Winter Animal Village

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is using another new nail polish I got for Christmas (Fancy Gloss - Ice Queen) and a stamping plate I've used a fair few times but just love so much! These little winter cabins on Mo You London's Noel 01 stamping plate are so cute and when I used them a week or two ago I thought it would be good to try them again with a paler background and some sparkly snow. 

For this look I made decals on my Uber Mat. For the animals on the sparkly nails I used Mo You London's Noel 09 stamping plate. I added some stars and moons to the lilac nails before I trimming down the decals and adding them to my nails. They are a tad smudged but not too bad. I think I should have removed the smoke from my middle fingernail too as it doesn't look quite right. The snow is shimmer polish with white underneath. Finished the look with a glossy top coat and enjoyed :) Pictures below with and without flash,

Colours used: Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Ice Queen - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Essential White - Uber Chic, Cappuccino - Barry M, Little Bo Peep - Rimmel, Indigo - Barry M, Bright Purple - Barry M, Aura - Nails Inc

North Pole BAU

Hello space turtles! More Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today. Todays theme is 'North Pole'. As it's quite a Christmassy theme I wanted to find a way to make it fit but not be too Christmassy since we're in January. I am really enjoying doing these wintery themes and continuing to use my Christmas stamping plates throughout the month! The idea behind this look is that it's the North Pole is having a bit of a peaceful lull after the chaos of Christmas - business as usual!

I started with a base of white and then added images from Mo You London's Noel 01 stamping plate on three fingernails and the north pole sign on my ring finger using their Festive 01 plate. The image on my thumbnail is from their Noel 19 stamping plate. Next I added a layer of quick dry top coat and once dry I used sharpies to carefully colour in the images which was quote satisfying to do! I finished the look with a matte top coat to make the colours pop.

I really like how these came out and their wintery feel. I'd like to try something similar with sparkly roofs on the houses and sparkly snow.

Colours used: A Mantis shrimps favourite colour - Bees Knees Lacquer, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Various Sharpies

When snow falls...

Hey space turtles! I am wrapped up very warm and snuggly as I write this which feels fitting for the snowy design. Will be a bit less snug during my morning lake swim tomorrow I expect so making the most of this now! This nail art is for Sundays Glam Nails Challenge prompt of Snowman. I think the sheer polishes from Emily de Molly with the white glitter pieces work so well for snowy looks so used three layers of one of them as a base (colours listed below images).

I started with a peel of base coat before the blue snowy polish. I made decals on my Uber Mat using Mo You London's Festive 01 and Noel 01 stamping plates for the snowman, puffin and trees. I also added snowflakes and wording from the Noel 01 plate to my thumb and index finger in silver. I love how still and quiet it can be in the snow so the wording feels very fitting. I like to think the positioning looks like the puffin is listening to the snowman through the trees. I really like these and their wintery vibe - pleased with how they came out.

Colours used: Already Done - Emily de Molly, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Uber Chic Beauty, Tiki Hut - Models Own, Red Hot Rio - OPI

Birds and Berries

Hey space turtles! I was inspired by iamdeliasnails on Instagram to create this look. She created a snowy matte mint green look with plants which I wanted to try with my Noel 07 stamping plate from Mo You London. I thought I'd do it for the Glam Nails Challenge winter berries prompt and when looking at the stamping plate spotted some birds too which I thought would compliment the look well.

I started with a peel off base coat and three layers of mint green polish, which has discoloured a bit and looks suspiciously blue in some lighting! I then added a snowy top coat. Meanwhile I had some pinecone and bird decals drying on my Uber Mat. I added the plants in various shades of green and once the decals were dry I trimmed them and added them carefully to the design. Finally I used a dotting tool to add some little red berries. I particularly like the one with the bird holding a berry in it's beak although unfortunately the decal had smudged a tiny bit. To finish I added a clear top coat and then a matte one over the top. You can see pictures of both below - which do you prefer?

So in conclusion I am so pleased with these and really love them! They came out even better than I expected and I wish I could have worn them for longer. Kudos to Delia for her original design!

Colours used: Mint Green - Barry M, Snow Wash - No7, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Cocoa - Barry M, Green Stamping Polish - Mo You London, Green Park - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry  M, Little Bo Beep - Rimmel, Yellow - Barry M, Red Hot Rio - OPI

Let It Snowww

 ... but let it wait till I've stopped commuting to London! Today's snow nail art is for one of this months Glam Nails Challenge prompts. I decided to try out a new sparkly reflective polish I got for Christmas and thought it would be just right to go with snowflakes. I started with a peel of base and then two layers of glitter. I had many snowflake stamping plate images to choose from and settled on the Noel 20 plate from Mo You London for the multi snowflake image and for the individual ones I used their Festive 02 plate. I added the images using white stamping polish after a 'glitter grabber' layer of clear polish. I then used a dotting tool to add some more snow and finished the look with a quick dry top coat.

Below you can see the look with and without flash. I love the colour and the sparkly effect. These were simple to do and I really like them. In particular the index finger and little fingernail. Really loving doing some more wintery designs!

Colours used: See Through You - Emily de Molly, Essential White UberChic Beauty

A Snowflake Nail Fail!

Hey space turtles! I'm feeling a bit ill today and I have a nail fail to share - so not my brightest day! After my success with the chrome powder stamping I decided I wanted to try the same with glitter. I started with two coats of black polish and then a matte top coat. Once fully dry I used sticking stamping polish to add some snowflakes from Mo You London's Noel 08 stamping plate, and then dipped each nail in glitter before brushing off the excess and rubbing in those particles that stuck to the polish.

As you can see there are some sort of snowflake-ish shapes but some stuck a lot better than others (it stuck a little too well on my little fingernail!). Unfortunately I couldn't get any more to stick. I wonder if I should have done them one at a time rather than stamping all of them and then adding the glitter, but I expected it to stick to the sticky polish. I also wonder if the glitter particles were too big and I need thinner glitter. Will just have to try again sometime I guess!

Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, Matte Taco - Holo Taco, Black Sticky Stamping - Dance Legend, Silver Glitter (Holocopter) - Twinkled T

Cosy at Home

Hey space turtles! So my last post was cosy in chrome and this one is cosy at home... I wanted to do something that captured my enjoyment of home in the colder weather and use the lovely Cosy At Home plate from Uber Chic Beauty.

I started with two layers of frosty blue polish which is actually a thermal although the thermal colour change effect isn't very strong now. I made decals for four of my nails on my Uber Mat and while these tried I added the welcome winter wording and a couple of hearts. I then added the decals to my nails and finished with a glossy top coat. I'm pleased with how they came out and am looking forward to getting into my Christmas nail art looks :)

Colours used: Glacier Blue - Cirque Colors, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Red Hot Rio - OPI, White Moonstone - Barry M, Taupe Temptation - Painted Polish, Yellow - Barry M

Walrus Socks and Walrus Nails

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend. I'm excited to share this nail art with you today (when am I ever not excited to talk about nails) as it's one I've wanted to do for aaages and I'm pleased with how it came out. I have a couple of adorable pairs of winter socks with walrus' on them which I got for Christmas a few years ago. I absolutely love getting cute cosy socks for Christmas! I thought the Noel 11 plate from Mo You London would be perfect for creating this sock inspired look as I'm not sure how well I could freehand a walrus!

I started with a base of navy blue and then added the base of the walrus's in white. Next I used Mo You London's Festive 06 plate for the star shapes on my other nails - the image was just the right size with my nails this length! Next I layered up the walrus images piece by piece. The colours aren't quite right but close enough! I left out the jumper bit as the ones on my socks don't have jumpers on. I used a dotting tool to add the top of the little bobble hats the walrus' are wearing. Finished the look with a glossy quick dry top coat. I was intending to mattify this look but I haven't yet as I rather like it the way it is. If I decide to I'll add a picture on my Instagram.

So in conclusion - I love these! I love the colours, the style, the images and the fun of having my nails match my socks! So glad I finally got round to it.

Colours used: The Serpentine - Nails Inc, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Cappuccino - Barry M, Grey - Barry M, Acai Smoothie - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dancel Legend, Greenberry - Barry M

Frosty Tips

Hey nail people! More wintery nail art to share today for today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt which is frost. I started with a sheer pink base, then a few layers of sheer shimmery blue/purple (colours listed below pictures). Once dry I added a layer of Platinum Diamond magnetic topper and hover the magnet over each nail for 30 seconds. I repeated this with another layer to add a touch more sparkle. Following that I used Mo You London's Festive 02 and Noel 07 stamping plates and white stamping plates to add the snowflakes and frosty branches.

I saw this nail polish combination on ken.nails Instagram and loved it so much that I bought the shimmery blue/purple so I could recreate it! I don't think I added enough layers as hers looked better, but I do still love this - very frosty! I'm pleased with my choice of frosty images too. It is a shame I missed Wednesday's prompt of 'ugly sweater' but I'm just a little too busy at the moment. It's been a great month of themes!

Colours used: Butterfly - Fun Lacquer, Platinum Diamond - Fun Lacqufuner, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Northern Polar Bear Lights!

Hi there! Another Glam Nails Challenge prompt today, this time it's polar bears. This cute little polar bear in a jumper image sprung to mind and I thought that would work well with a Northern Lights look. I was super excited to try out Cirque Colors Mood Ring for this look and I absolutely LOVE it! The shimmer and shift especially under bright lights is incredible! I didn't get quite as clean lines as I intended but I think it still works well.

I started with a layer of magnetic polish, followed by another which I used the magnet on to get the shifty effect. I then created a little polar bear decal on my Uber Mat, you can see how here. Whilst this dried I used star and moon images from Mo You London's Noel 06 stamping plate to create a night sky look. The polar bear is from their Noel 03 stamping plate. I finished the look with a glossy quick dry top coat.

So I love this one! I adore the base polish, and I think the simplicity of the look works well. It has depth from the magnetic polish and the little polar bear and stars make it a whole scene. I love Northern Lights things and cute things and wintery things - so this is a winner for me!

Colours used: Mood Ring - Cirque Colors, Foil Effects in Silver - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Acai Smoothie - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Bronze Bae - Barry M

Winter Wonderland

Trying SO hard not to end up with Christmas songs in my head again as I write this! Maybe it's not so bad... it is winter after all! Today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt is winter wonderland, which I think can be interpreted in many ways. I went for a snowy village with deer wandering around and a big friendly snowman!

I started with a base of pale blue and while this was drying I used my Uber Mat to make decals (see how here) for all but my little fingernail. I used Mo You London's Noel 01 plate for all images except the deer on my little finger and the white snowflakes, these were both from their Noel 06 stamping plate. For the snow on the decals I used a shimmery topper and white polish. Sadly you can't really see it very well in the pictures but it's lovely under bright lights! On my thumb and little fingernails I added a blue gradient followed by white snowflakes, before applying the deer and snowman images.

I like these as I adore the cosy house images and wintery scenes in general. I wonder if it needed a little more colour though. Alternatively it has made me think it would be good to try as a fully monochrome or greyscale look!

Colours used: Borrowed & Blue - Essie, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Good Vibes Only - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry M, Red Hot Rio - OPI, Cyan - Barry M