Cherry & Blossom Nails

Happy Sunday everyone! Here we are with the last Glam Nails Challenge June prompt, I can't believe it's come around so fast! Today's prompt is cherries. I'm quite pleased with myself for managing to complete this challenge! I usually don't do the ones with many prompts in one month as I'll end up only doing one or two, but I have managed to complete all of these and have really enjoyed it! In July I will be focusing on my ever growing list of other random ideas but I am quite tempted to try another of these challenges in the future if it takes my fancy.

For this look I used the Fruit Deco plate from Maniology again (it's getting a lot of use at the moment!) for the cherry images, these were stamped directly onto my nails. For the cherry blossom on my index and little fingernails I made decals using my Uber Mat, and the Suki 09 plate from Mo You London. You can see how here. It was my first time using this plate and I'm really pleased with how the flowers came out, I think they'd work well across all nails too. I felt like there was something missing from the cherry nails so added some black dots around the edge with a dotting tool. Not entirely even but it's OK!

Overall I like these. They're very girly for me, but I do really like the flowers, and it was fun to use a fruit image I hadn't used yet too. Who knows, maybe these won't be my last fruit nails this year!
Colours used: Vintage Tee - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Lady In Black - OPI, Key Lime - Barry M, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc

The Apples & The Worm

Hey everyone, happy Worm Day! OK so it's not worm day, it seems that's coming up though (gummy worm day is the 15th July according to Google) but here is some worm nail art! Apples is today's prompt for the Glam Nails Challenge June, and I decided to do worm approaching an apple nail art. I did look on Google images for inspiration and was slightly surprised to learn that I'm not the first to do worm nails!

I started with a pale pink base (colours listed below images) and then used red nail polish to create the apple shapes using the brush from the bottle. I particularly like the way the one on my index finger came out, it wasn't entirely intentional as I was aiming for more symmetry but I think it looks more apple-y this way! I was going to do a little white reflection on it but it was shiny enough to look reflective anyway. For the worm I drew the outline with a nail art pen, then coloured it in using nail polish and a nail art brush. Outlining it with the same brush and black nail polish was the hardest bit so it is a bit wobbly!

Overall I quite like these as they're cute, though I wish I could have done the outline of the worm a bit neater! I also made a mistake with the two leaves on the apple on my thumb, it would have been better with one I think. Still, worm nails are certainly a first for me! I did apple nails once years ago which were very unsuccessful so I'm pleased that these came out better!
Colours used: Vintage Tee - Nails Inc, Dead Heat - Barry M, Tickled Taupe - Painted Polish, Cocoa - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M, Lady In Black - OPI

Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Banana Nails!

Hey everyone, hope you're having/ have had a good weekend! Today I'm sharing the next installment in the Glam Nails June challenge, just two more to go after this! Today's prompt is bananas. Actual bananas.... not the prompt is totally bananas :D I included a little throw back in this nail art to the banana phone song! I don't actually know how popular that was and if people will have heard of it but I remember discovering it in the early days of YouTube and singing it with my friends and cousins. Go have a listen on YouTube if you like but it will get stuck in your head!

I started with a base of cream on three nails, and yellow on the other two (colours listed below the pictures). Over the yellow nails I used green stamping polish to add this banana leaf sort of image from the Mo You London Tropical 10 plate to my nails. For the other three nails I used banana images from the Fruit Deco plate from Maniology, starting with stamping on the yellow and then the black outline. On my thumb I wanted to add some wording to reference the banana phone song, so created a decal on my Uber Mat, carefully painting the letters with a small brush, covering them with clear polish, and once dry peeling them off to stick on my nails (peeling, how appropriate!). I finished the look off with a matte top coat.

I have mixed feelings about this one. Overall I like the design, I think it's fun! However the bananas didn't come out that well, I didn't quite align the colours right, and am still having trouble with my black stamping polish (I have another on the way!). Also majorly smudged the bananas on my middle finger! The ring ring lettering is quite big as well, but considering they were freehand I am actually quite pleased with how they came out! I did forget that is my wonky thumbnail though which isn't ideal for capturing the look in pictures!
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Lady In Black - OPI, Forest Green - Mo You London

Freshly Squeezed Nail Art

Hey everyone! My nail art is making me feel thirsty today, but it could just be a consequence of eating a takeaway! I could really drink some orange juice right now! This nail art is for the next Glam Nails Challenge June prompt which is oranges. I started with a base of yellow (shades listed below pictures) which I have included a picture of at the bottom of this post. It came free with a Nails Inc order and it's not my usual sort of shade but I actually rather like it!

On my thumb and ring finger nails I used the orange image from the Mo You London Tropical 10 plate, unfortunately I got a bit of green polish on the thumb nail one as there was some on the scraper from what I was doing on my other hand! At the bottom of each other nail I did an orange half from MYL's Tropical 34 plate. For the wording in black, the juicers and the droplet on my middle fingernail I used the Bottoms Up plate from Uber Chic. I like the effect of the orange half's though they are a tad small, it works best on my little fingernail where it goes the whole way across. The orange nail polish I used is also orange scented which is rather appropriate! So all in all I do quite like these, they're quite different from anything I've done before!
Colours used: Living Your Best Life - Nails Inc, Not From Concentrate - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

A couple of  bonus pictures below of the base colour with a cardigan (I liked the vibrant yellow against the black and white background) and the nail art with it's inspiration - a real life orange!

Stamping Sunday: Forecasting Strawberries!

Hi everyone! Today I am forecasting strawberries for the next Glam Nails Challenge prompt. I can't remember exactly how I came up with this idea but I wanted to make my strawberry nail art a bit more interesting and thought I'd theme them around hot weather, though it's certainly been a bit temperamental here in the UK for the last week or so!

I started with a cream base on three nails, and a yellow base on the other two. For the wording I used Uber Chic's Forecasting Glam stamping plate, and a dotting tool to colour in the sun. For the strawberries on my thumb and little fingernails I used the layering images on Maniology's Fruit Deco plate. The same colour was used for the different types of strawberries but it looks different due to the colours underneath. The image for the full coverage strawberry nails is from Mo You London's Tropical 10 plate, and it is a bit of a weird one! They've done it in a reverse stamping style, which kind of works but it's then a bit confusing as to what you're meant to do with the leaves. I ended up just colouring them in directly onto my nails with a nail art brush, which seemed to work well.

To be honest I wasn't so keen on these at first, apart from the thumb nail, but they have grown on me a bit! They are certainly summery anyway!
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Key Lime - Barry M, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

A Selection of Nail Art Techniques for Nail Addicts Collab

Hi everyone, hope you've had or are having a lovely day! I have some very bright nail art to share with you today. A few years ago I was part of the Nail Addicts Collab on Instagram, whose first challenge was 'nail art' themed. I did some pastel nails with images of nail art brushes and stamping tools, I believe I bought the plate especially. This year the collab is back, and starting with the same theme, so I thought I'd try something a bit different rather than going back to the same plate, tempted as I was!

On each nail I tried out a different nail art technique, all using the Bring On Spring collection from Wikkid Polish. I enjoyed getting these super bright neons out again! I finished off with a matte top coat to enhance the colour of the neon polishes. I've listed the effects I used below:

Index Finger - Watercolour (nail polish mixed with polish remover on foil & applied with a brush)
Middle Finger - Three colour gradient.
Ring Finger - Stamping (I'd forgotten white doesn't show up well over neon yellow!)
Little Finger - Dry brushing
Thumb - Smoosh (polish blobbed onto a stamper and then roughly pressed on the nail)

The smoosh nail is definitely my favourite and I'm glad to be back doing this challenge again!
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Hello Sailor - Wkkid Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Peachy Beachy - Wikkid Polish, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Down At The Deep End - Wikkid Polish, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Lemony Fresh Nails

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the fruit nail blog! (that's how it feels this month!) Today's glam nails challenge prompt is lemons, and this is my attempt. The stamping plates I used for this look are the Fruit Deco plate from Maniology, and Tropical 34 from Mo You London.

I started with a base of white polish (colours listed below the pictures), and then created decals for the stripy nails, using my Uber Mat. It was surprisingly satisfying filling the stripes in with my little nail art brush. While the decals where drying I did the stamping on my other nails, all of which involved layered stamping, where I stamped the yellow on first, then the green, and finally the black outline. I struggled a bit with the Maniology images on this occasion, I couldn't get the green right so you can't really see it. May be something to do with going for a run half way through doing my nails and getting a bit tired!

So overall I quite like these, they're fun, but would definitely be better if I'd mastered the Maniology lemons. I did master them previously on another look which you can see here. I also did some freehand lemons aages ago which I'm still quite proud of! You can see them here. So this nail art is not my best lemon art but I still like it!
Colours used: Floral Street - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Key Lime - Barry M, Yellow - Barry M, Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Cyan - Barry M, Sloane Avenue - Nails Inc

Stamping Sunday: Juicy Watermelon Nails

Hi everyone! I'm back with more fruit nail art for the glam nails challenge. I also thought I'll bring back Stamping Sundays for a bit as I'm going to try and post some of the fruit designs for the challenge on Sundays. I expect a lot of the fruit nail art I do will be stamping related, and this one is certainly no exception.

I started with a base of white on three nails, and pale green and magenta on the other two. For the watermelon pattern on my thumb and little finger nails I used the Maniology Fruit Deco plate. This image is a layering image so nice and easy to do, although I had a bit of trouble with the black outline, as my black stamping polish is getting a bit thick, so the thumb nail is a bit messy. For the green nail I used the Tropical 07 plate from Mo You London. The image was only just tall enough for my nail. I do have a similar image on another plate but it's wider so I don't get so many stripes. For the remaining two nails I used the Tropical 34 plate (also MYL). The watermelon slice image is also a layered image so there was no advanced stamping in this look.

I really like these. They're fun and summery, and I do enjoy a good watermelon theme! I'd be tempted to do this look again and maybe even add some glitter in there somewhere. I was also impressed with how the dark green and magenta polishes stamped (colours listed below the pictures). See you soon!
Colours used: Floral Street - Nails Inc, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc, Key Lime - Barry M, Watermelon - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Tea Time In Blue

Hi again! I'm back with my final entry to the Holo Taco nail art challenge, as they have announced this will be the last theme. I have entered all but one of the weekly challenges, and have thoroughly enjoyed it! I will miss it but at the same time it's also good to focus on some other nail art related things. As usual I've been enjoying looking through other peoples entries, though I am still hoping I'll see some 'Tiger Who Came To Tea' themed nails, but maybe that's a bit specific and not maybe world wide (it's a children's book here in the UK).

On three of my nails I went for a classic china pattern, like you'd find on a tea cup. I used the lovely Porcelain 02 plate from Mo You London. For this effect I started with a cream base, and then stamped the lightly cracked porcelain image over the top in grey. I then added a couple of layers of sheer white to blend it in and fade it a little. I then stamped the pretty patterns over the top in blue, before adding a shiny top coat. I've done this before over all nails and absolutely love this look! There are probably other things I could do with the stamping plate but I think I'll probably keep doing this!

On my ring fingernail I used a gorgeous cobalt blue from Nails Inc, I used a different shade for the stamping, as I knew it stamped well, and I find a polish stamped next to where it's painted in a block colour often looks like a different shade anyway. I think the Nails Inc shade is quite similar to Holo Taco's Royal Tea Blue. I used the Uber Chic Bottoms Up plate for the Tea Time wording and the tea cup. I made a decal for this so I could make the teabag sparkly, although it's hard to see. I used the same stamping plate for the teacup on my thumbnail too. Overall I'm pretty pleased with these, especially the patterned nails :)
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Allure - Essie, Grey - Barry M, Indigo - Barry M, Baker Street - Nails Inc, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Harp On It - Color Club

Kiwi Skittle Nails

Hello everyone, hope you are safe and well in these crazy times! Today on my nail blog I'm trying for the first time a monthly challenge, where there are a number of prompts throughout the month, usually following a particular theme. One challenge in particular that I keep seeing on my Instagram feed is the glam nails challenge. This months theme is all fruit based prompts, and I thought that seemed fun, so I will give it a go and see if I can actually manage to complete the whole month. It feels unlikely but you never know!

The first prompt, which is due today, is Kiwi fruit. I have done kiwi fruit nails before as part of  a set of fruit themed nails, but this time I used a stamping plate rather than freehand. I used the Tropical 10 stamping plate from Mo You London for the black kiwi pattern. Looking at it now I think I should have done a gradient going out from the middle as well. I decided to do a sort of skittle nails effect, with different shades of green and yellow kiwi's. I stamped the kiwi pattern on top in black, and then used a nail art brush to fill the middle in with cream nail polish. I did this instead of advanced stamping, and I think it works for most nails but not the darkest one where it just kind of looks like a messy blob as you can't really see the black pattern.

So overall I wasn't massively keen on these, which is a shame as they are my first glam nails entry, but onwards and upwards I guess! I think I need to perfect the technique of making them look more kiwi like with a gradient, maybe even added some glitter. The first couple of pictures below have a matte topcoat, and the second two a shiny one, I think the matte pictures look better but in person I prefer them shiny. Hopefully more fruit nail art to come!
Colours used: Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Key Lime - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M, Watermelon - Barry M, Marylebone - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Nails Inc, Cream Soda - Barry M