Snowdrops

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is for another Glam Nails Challenge theme, this time it's 'snowdrops'. I wasn't quite sure how to do them so thought I'd try a basic snowdrop look on one nail, and add seals to another two as those big fluffy seal pups are snowdrops of a sort! I also wanted to try out a fairy lights in the woods look and thought that would fit here too.

I started with a base of lilac and pale pink glitter (colours listed below the pictures). I made decals on my Uber Mat using a fairy lights image from Uber Chic's Holiday Spirit stamping plate and trees image from Mo You London's Noel 08 plate. While these were drying I painted on the little white seals and some snowflakes from the Uber Chic plate. I don't think I got the placement of the features quite right but they still look like cute little seals! I also painted on some basic snowdrops on my ring fingernail. I then added the trees decal followed by the lights before a glossy top coat.

Although these have their imperfections I do rather like them. Can't go wrong with baby seals! I am wearing seal pyjama's as I write this :D

Colours used: Nimbus - Illyrian, Charming - Illyrian, Essential White - Uber Chic, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Little Bo Peep - Rimmel, Gold Digger - Barry M, Key Lime - Barry M

Cosy and Blue

Hey space turtles! Todays nail art is another Glam Nails Challenge one, this time the theme is 'cosy and knitted'. Very fitting for this time of year but if only they could keep my fingertips warm! I made some decals on the Uber Mat for the ring finger and thumb nails and the little star on my middle finger (actually stamped that onto my mat by mistake but decided to colour it in and keep it and I'm glad I did!). On my other three nails I painted them blue and stamped cosy jumper patterns on in white. All images are from Mo You London's Fall In Love 08 stamping plate. I added the decals and then finished the look with a matte top coat. Ta-da!

I'm happy with the way these came out :) Haven't worn this sort of colour scheme in a while and I like the way the matte top coat makes the colours pop.

Colours used: Blueberry - Barry M, Oyster - Barry M, Grey - Barry M, Essential White - UberChic 

North Pole BAU

Hello space turtles! More Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today. Todays theme is 'North Pole'. As it's quite a Christmassy theme I wanted to find a way to make it fit but not be too Christmassy since we're in January. I am really enjoying doing these wintery themes and continuing to use my Christmas stamping plates throughout the month! The idea behind this look is that it's the North Pole is having a bit of a peaceful lull after the chaos of Christmas - business as usual!

I started with a base of white and then added images from Mo You London's Noel 01 stamping plate on three fingernails and the north pole sign on my ring finger using their Festive 01 plate. The image on my thumbnail is from their Noel 19 stamping plate. Next I added a layer of quick dry top coat and once dry I used sharpies to carefully colour in the images which was quote satisfying to do! I finished the look with a matte top coat to make the colours pop.

I really like how these came out and their wintery feel. I'd like to try something similar with sparkly roofs on the houses and sparkly snow.

Colours used: A Mantis shrimps favourite colour - Bees Knees Lacquer, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Various Sharpies

How Polarizing

Hello space turtles! It's getting cold again here in the UK and I have some more frosty wintery nail art to share. This one is for the Arctic Animals Glam Nails Challenge prompt and I'm also trying out a new magnetic nail polish I got for Christmas - How Polarizing from KB Shimmer. I couldn't get as a strong a magnetic effect as I'd hoped for but its still a gorgeous polish and I can try again another time.

I started with two layers of the base polish (magnetising the top layer) before adding the images. I used Mo You London's Enchanted 05 stamping plate and silver magnetic polish to add images directly onto three of my nails. On the other two I used a dotting tool to remove the excess image from the stamper and just added the walrus and narwhal images directly onto my nails. I then added some stars from the same plate over the magnetic effect. Much as I'd have liked a stronger magnetic effect I do love these - they're very me!

Colours used: How Polarizing - KB Shimmer, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M

When snow falls...

Hey space turtles! I am wrapped up very warm and snuggly as I write this which feels fitting for the snowy design. Will be a bit less snug during my morning lake swim tomorrow I expect so making the most of this now! This nail art is for Sundays Glam Nails Challenge prompt of Snowman. I think the sheer polishes from Emily de Molly with the white glitter pieces work so well for snowy looks so used three layers of one of them as a base (colours listed below images).

I started with a peel of base coat before the blue snowy polish. I made decals on my Uber Mat using Mo You London's Festive 01 and Noel 01 stamping plates for the snowman, puffin and trees. I also added snowflakes and wording from the Noel 01 plate to my thumb and index finger in silver. I love how still and quiet it can be in the snow so the wording feels very fitting. I like to think the positioning looks like the puffin is listening to the snowman through the trees. I really like these and their wintery vibe - pleased with how they came out.

Colours used: Already Done - Emily de Molly, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Uber Chic Beauty, Tiki Hut - Models Own, Red Hot Rio - OPI

A Post-Christmas Winter Reindeer

Hey space turtles! More Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today, this time the theme is Reindeer. I had a few options for this but decided to follow a tutorial I saw recently by naglarbynattis on Instagram. I like it's wintery vibe the and tutorial was easy to follow, I did use stamping plates instead of doing a freehand reindeer but this worked well for me, The tree and reindeer images are from Mo You London's Noel 06 stamping plate.

I started with one layer of magnetic polish on three of my nails and then another layer which I magnetised with my new zig-zag magnet. On my middle two nails I started with two coats of black and then one layer of sheer white for the smokey look. I moved the polish around a bit to make it uneven and more smokey looking. Next I added some tree images with black stamping polish and then another layer of sheer white followed my a reflective glitter topper. Finally I added the reindeer image and followed up with a glossy top coat.

Really pleased with how these came out. The tutorial was easy to follow and I love how it looks with and without flash. I'm blown away by the beauty of this magnetic polish I got for Christmas too! (colours used listed below pictures)

Colours used: Illusionist - Mooncat, Lady In Black - OPI, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Reflective Taco - Holo Taco, Sheer White - Unspecified

Birds and Berries

Hey space turtles! I was inspired by iamdeliasnails on Instagram to create this look. She created a snowy matte mint green look with plants which I wanted to try with my Noel 07 stamping plate from Mo You London. I thought I'd do it for the Glam Nails Challenge winter berries prompt and when looking at the stamping plate spotted some birds too which I thought would compliment the look well.

I started with a peel off base coat and three layers of mint green polish, which has discoloured a bit and looks suspiciously blue in some lighting! I then added a snowy top coat. Meanwhile I had some pinecone and bird decals drying on my Uber Mat. I added the plants in various shades of green and once the decals were dry I trimmed them and added them carefully to the design. Finally I used a dotting tool to add some little red berries. I particularly like the one with the bird holding a berry in it's beak although unfortunately the decal had smudged a tiny bit. To finish I added a clear top coat and then a matte one over the top. You can see pictures of both below - which do you prefer?

So in conclusion I am so pleased with these and really love them! They came out even better than I expected and I wish I could have worn them for longer. Kudos to Delia for her original design!

Colours used: Mint Green - Barry M, Snow Wash - No7, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Cocoa - Barry M, Green Stamping Polish - Mo You London, Green Park - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry  M, Little Bo Beep - Rimmel, Yellow - Barry M, Red Hot Rio - OPI

Let It Snowww

 ... but let it wait till I've stopped commuting to London! Today's snow nail art is for one of this months Glam Nails Challenge prompts. I decided to try out a new sparkly reflective polish I got for Christmas and thought it would be just right to go with snowflakes. I started with a peel of base and then two layers of glitter. I had many snowflake stamping plate images to choose from and settled on the Noel 20 plate from Mo You London for the multi snowflake image and for the individual ones I used their Festive 02 plate. I added the images using white stamping polish after a 'glitter grabber' layer of clear polish. I then used a dotting tool to add some more snow and finished the look with a quick dry top coat.

Below you can see the look with and without flash. I love the colour and the sparkly effect. These were simple to do and I really like them. In particular the index finger and little fingernail. Really loving doing some more wintery designs!

Colours used: See Through You - Emily de Molly, Essential White UberChic Beauty

Happy New Year 2023

Happy new year! I have some nail art to share and when I went to do it I realised that I hadn't shared either of my new years eve looks so have decided to share them together in one blog post since I've already got a couple more to catch up on!

Look one - New Years Day. I started with a peel off  base coat followed by a layer of nude polish. I then added two layers of tinsel themed sparkly nail polish and a 'glitter grabber' to smooth it out a bit. I made decals on my Uber Mat for the thumb nail and middle fingernail using Mo You London's Noel 10 stamping plate. I hadn't remembered that it would be a reverse image so it's not really clear that the bottles are meant to say gin! The other images were stamped directly onto my nails and 2023 was freehand. I was pretty pleased with my freehand numbers though I wish the 3 wasn't disappearing into the corner!

Look two - New Years Eve. This look was to capture the still very festive feelings around new year and parties/celebrations. I also had a new red polish I wanted to try so gave that a go. Images are from Mo You London's Noel 15 and Festive 05 stamping plates and stamped in gold (pictured). This was simple and easy to do but I'm pleased with it. Captures the right vibes I think!

Colours used: Tinsel Garland - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Watermelon - Barry M, Red Hot Rio - OPI, Gold Digger - Barry M

Red - Undisclosed, Bright Lights - Barry M