Even though this wasn't what I originally had in mind, I think the effect I am left with is fun and eye catching.  And it's a different way of creating this look, rather than water marbling or dragging the polish when on the nail.  What do you do when a design doesn't quite to plan when you have already started painting?

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Multicoloured Dots Nail Art

Hi all,

I don't know about you, but I'm still not quite ready to say goodbye to bright colours, and this week I couldn't decide which one to use, so I used them all!

When I'm short of time my go to nail art of choice is polka dots.  I used my Models Own dotting tools to create various different sized dots for this design.  I started with a base of Models Own Snow White.  I have been using this so often recently, so much so that I just finished a bottle of it, and I don't think I've ever finished a bottle of polish, ever!  Usually they go gloopy before I can get to the end,  It's just fabulous and such a brilliant white to work with.  I then used lots of other polishes that to complete the look.

Orange - Graffiti Nails Tuscany

Green - Essence Roller Coaster

Blue - Miss Sporty Pop Fiction

Purple - Morgan Taylor Bright Side

Pink (pictured) - China Glaze Purple Panic

I have just had a bit of destash and said bye bye to 19 polishes.  I originally thought it was going to be really difficult to go through and get rid of some, but it was much easier than anticipated.  They were ones that had dried up a bit, or ones that I just wasn't going to wear again, but there were some in there that only just made the cut!  It was good to have a proper look through though and it meant I came across the Miss Sporty one and realised that I hadn't used it yet, so thought I'd début along with these other gorgeous colours.  Isn't it pretty?

Graffiti Nails and Essence have been a recent favourites of mine, so I had to include them, and I love the quality of China Glaze and Morgan Taylor.  Whilst they are on the pricier side for nail polishes I really do think you get what you pay for.  Every time I use these it's like using a brand new bottle of polish.

Overall I think this is a fun design and pretty eye catching; I've even had men at work admiring my nails today!

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Graffiti Nails: Jet, Tuscany, and Pistachio with flower nail art

Hi all,

I've got a really quick post today, but I wanted to share a cute manicure that I did for a party over the weekend.  A while ago I got these three colours from Graffiti Nails, and have used Pistachio and Tuscany already and they have both been gorgeous on.  I thought it was about time that I used Jet as well.

Jet is such a stunning black, it goes on beautifully and in one coat.  I am so impressed because every other black I've tried has been streaky on the first coat.  I still can't quite believe that's all I needed.

After a coat of Jet I added on these simple daisy style flowers.  I added a dot of Tuscany on each nail and then some petals in Pistachio around each dot.  Sometimes something simple is all you need and I love how these colours all work together so nicely.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Triplet Nails: Orange and White Saran Wrap Nails

Hello all,

I have a very exciting post today.  I've teamed up with Lauren from The Naily Mail and Madison from Fundamentally Flawless to do some triplet nails.  We had been discussing different techniques that we hadn't tried before and thought it would be really fun to do some triplet nails so we decided to give the saran wrap technique a go (or cling film for us UK people).

I started off with two coats of Models Own Snow White which needed to dry completely before anything else.  I left it for a couple of hours whilst I watched a film, and just to make doubly sure I finished it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.  Next was the really fun part!  I worked nail by nail adding a thick coat of Graffiti Nails Tuscany and then before that dried I started dabbing the wet nail polish with a bunched up ball of cling film.  This gives the fabulous marbled effect.  I really like the subtle contrast having used orange and white, but I think overall for this technique to stand out more a more contrasting choice of shades may have been better.

The other girls designs are just stunning as well

Lauren has gone for a lovely purpley blue and Madison has gone for a lighter blue.  Don't these look lovely in all of the colours that we have chosen?  Such a different look with a simple change.

Be sure to check out the other girls posts by clicking on their photographs above.  We have all really enjoyed taking on the challenge, and have decided to do triplet nails every now and again, so now all we need to do is choose what to do next!  What do you think we should have a go at?  

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Models Own: Tropical Sun and Ibiza Mix

Hello all,

I hope you have had a lovely Easter weekend and the Easter bunny visited.

I got a bit ahead of myself thinking that it was time for this month's Polish Party design, but that will be next week, so keep an eye out for that.  As I have more time to plan for that I went for a pretty spring colour.

This is Tropical Sun from the Beetlejuice collection topped with Ibiza Mix.  Tropical Sun is a fairly sheer coral/peach with tiny gold glitter specks.  It's so pretty and catches the light and sparkles away.  I have used two coats here because I was topping with glitter, but I think if you were wearing it on it's own three coats might be better.  I added Ibiza Mix over the top because you just can't go wrong with this glitter.  There are so many colours of glitter in Ibiza Mix it simply takes on the colours in your base and just seems to work, whatever you use it with! This is one of the most versatile glitter polishes I have ever come across.

What pretty spring colours have you been trying out recently?

Pastel Rainbow Ombré

Hi everyone,

I keep seeing lots of different ombré nail designs around and they are just so pretty for summer.  Normally when I do ombré nails I tend to use variations of the same colour and sponge each one on individually as you can see here, but most people seem to paint their colours on the sponge directly in stripes and then dab on the nails.  I had previously tried this design using my normal technique and failed miserably! They just looked a complete and utter mess.  So I ended up taking it off and doing something different that week.

I still wanted to try this design because I have seen a few different variations of it such as here on Pinterest and here on YouTube.  So here it is...

 

 

I started off my pastel rainbow ombré, by painting all of my nails with a pearly white base.  I chose a pearly one because for some reason whenever I paint an entirely white base, I make such a mess and this time round I really didn't want anything to go wrong before I had even really started.

 

 

After my pearl base had dried I then got my Models Own Ice Cream Sundae collection and make up sponges ready.  I lined all my colours up with the tops already unscrewed so that I was realy to paint the stripes of colour directly on to my make up sponges.  I chose to use five sponges, one for each of the different ombré combinations on each of my nails.  I don't waste the sponges though as I cut off the end when I've finished and the polish is dry.  Then I can use it again afterwards.  I made sure the sponge was slightly wet before I painted on the polish so it didn't soak in too much before I had chance to dab it on to my nails.  This is what my work station looked like when I had finished all my nails.

 

 

 

I started with my thumbs and chose yellow and green.  Yellow at the base of my thumb and green at the tip of my nail.  I then moved to my index finger and chose to continue with the green, this time at the base of the nail and I combined that with orange.  I continued using the previous nail tip colour on the base of the next nail, orange into pink, pink into blue and blue into yellow.

 

If you read my blog a lot you will know that I like glitter.  So to blend my colours and add that extra sparkle I used a coat of Rimmel Disco Ball.

 

I am really pleased with this design and it just goes to show if at first you don't succeed, try try again x



Pink Punch with Black and White Dots

Hello all,

So, last week I had a nail disaster... I attempted painting my nails twice before settling for something simple and hassle free.  I was trying out a new design and it wasn't going right, not even a little bit... To put it simply it was a mess! So off that came!! So then I went for a glitter gradient with Models Own Jack Frost as one of the glitters, but that was also a disaster - sad times! Jack Frost is really thick and just didn't dry along with the other glitters so that just simply slid off my nails, so back to square one I went.  At this stage it was getting late, but I didn't want nudey nails as I was off to a BBQ the next day, so went for Models Own Grape Juice and Rimmel Disco Ball Glitter.  You can't go wrong with yummy smelling nails and a go to glitter.  I will attempt both failed designs again, but with more time and more practise first!

This week I am back with something a little more arty.  Seeing as the sun seems to have disappeared again I thought what better than something from the Ice Neon collection from Models Own to jazz things up?

Pink Punch is such a lovely colour and it really is neon bright, I have always had so many compliments when wearing it, I think because it's so hard to miss :-)  I don't really ever know how to describe Pink Punch when talking about the colour because it changes depending on the light you're under at the time.  Here you can see my first post about it.  It's named pink, but I think it's more of a coral orangy pink.  In this picture, compared to the last picture I posted of it I think it looks more orangy red.  Right now whilst typing because it's different light again it looks more pink.  This is one of the reasons I love this colour it can look different depending on where you are or what you're wearing really.  I decided to go a bit dotty this week using black and white alternately on my nails adding a mixture of larger and smaller dots.  It reminds me of Minnie Mouse!

I hope you are loving this one as much as I am?  Have you got any of the Ice Neon's? I'd be interested to know if anyone does keep theirs in the fridge and if it has made a difference in your opinion.  Leave a comment below and let me know x

Models Own: Splash Polish Golden Shore - Summer Ombré

Hello all,

I just have a quick post this week to show the new Models Own Splash Polish in Golden Shore.  I haven't seen that many swatches of them yet, but I'm not sure people really know what to do with them.  The whole of the Splash Polish collection is gorgeous to look at in the bottle with hand cut shards of glitter in a translucent coloured polish.  I had my eye on Golden Shore right from the word go when the collection was announced, but I wasn't too sure about the others.  I resisted and just got the one in the Bottleshop when they launched with the idea that I could always go back if I wanted others.

Despite there not being too many swatches about, well not that I have seen anyway, I wasn't sure where to start, so I thought I'd test some things out on some falsies first.  I got an idea and went with that, liked how it turned out so I went with it.



 

 

I decided on a summer ombré finish to show off the shards of golden glitter.  I started off with a base of white painted over the whole nail as I really wanted my colours to pop, and I also knew that this would be covered over by Golden Shore, creating the lightest orange later on.  Using Models Own for the rest of my ombré, I sponged on Fuzzy Peach for my mid tone orange and then Pink Punch over the tips for my darkest shade.  To smooth out the sponging I added a top coat.  After this had dried I then added a coat of Golden Shore.  I would describe it as a sticky polish, it's very thick and reminded me a little bit of jam.  The glitter shards are quite tricky to evenly spread over the nail which I was a little surprised about as the Mirror Ball collection glitters are so simple to use for a great coverage in just one coat if you want.  I had to work a little bit to get the glitter to stay on my nails, dabbing the brush in places to move it around rather than a lot right at the ends or in one large patch in the middle.  I was going to add another coat, but at this stage Golden Shores had made my nails very thick with polish and I didn't really want to add anymore to them other than a top coat.

 

I ended up using two coats of top coat to stop the glitter being too bitty and sticking out all over my nails.  It seems to have done the trick, but my finished nails are very thick with varnish and I worry about it cracking and smashing on my nails with the impact of my typing and everyday wear and tare.  I will see how I go.  Does anyone else get cracking or smashing in their polish when it's thick?

 

Overall, I am not disappointed that I got Golden Shore, but I don't think I will be getting the other Splash Polishes.  This might become one that's 'perfect for toes!'.  I do like my finished neon summer ombré and I think it looks a little bit like candy corn.

 

What do you think?  I'd be interested to see what other people think about the Splash Polishes, leave a comment below to let me know x

Easter Chick Nail Art with Tutorial

Hello all,

You might have seen last week that I did the first of two Easter designs with my Strawberry Tart Bunnies.  This week I have Easter Chicks with a sparkly speckled egg effect.

 

I have used mainly Models Own nail polishes to create my design.  The base colour is Lemon Meringue and the orange for the chick's beak is Fuzzy Peach.  Both of these are from the Ice Cream Sundae collection.  For the sparkly speckled egg effect on my other nails I have used Disco Inferno from the Mirrorball Collection.

 

I have created a step by step picture guide to show you how I created this look, and hopefully it's easy for you to follow if you want to have a go yourself.

 

 



 

 Step one - After using a base coat to protect your nails, paint them with two coats of your base colour, in my case Lemon Meringue.

 

Step two - This is where you will start to create the shell for you little chick to sit in.  Using a dotting tool create a zig-zag line across your ring finger nail in white.  You do not need to wait for this to dry before moving on to step three.

 

Step three - Fill in the rest of the shell for your chick using your white polish (I have used Sally Hansen White On)

 

Step four - Add a small orange triangle above your shell and two black dots for your chick's eyes.

 

You could finish your design here if you wanted to, add more chicks on your other nails or like me, add on some glitter to the other nails.  I used Disco Inferno because of the colours in the glitter adding to the chick theme with gold, orange and green flecks.

 

I will be putting together a step by step of my Easter Bunny nails as well, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested x

Painted Flowers Nail Art

Hello all,

It's been pretty wintery and cold recently and I thought to cheer myself up that I would take some of my new colours that I got for Christmas for a spin and create a design inspired by spring.

 

 

 

I couldn't decide which of my pastel shades I wanted to try first, so in the end I used all three!  I painted three nails on each hand in Jade Stone and two in Fuzzy Peach.  The centres of my daisy like flowers are done using Lemon Meringue.  These three are all Models Own colours.  For the white of my flowers I used Sally Hansen White Out.

 

These are very simple flowers, more simple than they look.  After applying two coats of my base colours, which are gorgeous candy-like pastel shades, I used a small brush dipped in the white polish and just pushed the bristles away from the nail edge towards the centre of my nail.  I did this a few times to create my basic flower shape.  I didn't want a full flower of each nail as I think this could be too much.  I placed my flower a different points on each nail to mix up the design.  When my petals were dry I added a large yellow dot in the centre using a dotting tool.

 

I really like the outcome of this design and I hope you do too. Let me know if you have a go at a bright and colourful nail design to brighten your winter days.

Cut the Rope Nail Art

Hello all,

As many of us do I have games on my iPhone and one of my favourites is Cut The Rope.  My design this week has been inspired by Cut The Rope, and the Om Nom toy that I got for my birthday.  I hope you like it.

 

 

 

To create Om Nom and the Cut the Rope world was fairly simple.  I started with a base coat to protect my nails, and then painted them with an orange French tip manicure, other than my middle finger.  Once this had dried I created the stars that you have to try and collect before feeding Om Nom the candy in the game.  I used a yellow polish and a dotting tool to create five small dots close to once another and then dragged the nail polish into the centre to create the star.  I added one star on my little finger and two on my thumb. 

 

I then added a brown line on my index finger for the rope using a thin brush.

 

To create the candy I added a drop of orange polish and a drop of yellow polish to a scrap of paper and swirled them together slightly.  Using a cotton bud I dipped the end into the swirled polish and then dotted this on my ring finger nail.

 

I didn't have quite the right colour green to create Om Nom, so I mixed my green with some yellow to make it a lighter shade.  I then used a normal nail polish brush to create a green circle on my middle finger.  To create Om Nom's anteni, using my dotting tool, I added a small dot of the green above the circle and dragged the polish down to meet it.

 

Before adding Om Nom's eyes, smile and teeth, I waited for the green to dry.  For his eyes I used a cotton bud dipped into white polish and simply added two white dots close together.  Then I used a black striper for his smile and added smaller black dots in the middle of his eyes and smaller white dots for his teeth.

 

I hope you like my design and maybe have a go yourself.

 

I used the following polishes:

• Maybelline - Orange Couture
• Barry M - Yellow
• Barry M - Spring Green
• Barry M - Mushroom
• E.L.F - White
• Rimmel - French Rose
• Andrea Fulerton - Black Striper