Arctic Portraits

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art was inspired by some notecards I saw in Paperchase. I can no longer find a picture of them and they don't look that similar but they sparked an idea. I started with a couple of layers of white nail polish with one of the best named nail polishes ever - A Mantis Shrimp's Favourite Colour. I then added images from Mo You London's Enchanted 05 stamping plate in black stamping polish. I used a large dotting tool to add spots around the edges in bold colours. I started with the blue and tweaked the technique a bit as I went along. I finished the look with a matte top coat.

I really love how this came out and am enjoying the matte look, it really makes the colours pop. Unfortunately I did have a nail disaster the morning after I did these! I'm so glad I took some pictures beforehand! When trying to wrestle a particularly tight bin bag off our bin I sadly broke a nail! It was above the nail line luckily but only just - so I lost part of the narwhal. It's been years since I broke a nail so a bit of a shock to the system! I've filed my nails down a bit but can see a crack in my thumb nail on the same hand so hoping I don't have a disaster there too!

Colours used: A Mantis Shrimps Favourite Colour - Bees Knees, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Indigo - Barry M, Dead Heat - Barry M, Watermelon - Barry M, Yellow - Barry M

Spider Web Chic

Hello spooky space turtles! Some quite belated Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today as I've been away with very patchy internet. The theme for this look was spiders and I decided to use a few different web images and try sheer black polish with glitter underneath for a glamorous spooky look.

I started with a peel off base coat and then added two layers of silver glitter topper. Once dry I added a layer of sheer black to each nail. For the images I used spider webs from Mo You London's Halloween 16 and 17 stamping plates. I didn't add any spiders but did include a glamorous spider lady on my thumbnail! As this dried I used a nail art brush and some black polish to carefully add an outline to each nail, trying to keep the thickness consistent. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

I'm so pleased how how these came out. I must admit I'd meant to add a spider but forgot to bring the right stamping plate with me on holiday. However as it turned out I think adding the spider would potentially make them a bit too busy, I really like them the way they are. The outlines are possibly the neatest I've done and I'm pleased with how consistent they are. I love how the glitter shines through. Only thing I'd maybe (and only maybe) change is to add some colour to the spider lady. Really pleased with the way it all came together and how they look on long nails. I think sheer black with an outline is perfect for Halloween. So overall as you can tell, I love them!

Colours used: Diamond Glitter - Barry M, Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Lady In Black - OPI

Stamping Sundays: A Pirate's Life For Me

Hey space turtles! I formulated todays nail art in my mind a good few days before I did it which is unusual for me at the moment, I've got out of the habit. It's for the final Glam Nails Challenge theme for July 2022 which is Pirates. I dug out an old pale grey polish I love for the base but didn't notice till I added the pictures how bubbly it's gone! I was particularly excited to try the ship and wave on my thumbnail.

I started with two coats of pale grey on all nails, and while they dried I created decals on my Uber Mat using Uber Chic's Mermaid Life 02 stamping plate. I then used my new Kads 011 stamping plate to layer up some wave designs on my thumb and ring finger nails. The base blue I used didn't stand out that well against the grey but I still like the look. I added the decals over the top and then used a nail art brush to carefully add a gold outline. Pirates do love gold so I hear!

I'm pleased with how these came out. The thumb nail doesn't look quite as spectacular as I'd envisioned but it still looks pretty good I reckon and I can always try again. They do look like they're in a spot of peril!

Colours used: Little Bo Peep - Rimmel, Laguna - Barry M, Cyan - Barry M, White Stamping Polish 0 Rainbow Connection, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Oyster - Barry M, Cappuccino - Barry M, Ruby - Barry M, Emerald Green - Barry M, Gold Digger - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Dead Heat - Barry M 

Chroma Rose and Lace

Hi there! Getting closer to Valentines day so although hearts and such aren't really my thing I will be doing some vaguely Valentines themed nail art. The first and perhaps the vaguest are these lacey nails. Lace often has romantic connotations and I was planning on trying this look out already so I may as well try and pass it off as Valentines! I am entering it into the Holo Taco Valentines competition even though I'm not using their polishes (which is daft as I do have some - but was just really feeling this shade for this look!). Their shade Cat's Evasion is pretty similar though so could be used instead.

I started the look with one coat of sheer black on all nails except my ring fingernail where I added Chroma Rose from Cirque Colors. I then used my Fashionista 18 stamping plate from Mo You London to add a lace pattern over the sheer black. I chose the images at random and most worked well. Once stamped I painted a section of most other nails with Chroma rose as well, leaving only my index finger. Once Chroma Rose was dry I used a small nail art brush and black nail polish to paint an outline around each of the lace parts of my nails.

Overall I have mixed feelings about these. Sometimes I look at them and love them, and other times they don't look particularly exciting as the detail doesn't show up that well in dull lighting, especially on my middle finger. Chroma Rose is such a gorgeous polish and I do like the style of these, they're quite grown up for me! I think the same look with glitter instead of multi-chrome would work well too. I do have one other look from a while back which would be so perfect for this competition but my pictures are so bad that I think I'll just stick with this one!

Colours used: Chroma Rose - Cirque Colors, Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Lady In Black - OPI

Snowflakes upon snowflakes!

Hello world! Even more winter nail art to share today. I was given a snowflake stamping plate (Mo You London Festive 02) around Christmas time and have used it so much! I love that it has lots of individual snowflakes so you can easily mix and match them, I've been planning a look like this for ages as I loved my sheer Halloween nails and thought I could make a winter version with white instead of black.

I started with two coats of sheer white polish (colours listed below pictures) and then stamped a snowflake onto each nail in white. I then added another snowflake, followed by another layer of sheer white and repeated the steps a few more times. On my ring fingernail I added a couple of different silver glitters as an accent nail. Once dry I used a small nail art brush to add an outline ion the snowflake nails. I was tempted to do this in white but thought these metallic shades would give it a little something extra!

Overall I am quite happy with these, though I definitely don't love them as much as my sheer Halloween nail art, that was a triumph if I do say so myself! :D

Colours used: Allure - Essie, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Cosmic Girl - Danglefoot Polish, Diamond Dust - Barry M, Copper Mine - Barry M, Gold Digger - Barry M, Bronze Bae - Barry M, Silver Lining  - Barry M

Halloween Nails - Autumn at the Haunted House

Happy nearly Halloween! This nail art is what I've been planning as my 'official' nail art for Halloween this year, although I have actually already had to take it off because it chipped as I used a peel off base coat, at least I have time to squeeze in some more nail art as I have loads of ideas at the moment! I was inspired earlier in the year by some nail art I saw on the Rainbow Connection Facebook page, which encouraged me to buy the flakie polish I've used here (colours listed below the pictures) and I already had my eyes on the sheer black. I then kept this idea in my head for the next few months, tweaking it a little by using slightly different types of images and adding the outline.

To create the look I started with one layer of sheer black, and then used images from the Halloween 13 and Festive 16 stamping plates from Mo You London over the top in black. I was pleased to use the two Victorian figures image as I think it's so perfectly spooky! Next I used flakie polish to make the autumn leaves/ flames effect at the bottom. I used Magma from Fancy Gloss which has a gloriously dense consistency of flakes, so I had to make sure I didn't have too much on the brush at one time. Finally, for the part I thought I'd probably mess up entirely, I used a thin nail art brush and black nail polish to create an outline around my nails - this went a lot better than I anticipated! I think using a brush with longer bristles was useful for the outline, as previously I've struggled more using my usual shorter brushes, but maybe I was just having a good day!

In conclusion I am super happy with these! I really wasn't sure how the outline would come out but I think it finished the look off perfectly (if I do so so myself!), so they look kind of like spooky scenes through windows. I'm definitely going to try outlines for more nail looks. I would definitely have struggled to ever take them off if they hadn't chipped, and for future it would be worth the flakie polish removal challenges to use a regular base coat so they last longer. I find thin layers of polish with a peel off base do chip quite fast.

Colours used: Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Magma - Fancy Gloss, Lady In Black - OPI