Brand New Butterflies

Hey space turtles! Another Glam Nails Challenge look to share today - as you may have guessed the theme for this one is butterflies. I have a layered images butterfly stamping plate (Paradise 07) from Mo You London I've been meaning to try for a while so was pleased to finally use it for this look.

I started with a pale lilac base and then some silver glitter, followed by more silver glitter (colours listed below). I then added a glossy top coat which also has a hint of purple to it so between that and the base colour it gave the silver a bit of a lilac look. Next I added the butterfly images from the stamping plate, layering them up from dark to light before adding another layer of top coat. The pink one didn't really go to plan and I tried a few different colours but otherwise I really like this look. My favourites are the green butterfly and the one on my thumb nail.

	Colours used: Lavender Ice - Painted Polish, Cosmic Girl - Danglefoot Polish, Diamond Glitter - Barry M, Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Plum - Barry M, Laguna - Barry M, Cyan - Barry M, Acai Smoothie - Barry M, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Key Lime - Barry M, Watermelon - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Essential White - Uber Chic

Daffodil Days

Hey space turtles! Back to blog catch up as we've been away again this weekend. This nail art was done for April's Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram - this time the theme is daffodils. I really love this daffodil image from Mo You London's Flower Power 26 stamping plate so it was the perfect candidate for this look. 

I started with a base of cream on my two middle nails and electric blue on the others (colours listed below the pictures). For the daffodil nails I created decals using my Uber Mat. I chose some reflective glitters for the daffodils and am really pleased with how they came out, even if you can't really see the sparkle that much in the pictures. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

Colours used: Blueprint - ILNP, Cream Soda - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Shell We Dance - Painted Polish, Catch Sun Rays - Painted Polish

Easter Yellow

Happy Easter everyone! I started the day with an Easter lake swim wearing bunny ears (impractical but fun)! I've got different Easter designs on each hand and I'm loving them both. I particularly like the novelty of this look since I don't usually wear so much yellow. It feels very seasonal and fun and I'm enjoying wearing them matte too. 

I started with a base of yellow on some nails and cream on others (colours listed below the pictures). I made decals for the little chick's using Mo You London's Festive 58 stamping plate and while these dried I added patterns from the same plate to the yellow nails in white. I enjoyed how simple the chick's were to do with just a couple of colours on each decal. Once dry I trimmed and applied the decals to my nails and added a top coat and a matte top coat. Spring ready :)

Colours used: Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Cream Soda - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Atlantic Road - Barry M, Ridley Road - Barry M, Essential White - Uber Chic Beauty, Matte Taco - Holo Taco

Springtime Bunnies

Hey space turtles! I've finally accepted Spring pastels and I'm loving it! I'm going to do the Glam Nails Challenge again this month though I'm already slightly behind. The first prompt is bunnies and I knew I had to use this adorable bunny image from my Mo You London Festive 58 stamping plate again. I stuck to a fairly simple look but enjoyed getting back to the advanced stamping too. My short index fingernail is starting to grow out a bit and I think these pastel Easter looks do suit short nails.

I started with a shimmery base coat and then added a couple of coats of a few pastel shades (colours listed below the pictures). For the blue and green I used some old textured polishes initially which needed a 'glitter grabber' layer to smooth them out as the texture has gone a bit funny. I had to re-do the blue one as it's gone quite gloopy so took ages to dry and ended up smudging. Ended up using a beautiful coconut infusion shade which was a pretty good colour match. I added wording directly onto the blue nail and created decals for the two pink nails, finishing the look with a matte top coat. I'm glad I chose to do two different shades of bunnies. Really pleased with these :)
Colours used: Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Laguna - Barry M, Ridley Road - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry M, White Horse Street - Nails Inc, Essential White - Uber Chic Beauty, Matte Taco - Holo Taco

Daisy Daisy Daisy

Aloha! Some very Spring themed nail art to share today. This look has been on my nails for just over a week now. It's been a busy time and my blogging has been lagging behind a bit! There's even been less nail art but I'm looking forward to doing my nails again this weekend. 

This is a look I'd been meaning to try for a while, with a couple of Cirque Colors newish sheer polishes which I purchased recently. I started of three coats of sheer polish on each nail - using a different colour for each hand. Next I used white stamping Polish and Mo You London's Festive 58 stamping plate to add the daisies. It was a little time consuming as I was using the same image so many times but worth it I think! I then used a dotting tool to add the yellow pollen, and finished the look with a glossy topcoat.

I'm enjoying this look, it's very Spring/Summery and goes with a lot of things. I also wore it for my friends beautiful wedding in an orchard in Herefordshire. It was very fitting for the scenery and the lovely weather and will remind me of it when I look at the pictures :)

Colours used: Peach Jelly - Cirque Colors, Haze Jelly - Cirque Colors, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc

Springy Easter Bunnies

Heyy everybody! Some classic Easter nail art to share today and a new nail polish from Emily de Molly. I have a few of their shades but I ought to have more, almost every single one I've tried has blown my mind! This one is such a fun vibrant shade and the reflective sparkle is lovely. It's called Le 310 and I bought it from Rainbow Connection recently with a few other reflective glitters which I think will be perfect for Easter nail art.

I started with a peel off base coat followed by two layers of Le 310 and a 'glitter grabber' coat. I then used my Festive 58 Easter themed stamping plate from Mo You London to add the daisies and white part of the bunny images, followed by the black outlines. I then added some yellow pollen in the daisies with a dotting tool and decided on a whim to add some yellow spots too. While I did all of this I had a decal drying on my Uber Mat for my thumbnail. I adore the image with all the tiny round bunnies - they're so cute!

So as I said before, I LOVE this polish! It's a real treat and I love the way it makes my nails look. I think it suits me and I'm pleased with how neatly I painted it so it must have a good formula too! I'm not sure if I should have added the yellow dots, I think it would have been fine without, but overall really pleased with this look!

Colours used: LE 310 - Emily de Molly, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Acai Smoothie - Barry M, Key Lime - Barry M, Surfboard - Barry M

A Dandelion Silhouette

Hello again! More Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today. I really had no idea what to do for this theme but I couldn't just miss the one prompt for the whole month! The prompt is dandelions, and I have no dandelion images on my many stamping plates, so had to give some freehand a go. Fortunately they are pretty simple, but I'm not well practised in freehand!

I started with a base of white on my middle two nails and pale purple on the others. I then used a small thin nail art brush to paint on the dandelion and stray seeds in black. I'm not well experienced at this so had to tidy the stem up a bit after, but I think it kind of works in a kind of 'meant to be messy' kind of way! I took inspiration from various looks I saw online and tried to keep it as simple as possible. I then added a layer of shimmery 'unicorn skin' topper over the purple nails, and finally added a matte top coat to finish off.

I quite like these, they're not my favourite I've done but I think they're quite cute and Spring like! There have been a couple of times though where for a split second out of the corner of my eye I've mistaken the dandelion for a spider - not ideal! :D

Colours used: Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Floral Street - Nails Inc, Lady In Black - OPI, Cosmic Unicorn Skin - Holo Taco

April showers and April flowers!

Hey! Back again with another glam nails challenge prompt just in time before the end of the day. Today's prompt is April Showers. I decided to add flowers to make it an 'April showers bring May flowers' theme. I did end up with it a bit more flower heavy than planned but I think it works.

I started with a colour changing base as I think this works well for a weather themed look. This was very much a make it up as I go along look so I made a selection of decals on my Uber Mat using the advanced stamping technique. I then applied these to my nails, and they were a little bigger than I'd anticipated! I then used Uber Chic's Forecasting Glam stamping plate to add a raincloud on my thumb and some raindrops around the flowers on my other nails.

I'm happy with how they turned out, however as I said they are a bit more flower heavy than planned!

Colours used: Luna - Cirque Colors, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Cream Soda - Barry M, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Berry Ice Cream - Barry M

Spring Skittle Nails... Had to be Mini Eggs!

Hello and happy Sunday! I hope you're having a good weekend, it's nearly coming to an end for me but I know I have leftover lasagne for tea and I'm pretty excited about it! Today's nail art was created for today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt on Instagram, which is pastel skittle. In case you don't know a skittle mani is where the nails are all different colours. Given the time of year I thought mini egg nails would be perfect for this, I've also done this look once before and love it so much! It's so easy to do and perfect for Easter - I know Easter weekend has passed but I am still eating mini eggs so it feels appropriate. I've also found that eating mini eggs leaves my hands smelling of mini eggs which totally fits the theme so I must keep eating them!

I started with a base of five different pastel colours which mini eggs come in, I've listed the shades I used below the pictures. Once dry I used a fan brush and lightly applied some dark brown nail polish (black works too but if you have brown it has a more 'natural' look!) from the brush. I then used the fan brush to lightly apply specs of brown polish. That's pretty much it! I added a matte top coat to complete the look and unfortunately did smudge the yellow one a little. There is a step you can do to add a light dusting of white, which I did last time I tried this, but to be honest I don't think it makes all that much difference and I was sleepy! 

As expected I really like these! It's such a fun look and so easy to do! I've done it before for myself and for a friend, and will most likely do it again! 

Colours used: Marylebone Road - Nails Inc, Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Cocoa - Barry M

Flutterby's In The Spring

Hey! I'm back today with the second Glam Nails Challenge prompt for this month which is butterfly's. I have a butterfly stamping plate and a whole host of great butterfly wing colours so knew what to do with this one! The two Starrily base colours are new and were gifts from my partner so I couldn't wait to try them out. The colours used are listed below the pictures as usual.

After starting with my base colours and using the blue as an accent for the thumb and ring finger, I created decals on my Uber Mat, you can see how here. In the meantime I used black stamping polish to apply the butterfly and butterfly wing images to my thumb, ring finger and little fingernails (all images from Mo You London's Kitty 12 stamping plate). I love seeing the gorgeous Starrily colour shining through! For the decals I did have a slight issue with my middle finger in that I stuck it on the wrong way round! Having done this so many times I'm not sure how I managed that to be honest! It makes it harder to stick down and not look as neat. I'm hoping it's the kind of thing only I'd notice unless I mention it, though it's not like many people are seeing my nails at the moment anyway!

In conclusion - I adore these base colours, especially the blue accent, they are perfect for Spring, super shimmery and really pretty. I think they make a great base for butterfly nails. The look could have been a little neater if I hadn't messed up the middle finger but overall I'm pleased with it!

Colours used: Indigo Child - Starrily, Headless Horseman - Starrily, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Cosmic Girl - Danglefoot Polish

Stamping Sunday: Dino Party Nails!

Hi everyone, or should I say roar? I have a feeling I have done a dino party named blog post before but I think it sums up this look so I'm going to stick with it! This month I am taking the time to focus on designs I've wanted to do for a while, and not doing as many challenges, and this look is one that has been on my list for a while so I was pleased to finally do it! It was nice to use this base colour again, it's one of the earlier indies I bought and I have only one other polish that's even remotely like it. It's definitely got party vibes! I don't usually go for these type of polishes (I think they're called crellies?) but I do really like this one.

I started with a base of the aforementioned party polish! For the other nails I created decals using my Uber Mat, you can see how here. For the individual dinosaur images I used a plate which I think I got on ebay, called BM-611. I'm not sure which brand it's from but possibly it's an old Bundle Monster one. For the multi-dino images on my middle finger nails I used the Animal 04 plate from Mo You London. Colouring this in was a tad fiddly but it came together more easily than I expected! I think the pastel colours worked well too. Can't see the base colour much at all though but never mind, I should have thought that through and just used white, but I kind of like how you can see the teeniest bit peeking through! I finished the look with a matte top coat.

So overall I really like these, I think they're cute and fun, and wore them till they chipped (I had a peel off base coat underneath) and would definitely wear it this look again :)
Colours used: I refuse to be invisible - Ellagee, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Peach Melba - Barry M, Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, Mint Green - Barry M, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc

Stamping Sunday: Nature Book Nails

Hi all and happy Sunday! Got some fairly basic nail art stamping to show you today but some I have been planning to do for a while. I got this stamping plate from Mo You London (Botanical 06) with images that look like the black and white drawings you find (or used to find I suppose!) in scientific books about plants and animals. I particularly like that it has the names next to some of them in tiny italics. For this look I went for a base of lightly specked polish from Cirque Colors (colours listed below the pictures) as I thought this would work well as part of the nature theme.

For the stamping I chose images largely at random, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of the wording too! I particularly like the bird and butterfly nails, the butterfly image is so crisp and the bird really does remind me of a nature book. I finished the look with a matte top coat for that bookish look. I like how these came out but I wonder of the black against blue is a bit too harsh, perhaps I should have stamped in grey? I'm not really sure but I suppose I wouldn't have got that lovely clear butterfly image if I'd used grey. Hope you like them!
Colours used: Robin - Cirque Colors, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection