Holo Taco Topper's

Heyy space turtles! A couple of random swatchy type looks to share today. I was short on time for doing nail art so decided I'd try out a couple of untried Holo Taco polishes I have instead. Hoping to find some time to do nail art this evening or tomorrow. Some thoughts on each look below.

Skittle - The first two pictures are of a skittle look I did with some darker colours as we move towards autumn. I am so pleased to finally have Holo Taco's Everything Taco. It's such a gorgeous sparkly topper. Below I've added one coat over each colour, followed by a glossy top coat. I like my toppers but particularly like the depth you get when glitters are actually included within the polish. However this is the topper of all toppers to me - I love how sparkly it is and how much there is going on! Having the different colours and flake sizes adds some depth too.

Sparkly purple - I was undecided on Holo Taco's Got Cake for ages but decided to pick it up with my last order as it's so well reviewed. I then saw 'a bit f glitz on the tips' on Instagram use it over purple and it looked amazing, so I decided that's how I'd swatch it. I added one coat on each nail over purple (thickness of the coats varies as I think the first one was too thick!). It's a very snazzy sparkly look! I'm tempted to try it out over darker colours too even if I wouldn't technically consider this one a topper.

Colours used: Skittle: Plum - Barry M, Watermelon - Barry M, Indigo Ink - Nail Paint Palette, Kensington High Street - Nails Inc, Everything Taco - Holo Taco

Purple: Disco Dress - Color Club, Got Cake - Holo Taco

Pastel Ice Cream Nails

Hey everyone! Something Spring like today to share on this lovely sunny day!

For a while I've wanted to try some pastel fluid nail art with a Holo Taco topper, and for this I decided to use a few Barry M shades I've had for ages. The blue is nearly finished which is a shame but as I'm scraping it out of the bottle this sort of look is a good one to do where I'm not worried about running out part way through! I added blobs of each colour on my Uber Mat for five decals, finishing with the white Spot It polish. I tapped each one a couple of times with a stamper to make them merge together and get the bubbly effect. Once dry I added a clear topper and once that was dry I applied them to my nails and trimmed the edges.

I did spend some time trying to clean up the edges of these and didn't quite get the effect I wanted, especially on my little finger where there was a gap I probably should have tried to patch up. Still, overall I think these were fun and very Spring appropriate for this sunny weather we're having!

Colours used: Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Blue Moon - Barry M, Spot It White - Dance Legend, Flakie Holo Taco - Holo Taco

Deep In The Ocean

Hey everyone! I'm feeling a bit ill today - really hope it passes overnight as I have things to go to over the next couple of days! But I'm not so ill that I can do some blogging and play around with some nail polish :) As I've mentioned before I was super excited to receive some of the Mo You London Atlantis stamping plates. They are exactly my kind of thing! For today's nail art I'm using Atlantis 02 which is full of layering images. I have many ideas for this one but liked the idea of a dark sparkly ocean with the sea creatures standing out so decided to try that first.

I started with a base of black followed by shimmer (colours listed below the pictures). Once dry I started with the bottom layer of each image I'd chosen on the stamping plate, which I added in white on my nails so that the colours I then applied would stand out against the dark background. I then proceeded with the other colours, one nail at a time. These images were pretty easy to do, I was pleased with how easy they were to layer (although mine aren't perfectly layered, but not too bad I think!). My favourite is the clown fish, the colours worked so well. I'm really pleased with these overall and look forward to using this plate again!

Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Papaya - Barry M, Passionfruit - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc, Yellow - Barry M, Indigo - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Acai Smoothie - Barry M, Key Lime - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M. Crystal Shimmer - Accessorise 

Planetary Nails

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good week :) I'm feeling pleased with myself as we've done some gardening and I'm enjoying the difference it made. My partners parents came to help us which made a big difference and was fun too! So todays nail art is for the Glam Nails Challenge again, and it's late...again. I have a good excuse this time though in that my 1st dose of the Covid vaccine got in the way (felt absolutely fine - just a bit tired). I had so many different planet nail ideas in my head, and this is what I ended up with!

I started with a black base with one coat of sparkly silver (colours listed below pictures). I then used the Mo You London Sci Fi 10 plate for the planets. I started by using white stamping polish to add circles for the planets, so that the colours would stand out more against the black background. I then used a variety of colours to stamp over the circles. Finally I used gold and silver metallic polish to add the outlines/patterns to the planets. The only exception to this is the ringed planet on my thumb (which I'm considering to be Saturn) where I used the advanced stamping technique to create a decal (still added over a white circle). I think this one is my fave, especially when the sparkly orange shines through in bright lights! I have a real thing for orange polish at the moment.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with these and would definitely like to try planet nails again with some different colours and styles.

Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, Diamond Glitter - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, If You've Got It Haunt It - Uber Chic Beauty, Indigo Ink - Nail Paint Palette London, King Tut's Gem - Jessica Polish, Pixie Parade - Tonic Polish, Prima Donna - Jessica Polish, Foil Effect in Gold - Barry M, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M

In a (neon) galaxy far far away...

Hi again! Catching up a bit so today's nail art is for yesterdays Glam Nails Challenge prompt, which was 'galaxy'. I haven't done a galaxy look in a while so I found a tutorial on YouTube which inspired me to give it a go with some neons (colours listed below the pictures). The base is a Nails Inc shade I've had for ages and enjoyed digging it out again. I've found I haven't bought much nail polish this year and while I'm sure that won't last it is quite good having the motivation to go back and enjoy older shades rather than just focusing on the newer ones.

Once the deep blue metallic base was dry I used a small piece of sponge held with tweezers to dab some white stamping polish across my nails in roughly diagonal lines. I then added patches of neon polish over the top, trying to keep it lightly applied. Once dry I added a sparkly top coat and then a few little start images from the Kelli Marissa Bundle Monster plate. These stars are perfect for adding to galaxy manicures as they're small and just the right shape, saves me having to attempt freehand!

Overall I'm quite pleased with these, it was something a bit different for me but easy to do and with a fun result!

Colours used: Chesham Place - Nails Inc, Down At The Deep End - Wikkid Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Hello Sailor - Wikkid Polish, Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Diamond Glitter - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Holo Taco: Kitties in the Rain

 Hi all! Some more Holo Taco polishes to share today though the polishes are somewhat hidden behind some cats! This look is for Holo Taco's latest nail art competition following the release of the Menchie and Zyler nail polishes (named after Cristine and Ben's cats). The theme is cats, and I just had to take part as not only is it a cute theme, but I had so much fun last time taking part in the nail art competitions during lock down.

For this look I started with a base of blue (colours listed below the pictures) and then added the three anniversary collection flakie polishes from Holo Taco in a random selection on my nails. They are so pretty and the glitter is a little smaller than I expected from the videos, which in my opinion is a good thing. I'm tempted to try a gradient with them. I applied my 'glitter grabber' nail polish next to smooth out the glitter and make stamping easier. On my thumb I used a raindrop image, and for all the other images I made decals which you can see how to do here. For the cats I used the Crazy Cat Lady 02 plate from Mo You London, and for the rain clouds I used Uber Chic's Forecasting Glam plate.

It feels strange having darker colours on again but I do like it! You haven't seen the end of my more summery nails yet though! I felt a bit mean putting these cats in the rain but they seem to like it so it's all good!

Colours used: My Car has Navygation - OPI, Blue Flakie Holo Taco - Holo Taco, Purple Flakie Holo Taco - Holo Taco, Gold Flakie Holo Taco - Holo Taco, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection,  Moonfish - Barry M, Cappuccino - Barry M, White Horse Street - Nails Inc

Montreal Botanical Garden Inspired Nails

Hello all! Today I am sharing you some nail art which is actually not for an Instagram challenge, so a change from the last month. I must admit I think I might take part in another this month though as I have rather enjoyed it! So I did this nail art at the weekend and it's something I've had on my nail art to do list for ages! In September last year my boyfriend and I went on holiday to Canada and the US (visiting a few different places in each) and our trip to the botanical gardens in Montreal inspired some nail art. We spent all afternoon, lunch time and evening at the gardens and could have been there longer! In the evening they lit everything up and that in particular is what this nail art is based on. I could really capture all the lovely lit up things on the water but I did include the lanterns (there were loads in the woods it was lovely!).

To create this look I started with a plain black base, and then stamped some images from the Suki 09 plate from Mo You London onto my nails in white. Once dry I used sharpies to colour in the images, directly onto my nails to give a strong colour. I gave that a little time to dry as well and then added a shimmery top coat. So it was actually a pretty simple look to create. I like it, particularly the lanterns, but I wish I hadn't done the flowers in pink. I think they'd have been better in yellow or something, as the pink clashes with the red lanterns and the lanterns had to be red!

I highly recommend a trip to Montreal Botanical Gardens if you get the chance, there is so so much to see, you could easily spend the day there! We couldn't believe how big the greenhouse was too! I've included a couple of bonus pictures at the bottom of this post of the thumb nail in front of my desk, as it did look good without the glitter too!
Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Sharpies In Various Colours, Crsytal Shimmer - Accessorize