Ho Ho How About Some Nail Art

Hi Space turtles! My first proper Christmas nail art of the year is here! I decided I'd try and combine the first two Glam Nails Challenge (Instagram nail art challenge) prompts for this look. The prompts were Santa and Christmas Plaid. 

For the Santa nails I made decals on my Uber mat using images from Mo You London's Noel 01 stamping plate. For the other nails I used Mo You London's Holy Shapes 19 stamping plate which has a range of different lines and patterned lines you can put together to create tartan looks. I went for a classic green and red colour scheme to feel Christmassy! I'm pleased with the look and think it's a good start to my Christmas looks for the year.

Colours used: British Racing Green - Butter London, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M, Foil Effect in Gold - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish, Red Hot Rio - OPI, Dazzle - Orly, Cream Soda - Barry M, Cocoa - Barry M, Emerald - Barry M

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

Cosy Chrome Powder Nail Art

Hey space turtles! I was inspired by some nail art by two.peas.and.polish who used a matte background and added some leafy images in bronze. I don't have a bronze nail polish that stamps well so I decided to try out chrome powder nail art again. Previously I've tried it but the powder has stuck to the whole nail to some extent and not just the image.

I started with two layers of grey polish and then used black sticky stamping polish to add images from Mo You London's Fall In Love 08 stamping plate which I absolutely love for this time of year, and any time to be fair - it has some great images. I then used an eye shadow applicator to rub some gold chrome powder into my nails, and brushed of the excess with a soft brush. I was so pleased with how well it stuck to the images! I love the super shiny effect it gives and how being on a dark background made it a rich dark gold. It didn't last longer than a couple of days as I added no top coat but a great look for a night our or something like that where it doesn't need to last long.

Colours used: Grey - Barry M, Sticky Stamping Black - Dance Legend, Gold Chrome Powder

Night Swimming Nails

Today's nail art is inspired by a night swim I did not too long ago. It was actually a Halloween one so I could have done a more spooky design, but I liked the idea of doing an overall night swim look as it's such a cool experience!

I started with two layers of deep aquatic green (could have probably got away with one) while the decal for my thumbnail was drying on my Uber Mat. I then added some spotty patterns from Mo You London's Atlantis 04 to my middle two nails and the hand, star and moon nails on my other fingernails. For the mermaid silhouette's I stamped one directly onto my nail and for the other I made a decal - this is so that I could turn the images the way I wanted and make them face each other. The silhouette's are from Uber Chic's Mermaid Life 02 stamping plate and I used a dotting tool to add some sparkle. Finally I added the mermaid decal to my thumbnail (also from Atlantis 04).

In conclusion I like these but I wish the mermaids had shown up better. I added the lilac pattern as I thought the mermaid silhouette's would show up against them but that didn't end up being the case. Shame really as I love the way the index and little finger came out so the mermaids being clearer would have taken it from a look I like to a look I love!

Colours used: Aquatic - Picture Polish, Foil Effect in Lilac - Barry M, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Charlotte Street - Nails Inc, Cocoa - Barry M, Underworld - Barry M, Good Vibes Only - Nails Inc

A Nail Art Tribute to Scotland in the Autumn

Hi there space turtles! Today I'm sharing some nail art which actually isn't for an Instagram nail art challenge for once! This is just something I felt like doing after a recent family holiday in Scotland where we stayed in the country and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and autumn leaves. We saw many trees, leaves and fungi in different shades so I've tried to capture that here with a bit of sparkle,

I added three layers of sheer white and then added some white patterns to three of my nails followed my another layer of sheer white. On the other two I added another layer too and then stamped a grey pattern and a mountain scene over the top using Mo You London's Noel 16 (putting it sideways was a very last minute decision as I applied it!). In the meantime I had some decals drying on my Uber Mat which I created in advance using Uber Chic's Woodland Chic stamping plate. I applied the decals over the white patterns and then added a glossy top coat.

I'm pretty pleased with how these came out. They felt a bit ad-hoc while I did them but created a look that wasn't quite how I was expecting but was exactly as cosy and fun as I'd hoped! I really love the way the landscape on my thumbnail came out. It's to remind me of a lovely viewing spot near our holiday house of some hills with trees either side and birds of prey. It was hills rather than mountains but this image was close enough!

Colours used: Sheet Off-White - Undisclosed, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Grey - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Bronze Bae - Barry M, Copper Mine - Barry M, Gold Digger - Barry M

Apothecary Stamping

Heyy space turtles! Not sure I'm going to manage as much nail art this month as I have so many things going on, but will enjoy fitting it in where I can. I have the apothecary themed Halloween 18 stamping plate and have visions of fabulous designs I can do but can't quite seem to put it together. Hopefully the ideas will come to me! For now I decided I'd just add the images in silver and lilac metallic over a dark green flakie polish for a bit of magic.

I started with a peel of base coat and then added two coats of deep green flakie polish. I then added the snake, jar, mushroom and moth images in lilac and some stars in silver. Once dry I added a glossy top coat. Although I wanted to be more extravagant when using this stamping plate I do still like this look and think it is a good way to wind down from the Halloween nail art, It felt like fitting early November nail art.

Colours used: Nightshade - Quixotic Polish, Foil Effects in Lilac - Barry M, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M