Donut Swap!

Hello again! More catch up today. This donut nail art was inspired by 'a bit of glitz on the tips' on Instagram, who had been inspired by 'isolated.color'. We agreed to do a 'mani swap' where we each chose one of each others designs to recreate and I liked this one as it was achievable for me to do freehand (a lot of hers are more intricate and a bit tricky for me!) and fits with the general sweet things around Easter time theme. 

I started with a base of bright pink (colours listed below pictures) and then added a bit of brown to represent the donut. This colour was a bit too dark and looks more like chocolate or a burnt donut but I stuck with it! I added a matte top coat to the brown part to differentiate it more from the icing. I then used a small nail art brush to add a variety of sprinkles. Someone did ask me if it was a donut so it must have worked! These were good fun and I enjoyed our mani swap :) 

Colours used: Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Cappuccino - Barry M, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Hello Sailor - Wikkid Polish, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish

Disco Palms

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is for Glam Nails Challenge again and the theme is Palm Trees. I went for something really bright to fit the super sunny weather we're having at the moment. Also think that neon shades go particularly well with the images on the stamping plates I used - Mo You London's Tropical 30 and Uber Chic's Mermaid Life 02 (thumbnail).

I'm not going to go into great detail of how I did this as it was pretty straightforward. I created a gradient with orange and yellow using a gradient sponge, and then stamped the images over the top in black. Voila! You can see how it looks both matte and shiny below, I'm not actually sure which I prefer. I like these but they don't blow my mind. I did receive a few compliments on them though which is always nice :)

Colours used: Beach Hut - Models Own, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Wish Upon A Starfish

Hey space turtles! More sea themed Glam Nails Challenge art today, this time it's Starfish. I went for a fairly simple look for this one and used Mo You London's Atlantis 02 stamping plate to repeat the same starfish image in a variety of pastel neon colours. 

I started with a base of A Mantis Shrimps Favourite Colour (best.name.ever) from Bees Knees Lacquer (two coats). Once dry I added the base layer of the starfish images across my nails in a variety of colours. It was a bit time consuming as I had to keep cleaning the stamping plate but pretty straightforward to do. I then added the starfish detailing to each star in black.

I love how these came out! They're so bright and I like my nails this length. I've included a picture below from before the black detail. I have now added a matte top coat which doesn't feature below, will have to remember to share a pic of that on Insta.

Colours used: A Mantis Shrimps Favourite Colour - Bees Knees Lacquer, Peachy Beachy - Wikkid Polish, Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, May Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Nostalgic Shells

Hey space turtles :) Next up in the series of Glam Nails Challenge catch ups is for the prompt 'shells'. I have many cool stamping plate options for shell images and decided to try this one from Uber Chic's Mermaid Life 02 plate. Having gone through a bit of a dark colours phase (I love dark colours but don't usually wear so many in the summer) I'm going for a neon look to balance it out!

I started with a base of peach and pink on my thumb and outer fingernails while leaving the middle two blank. I created decals on my Uber Mat for the middle two, colouring the shells with a selection of neons from the same collection. I made sure to add a pearlescent topper before the colours so it would show up when I added the images to my nails. I then added pearlescent topper to my other nails and once dry stamped the shell image on in white, finally adding the decals to my middle two nails.

I wasn't sure about these at first but now they are making me really nostalgic! I had a little sea themed necklace and bracelet with these pearlescent pastel shells on when I was a kid. They are certainly summery too!

Colours used: Bikini So Teeny - Wikkid Polish, Peachy Beachy - Wikkid Polish, Hello Sailor - Wikkid Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Jellyfish - Barry M, Angelfish - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Beach Please

Hello space turtles! More Glam Nail Challenge catch up today. This time the theme is beach. I was looking for a fairly simple design for this and came up with the idea of a couple of my nails looking like beach towels and the others like the ocean. I also tried out a thermal polish I've had for a few years and was pleased to see it still works! Colours are listed below the pictures.

I started with two coats of blue/green on my ring finger, little finger and thumb nails and white polish on my index and middle fingernails. Once dry I used white stamping polish to add the ripple image from Bundle Monsters Twi Star stamping plate onto the blue/green nails, I then used a variety of neon polishes to create a gradient with images from Mo You London's Tropical 34 stamping plate. The patterns reminded me of the sort of thing you might see on a beach towel. I'd buy one!

I struggled to get good pictures of these so most of the below are outside in natural light. Good job it;s summer!I am enjoying the fun summery vibes though and still quite like my beach towel idea.

Colours used: A Mantis Shrimps Favourite Colour - Bees Knees Lacquer, Blue Beard - Femme Fatale Cosmetics, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Beachy Beachy, My Mate Illuminate, Joyful L'il Jellybean & Bikini So Teeny - All Wikkid Polish

Pow! Fruit Nails!

Hello space turtles :) I wasn't going to but I've decided to do the Glam Nails Challenge again this month as there were so many themes I was thinking of doing anyway. I will be very behind for at least the first few though as there's so much on at the moment! The first prompt for July is fruit. I thought I'd use this opportunity to use my WhatsUp Nails Summer Seeds stamping plate for the first time and also to use some bright colours again as I've still been veering towards darker ones even though it's now July!

I started with two coats of a variety of neon polishes (colours listed below images) in a sort of skittle mani effect. While the base was drying I created decals on my Uber Mat for the fruit and planned which nails each fruit would go on. I really love the banana nail and am tempted to try it out across all nails with different coloured backgrounds Andy Warhol style. After applying my glossy top coat I decided to try it matte which I think I prefer for this look as it helps the colours pop, you can see pictures with matte and glossy top coats below. Let me know which you like best!

I like these, which I'm pleased about as I wasn't sure if they'd be a bit too garish with all the neon colours and bright fruit. The lemon and banana nails are my faves. The lemon image is the reason I bought this plate so perhaps it's not surprising!

Colours used: Peachy Beachy, Bikini Bombshell, Down At The Deepend, My Mate Illuminate - All Wikkid Polish, Yellow - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M, Pomegranate - Barry M

Alpaca Walking Nails

Hey everyone! Got some rather fun nail art to share today :) A few weeks ago my sister got married. It was a beautiful day! A week before hand she had her hen do which involved alpaca walking. It was so much fun and they were so cute! I decided to do some themed nail art for the occasion. I've included a picture of the nail art with the alpaca I was walking, Truffle. He was such a cutie and liked plodding along at the back of the group.

I decided to go for something really vibrant for this look so used some pastel neons from the Bring On Spring collection from Wikkid Polish. I created decals for three of the nails, you can see how here. On the other two I added some spots and funny wording - all images are from Mo You London's Animal Collection 19 stamping plate. I really love the image with the colourful necklace on - such party vibes!

Really pleased with how these came out, they're so fun and were just right for the occasion! 

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

Butterfly's All Over

Hi there! I'm pretty late posting this, bit pretty tired lately and busy with work etc. I did this freehand butterfly nail art for the Glam Nails Challenge butterfly prompt and followed a tutorial on Instagram. I decided to go for a bit of a skittle effect with different Barry M Under The Sea toppers.

I started with a couple of coats of neon pink, and then a couple of coats of shimmery topper on each nail (colours listed below the pictures). Once dry I used a striping brush and black nail polish to add the lines. I then used the brush from the polish bottle to fill in the area at the top of each nail. I then used a dotting tool (two different sizes) to add the white spots over the black. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

I'm honestly so pleased with how these came out! If I'd known how nice they'd be I'd have done them for my sisters wedding at the weekend! I had a cobalt blue dress so they would have gone nicely. I have quite quickly ended up with some tip wear on the black but it can easily be patched up. Would definitely try this look again :)

Colours used: Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Lady In Black - OPI, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Butterflyfish - Barry M, Angelfish - Barry M, Seashorse - Barry M, Moonfish - Barry M

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 Skittle of Lush Bath bombs

Hey everyone! Rather psychedelic skittle mani to share today! After enjoying a few Lush bath bombs I decided I might try and re-create them on my nails. The bath bombs always look too lovely to use (and the bath water looks even lovelier!) so I thought I could keep them alive  a bit longer on my nails! It was a good fun and quirky long which I enjoyed doing! I've explained each nail below.

The index finger is based on The Goddess Bath Bomb - I don't think it looks anything like it to be honest! The bath bomb was sooo gorgeous and made the bath water shimmery and purple. I used lilac polish with an iridescent topper and then used a small nail art brush to add the rings,

The middle finger is based on the Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb which smells absolutely amazing! I haven't actually used it yet but I have saved it till last as it looks and smells so lovely! It will be tough to beat The Goddess though! I started with a blue base and then used gold metallic polish and the Kelli Marissa Bundle Monster plate for the star image. I removed some of the additional spots to make it look more like the bath bomb.

The ring fingernail was inspired by The Comforter Bubble Bar, one I've had a few times as they've done it for a while, it's smells sensational! I don't think I captured the spirals quite well enough but it's fairly true to what it looked like - shame I can't make my nails smell that good too!

My little finger nail was inspired by the Intergalactic Bath Bomb which I received as a gift as part of the Bath Art gift set. I was blown away by it's lovely colours and shimmer! I quite like the way this one came out on my nails too. For this and the above I used a small nail art brush and regular nail polish.

The thumbnail was inspired by the Dragons Egg Bath Bomb. This one reminds me of University as that's where I first tried it, and it's still going! It's got orange and gold inside like little baby dragon flames which is good fun! For the nail look I used a dotting tool to recreate the little coloured patched on the bath bomb.

Colours used: Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Jellyfish - Barry M, Oasis - Jessica Polish, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc, Hello Sailor - Wikkid Polish, Cream Soda - Barry M, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Foil Effect in Gold - 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

A Selection of Nail Art Techniques for Nail Addicts Collab

Hi everyone, hope you've had or are having a lovely day! I have some very bright nail art to share with you today. A few years ago I was part of the Nail Addicts Collab on Instagram, whose first challenge was 'nail art' themed. I did some pastel nails with images of nail art brushes and stamping tools, I believe I bought the plate especially. This year the collab is back, and starting with the same theme, so I thought I'd try something a bit different rather than going back to the same plate, tempted as I was!

On each nail I tried out a different nail art technique, all using the Bring On Spring collection from Wikkid Polish. I enjoyed getting these super bright neons out again! I finished off with a matte top coat to enhance the colour of the neon polishes. I've listed the effects I used below:

Index Finger - Watercolour (nail polish mixed with polish remover on foil & applied with a brush)
Middle Finger - Three colour gradient.
Ring Finger - Stamping (I'd forgotten white doesn't show up well over neon yellow!)
Little Finger - Dry brushing
Thumb - Smoosh (polish blobbed onto a stamper and then roughly pressed on the nail)

The smoosh nail is definitely my favourite and I'm glad to be back doing this challenge again!
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Hello Sailor - Wkkid Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Peachy Beachy - Wikkid Polish, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Down At The Deep End - Wikkid Polish, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection