Stained Glass/ Sweetie Wrapper Nails

Hey everyone! Couldn't really decide what to call this one so I've gone for two things it kind of reminds me of. I'd had the idea of digging out my ILNP Spring 2018 metallic collection again to try a pattern, so when the latest Nail Addicts Collab theme was announced as patterns I had to give this one a go! I tried to create a pattern with the colours as I went across the nails with the colours too but it didn't entirely go to plan.

I started with a base of Soft Focus from Polished for Days. This is a good natural base and I wanted to have something there underneath the decals as I know I can't layer them up for opacity! For the decals I used Mo You London's Crystal 01 plate and the advanced stamping technique, you can see how here. I feel like planning the colours had an almost mathematical element to it which is probably why I struggled with it! Still, overall I'm happy with this look. You can't really see it in these pictures but it really sparkled in the sun!

Colours used: Hi-Fi, Blueprint, Fun House, Short Circuit, Checkmate, Sugar Coated - All ILNP, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Soft Focus - Polish for Days 

Neon Chevron's and Shapes

Hi everyone! Got something bright and fun to share today - which is brightening up my days while it rains and rains here in the south of England! I was inspired by Piontkowaa on Instagram to try some zig-zag gradient nails - it's been on my list for a little while so I'm glad to finally get round to it. I also thought it would go quite well as a base for by contribution to the latest Nail Addicts Collab. The theme was in celebration of them reaching 1,000 followers. I've included pictures below of the full look, and some right at the bottom of just the zig-zag look.

I started with a base of cream (colours listed below pictures) on all nails. Once dry I used Mo You London's Tropical 34 stamping plate for the zig-zag pattern. I used a selection of pastel neons to create a gradient for each nail. Unfortunately one of my neons has changed from purple to pink so the thumb doesn't really look like it has a gradient, but it kind of went purple when I did the blue/pink gradient on my index fingernail. Over the zig-zag pattern I used black stamping polish and the Mo You London Typography 04 stamping plate to add the number 1,000, and the Uber Chic Beauty Basic Shapes 01 plate to add some triangles on my other nails.

In conclusion - these are good fun! I think the ring finger one is a bit washed out but all in all I like them. Next time I'll remember to blend the blue and pink to get some of the purple colour on my thumb nail!

Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Bikini Bombshell, Down At The Deep End, Hello Sailor, Joyful L'il Jellybean, My Mate Illuminate, Peachy Beachy - All Wikkid Polish, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

A leafy look!

Hi everyone and happy weekend! I've had a lovely day today relaxing and going for a leafy walk. We are in lockdown again here in the UK but still allowed to go out for a walk. We did some cleaning and things in the morning so felt good relaxing in the afternoon and feeling justified in doing so! I've also been enjoying some of my birthday chocolates :)

Anyway, onto the nail art! This look was created for the Nail Addicts collab which takes place once a month. The theme was autumnail and involved picking a favourite autumn colour and creating a look around it. I don't have one favourite autumn colour but I've been really drawn to oranges this year, so brought out this lovely bright orange jelly with gold glitter chunks - Sands of Time from Femme Fatale Cosmetics. The bottom two pictures were taken on a very leafy walk I did one morning before work. It was a pretty simple look to create, just used black stamping polish and some leafy images from my go to autumn stamping plate, Lovely Leaves 01 from Uber Chic. That's all for now!

Colours used: Sands of Time - Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Whale On The Nail

Hello and Happy Friday! Bit of a backlog blog post today as I was waiting to post this once the collaboration post had gone up on Instagram. I did these as part of the Nail Addicts Collab on Instagram, where a theme is posted each month, and the pictures are shared together in a collage. This time the theme was the elements: earth, wind fire and water. I went for water as I had this look in mind already, a friend had also suggested I do humpback whale nails, so here they are!

I started with a base of pale blue (colours listed below the pictures) and some sheer shimmer over the top. I then used blue nail polish and the Sailor 18 stamping plate from Mo You London to add some water ripples, a seahorse and a humpback whale. I added some waves first on my middle two nails using white stamping polish to add some depth. I was so impressed with how well the blue nail polish stamped. It's just a regular shade from Barry M but it stood out well and the lines came out really crisp, even the finer details. I also noticed that I ended up using almost all high street brands for a change!

These were pretty easy to do and I'm really pleased with how they came out :) I love the colours and I'm so pleased with how the seahorse and humpback whale came out. Back to more Halloween nails next!

Colours used: Borrowed & Blue - Essie, Cobalt - Barry M, Butterflyfish - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Nail Addicts Collab - Glitter Theme

Hi again! I'm back already as I have a bit of a nail art backlog due to being away last week. I was on the West Coast of Scotland out in the countryside and it was so peaceful and relaxing! I did this nail art just before we went, as part of the Nail Addicts Collab, for which the collage has now gone up on Instagram. The theme this month is glitter which is awesome, but was actually a lot harder than I thought as I have so many glitters to choose from! I decided to settle for this vertical gradient type look with a pattern down the middle, using most of the colours from the Fun Lacquer Valentines 2019 collection, and one other Fun Lacquer shade. Colours are listed below the pictures.

To create the look I sponged the glitter polishes on using a nail art sponge where I painted a line of each colour side by side. I started off going for gradients but then just went for more of a straight lines approach as the pattern would cover it anyway. I used a small nail art brush for the pattern in black, originally I was going for more of a jagged. spiky effect but it didn't really come out that way. I think I need a new go-to brush! Overall I quite like these but they weren't quite as sparkly as I'd hoped (with the exception of the gold), especially compared to the Holo Taco shades in my last post! I do also very much struggle to capture glitters on camera which doesn't help!
Colours used: Million Dollar Dream - Fun Lacquer, Crazy In Love - Fun Lacquer, Lucky Girl - Fun Lacquer, BFF - Fun Lacquer, Love Potion - Fun Lacquer, Precious Moment - Fun Lacquer, Lady In Black - OPI