Fish scale tail nails!

Bubble bubble (what noise does a fish make?) everyone! Tonights nail art is mermaid tail nails. I based this on a dragon scale design I saw on clairestelle80's Instagram. I don't think mine came out as well as hers but I still like it.

I started off with a white base (which was a nightmare as mine's gone rather gloopy!) and then 'smooshed' some colours over the top. I did this using a clear stamper, putting the a couple of blobs of each colour on the head, and pressing it down a few times on each nail. The colours I chose all have a bit of subtle shimmer.

Once this was dry I use the mermaid scales image from my Bundle Monster twi-star stamping plate and added the scales outline on each nail in purple. I then did the same in silver holo, lining up the scales so the holo was just underneath. Unfortunately the silver holo was not as obvious as I would have liked but it showed up quite well in bright light.

Overall was fairly happy with this design, hope you like it too!
Colours used: Alpine Snow - OPI, Succulent Garden - Cirque Colors, Ballet Slipper - ILNP, Dusk Dazzle - Femme Fatale, Wigmore Street - Nails Inc, Harp On It - Color Club

A Winter Pond Mani - Snowflakes

Hi everyone! Today I am sadly presenting to you an index finger nail that just doesn't look right next to the rest! There was an incident with a potato peeler... I filed them all down a bit but couldn't quite bring myself to make them as short as that one. Couldn't quite get the shape right either, but never mind, the show must go on!

Today's nail art is a very wintery pond mani. I had been meaning to do something like this in the run up to Christmas but I think it also works in January. I started off with three coats of Essie's Allure, a sheer white which was a little more sheer than I wanted it to be. Next I used white stamping polish to apply a snowflake pattern from the Uber Chic Christmas-01 plate.

Next to make this a pond mani, I applied more of the sheer white polish. To be a true pond mani I would have kept layering up the white base and snowflakes, but I thought that might just make it look like lace and less like snowflakes. So I applied some more snowflakes in pale blue. For these I didn't use the whole image, I just selected one of two flakes at a time and positioned them on each nail. I used a dotting tool to remove excess snowflake from the stamper. I followed the same process for the darker blue snowflakes.

I finished off with a shimmery topper which was really hard to see unless in really bright light! It was too subtle for the camera to pick up too, I think it'll work better over darker colours. Overall I liked this design with it's multi layers, and slightly see through look, it's as if it had been snowing on my nails!
Colours used: Allure - Essie, White Knight - Mo You London, Blueberry - Barry M, Cobalt - Barry M, My Private Rainbow - ILNP

Stamping Sunday: Swanning Around

My first nail art of 2018 is up! I have a list of nail ideas I keep on my phone, and this one was added around this time last year! I got some of the Mo You London animal plates that Christmas and thought a swan design with muted colours would look good, but I'd save it till spring. Somehow that never happened and here we are! I actually think these muted colours work well for winter too. I used a newer plate for the chevrons so it was a good opportunity to use an untried product too.

I started with a greige base colour on my thumb, index finger and little finger nails; pink on my middle finger and white on my ring finger. For the chevrons I used a clear stamper and the Tropical 34 plate, which I can't wait to use in the summer with all it's pretty fruit images. For the swans I created decals using my Uber Mat and the Animal 01 plate. You can see how here.

Once I'd stuck the decals down I added a little pink to the bottom of the white nails, and then a then line of gold (colours listed below the pictures) using a nail art brush. I finished off with a matte top coat. I like how this turned out though the decals were a tad thick in places, as my white polish is coming to an end (thinner is on the way)!
Colours used: Oyster - Barry M, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, White Knight - Mo You London, Midnight Mischief - Painted Polish, Notting Hill Carnival - Nails Inc, Bright Lights - Barry M

Happy New Year 2018!

Happy New Year! Today's nail art is of course my new years eve nail art for 2017-18. I wanted to go for something glittery and new year themed, but also Harry Potter themed as we went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child yesterday. They came out suitably new year themed and sparkly but not very Harry Potter. The deathly hallows symbol didn't quite turn out as planned. I think it all looks a bit Dr Who!

For the galaxy nails I used tiny pieces of sponge held by tweezers to sponge on some glitter and shimmer, and then a dotting tool for the white stars. For the middle finger I put a holo topper over black, and made a decal for the symbol. I painted clear polish onto my Uber Mat, painted the image over the top, added another clear layer, and then peeled of to stick on my nails once dry. I did the same for the 2018 nails. For the sparkly nails I used holo powder from Twinkled T. I tried glitter burnishing but wasn't entirely successful so dipped instead and was pleased with the result.

On the thumb I used an image from the Mo You London Festive 05 stamping plate, and then a small brush to fill the glasses. I would have gone for a champagne colour but I didn't think it would show up well against the silver glitter so I went for red wine instead.

2017 has been a great year for me, although maybe not so much for the world, so I hope 2018 is a much better one for the world, and the same for me! Last year I made a New Years blog resolution to improve my nail pictures, and I think I've finally done that towards the end of the year. Still some way to go though I think! This years will be to start doing a few videos, either to add to my blog or Instagram.
Colours used: Aruba Blue - Essie, Mega - ILNP, Holocopter (loose glitter) - Twinkled T, Lady In Black - OPI, White Knight - Mo You London, My Private Rainbow (S) - ILNP, Indigo Glow - Jessica Polish, Diamond Glitter - Barry M, Garnet - Cirque Colors