Octopus At The Pool Party!

Hello again! One more nail art look for this years Glam Nails Challenge July, this time the theme is pool party. I wanted to use the cute little octopus image on the new Uber Chic Just Beachy stamping plate and for some reason I thought it would work well for this, even though you would not usually expect to find an octopus at a pool party! I wouldn't anyway!

On my index finger, little finger and thumb nails I started with a cream base, and then a couple of layers of Flipper, a sheer blue polish, and pearlescent purple on my other nails (colours listed below the pictures). I stamped an ocean ripples image from the Bundle Monster XL25 plate in white, and then added another layer of sheer blue. I then layered up a deck chair image from the Just Beachy plate on the thumb and some cocktails from their Bottoms Up plate on my finger nails. On the purple nails I layered on the octopus image and added some wording using the same stamping plate. I struggled a bit picking up the outline of the octopus and ended up with some extra black smudging round the edge so did have to try and patch that up a bit with purple polish and a small brush.

Overall I quite like these though they could have definitely been neater! The little octopus is adorable, I hope it enjoyed it's pool party and definitely intend to use this image again! I have used the sheer blue for similar ocean nails before and I really like the effect, though my boyfriend did point out it looks like the deck chair is floating in the sea!
Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Flipper - Urban Outfitters, Rainbow Wishes - Nails Inc, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection - Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Key Lime - Barry M, Yellow - Barry M, Dead Heat - Barry M, Pink Lemonade - Barry M,

Travelling Around The Map Nails

Hello from the map on my nails! This is another Glam Nails Challenge July prompt, this time it's Travel. I was going to do boats but then remembered that I have this Geography themed plate from Mo You London's Scholar collection which has map images, and thought that would be suitable and a little different too. It also gets another stamping plate off my untried pile!

I started with a base of beige (colours listed below the pictures) which was as close as I could get to a that brownish old map colour! To give it that mottled look of old paper (but sparkly) I used some cling film (saran wrap) to dab on some metallic gold and bronze polish. Following that I stamped map images over the top in brown. The one on my thumb didn't come out entirely but I actually think that works quite well, giving it an older map look. I finished off the look with a matte top coat as I've never seen an old map that's shiny!

Overall I quite like these. They're kind of subtle, and contrasted greatly to the bright neon design I had on my other hand! (Palm trees from a couple of posts back)
Colours used: Basil Street- Nails Inc, Cocoa - Barry M, Gold Digger - Barry M, Bronze Bae - Barry M

Zen Yoga In Lockdown Nails

Hey everyone! Today I have some chilled out pastel nail art which I did for this months Nail Addicts Collab on Instagram. The theme this month is 'favourite thing to do in lock down'. I'm cheating a little as my favourite thing to do in lock down has been painting my nails! I've done some other nail art themed around that lately though so I decided to theme my nails with another thing I've enjoyed doing during lock down - Yoga. I used to do it a while ago but got out of the habit, and have enjoyed doing Yoga with Adriene videos on YouTube in the mornings before work.

For this look I started with a base of lilac on my little finger and thumb nails, blue on my middle finger nail and cream on the other two. I used the Mandala 16 stamping plate from Mo You London for all the images in this look. I created decals on my Uber Mat for the flower and yoga pose nails (see how here), and let them dry while I did the rest of the stamping on my other nails. On my middle finger I layered two images over each other. I feel like Namaste is the ultimate yoga word so I had to have it on there! I finished off with a matte top coat to make the colours pop.

I am so pleased with how these came out! I think the colours worked really well and were flattering, and it's definitely my favourite way I've used this stamping plate. I totally want to recreate it again on both hands. I particularly enjoyed looking down at them while in downwards facing dog position too!
Colours used: Lexington Gardens - Nails Inc, Laguna - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Foil Effect in Gold - Barry M, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Palm Tree Sunset

Hiii everyone! Got something super summery to share today, and once again inspired by the Glam Nails Challenge July prompts, this one is palm trees. For this look I started with a base of yellow, and then sponged on some orange and red to make a gradient. The red really doesn't show up but it makes the orange a tad darker at the top at least. Once dry I used black stamping polish and images from Uber Chic Beauty's Just Beachy stamping plate for the palm trees and the wording. I particularly like the wording on my thumb, and how you can mix and match the palm tree images with this plate. I had a little trouble with some of the fine wording as I'm using an older stamping polish which is getting a bit thick! I complete the look with a matte top coat to make the colours pop.

I'm pretty pleased with these, they were simple to do and I like how bright the colours are. Very summery! I also enjoyed using my liquid latex to protect around my nails again too as it's been a while and it's quite satisfying to peel off! Hope you like them too!
Colours used: Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Beach Hut - Models Own, Rhubarb & Custard - Models Own, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Whaling Around

Hi everyone, happy Sunday! It's raining here in the south of England but I don't mind as it's cooled it down a bit. Today is another prompt for the Glam Nails Challenge July and I think it is my favourite so far, so happy with these! The prompt was whales (an excellent prompt in my opinion) and I took inspiration from a rather quirky swimsuit I have, I've included a picture right at the bottom of this blog post. It's from an online shop called Bakato who make really quirky swimwear using recycled materials, and I absolutely love it!

I started with a base of Barry M's Laguna, a perfect summery base colour, and then made decals from the Mo You London Sailor 18 plate, which is one of my all time favourites. There are two Orca images on there which I stamped onto my Uber Mat in black (over a thin layer of clear polish). I then used a dotting tool to fill in the white part of the whales with white nail polish, and once dry added another layer of clear polish. Once it was all dry I peeled the decals off the mat, trimmed them down and applied them to my nails, finishing off with a matte top coat.

As someone who does use stamping a lot, I found this was pretty simple to do for a result I loved! I would have definitely struggled to remove this look but sadly it did chip slightly after a few days (I blame the matte top coat and doing the dishes!). At least that made it easier for me to remove it for my next look!
Colours used: Laguna - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Floral Street - Nails Inc

Tropical Pink Nails

Hello all! Hope all is well and you're enjoying some sunshine, it's not been that sunny here but it's set to be warmer the next few days so I am bracing myself! :D If it does I do have some appropriate nail art! Today's Glam Nails Challenge July prompt is Tropical, one of many prompts which works well with the new Just Beachy stamping plate from Uber Chic. I have a neon pink polish I haven't used for a while and have been eyeing up as well for summer nail art, so this seemed like the perfect time to use that too. The colours I used are listed below the pictures as usual.

For this look I started with a bright white base on all of my nails so the neon would really stand out. I then used neon pink on my index, little finger and thumb nails. On my middle two finger nails I stamped this negative space floral image onto the white polish in black, I considered making decals for these but decided to try a slightly more freehand approach as the flowers are not too fiddly. I used a small nail art brush to fill in the flowers and leaves in pink, green and orange. I forgot how much I love that neon orange too, need to find a use for that this summer as well! I feel like it maybe didn't even need the white base.

Although I'm not usually much of a pink person I do think neon pink is a great summer shade and I'm enjoying rocking the tropical flowers. Pleased with this look and also pleased I filed my nails down a bit!
Colours used: Neon Activator - Nails Inc, Claridge Gardens - Nails Inc, Audacious Green - Accessorize, Beach Hut - Models Own, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Pearlescent Seashells

Hello all and happy Sunday! Todays Glam Nails Challenge July prompt is seashells, which was very well timed as I have recently purchased the Seashells Aplenty stamping plate from UberChic Beauty. There are so many possibilities with shell nail art, and I went with something quite subtle and a bit pearlescent.

I started with three coats of Barry M's Mani Mask in 'Bashful' to give a natural look, but built it up again so it was nice and pink too. For the shells I used a different image from the Seashells Aplenty plate on each nail. I made decals on my Uber Mat using white stamping polish, and filled in each one with a different shimmery nail polish from Barry M's Under the Sea collection, colours listed below the pictures. I finished the look off with a shiny top coat, though they did look nice a bit matte too before I put the top coat on.

Overall I like these but wonder if I should have gone for more of a nude background rather than pink. I think the shimmery polishes work well for the shells though. There are a lot of shells on the new stamping plate so I will have to come up with some more shell nail art soon!
Colours used: Bashful - Barry M, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Angelfish - Barry M, Butterflyfish - Barry M, Moonfish - Barry M, Jellyfish - Barry M, Pinktail - Barry M

Sailing Boat Sailor Nails

Hey everyone! Running late with this as we've had some internet issues but getting it in just in time as my nail art for today's Glam Nails Challenge July prompt, which is Sailing Boat. This nail art was very much a see how it goes sort of look, where I kept changing my mind and picking things to do as I went along. On this occasion that worked well for me as I love these!

On my index and ring fingernails I used bronze nail polish (colours listed below the pictures) and stamped sailor tattoo style images from Mo You London's Sailor 16 plate which has been sitting in my collection untried for probably about 2 years! So I am glad I've finally used it! On my other nails I used the fluid nail art technique, where the polishes are spotted onto a stamping mat, and squished down with a stamper to blend them and let the special effect Spot It polishes do their thing. I love how these came out and have included some bonus pictures at the bottom of this blog post showing them before stamping over the top.

The sailing boat image is from the Sailor 01 plate and the fish on my thumb nail are from the Sailor 18 plate (both Mo You London). I had been wondering whether to have the boat coloured in but I'm glad I didn't as I think it works better plain against the pattered background. I finished off the look with a shiny top coat (Nails Inc Kensington Caviar) as I think this adds nicely to the fluid nail art effect. I'm so pleased with the colour combination :) Hope you like them too!
Colours used: Bronze Bae - Barry M, Bruton Place - Nails Inc, Spot It White - Dance Legend, Spot It Blue - Dance Legend, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Seahorses Among Coral Nails

Hi everyone, happy Sunday! So last month I took part in the Glam Nails Challenge, which involves painting your nails to match a number of prompts over the month, posting these on Wednesdays and Sundays. I don't usually do them as there are so many prompts to squeeze in, but as social activities are still limited and I am doing different nail art on each hand I've been managing to squeeze them in! So when July's prompts came out I really liked them and having enjoyed June's I decided I will do it again this month. I have already missed the first prompt for Wednesday which was corals, so have combined it with the second prompt, seahorses, for this look. Next month I might try a smaller challenge like the Dimension Nails one which has four prompts in a month but will see!

So for this look I started with a peel off base coat, and then three layers of a new polish for me, which is Woodnote from Polished for days. I don't usually go for pinks but this one is a purple-y pink and I love the gold flakies in it. For the corals I used a negative space image from my new Just Beachy stamping plate from Uber Chic which I am so excited about! There is a matching image of multiple corals that isn't negative space, and an individual coral which I put on my thumb, layering it in green then black. I also used a layering image from the same plate in green and black for the seahorses.

So I'm cheating a bit with this one as I'm doing two prompts in one, but wanted to take part and I don't want to miss any out so this is my compromise! I like this look overall though it's not one of my favourites. I do really enjoy the beautiful flakie polish!
Colours used: Woodnote - Polished for days, Watermelon - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Bonus pictures here of my nails on a walk we went on yesterday morning. I enjoyed them in this light though I must admit they do look more pink here than they usually do, the first four pictures are more true to colour.

Montreal Botanical Garden Inspired Nails

Hello all! Today I am sharing you some nail art which is actually not for an Instagram challenge, so a change from the last month. I must admit I think I might take part in another this month though as I have rather enjoyed it! So I did this nail art at the weekend and it's something I've had on my nail art to do list for ages! In September last year my boyfriend and I went on holiday to Canada and the US (visiting a few different places in each) and our trip to the botanical gardens in Montreal inspired some nail art. We spent all afternoon, lunch time and evening at the gardens and could have been there longer! In the evening they lit everything up and that in particular is what this nail art is based on. I could really capture all the lovely lit up things on the water but I did include the lanterns (there were loads in the woods it was lovely!).

To create this look I started with a plain black base, and then stamped some images from the Suki 09 plate from Mo You London onto my nails in white. Once dry I used sharpies to colour in the images, directly onto my nails to give a strong colour. I gave that a little time to dry as well and then added a shimmery top coat. So it was actually a pretty simple look to create. I like it, particularly the lanterns, but I wish I hadn't done the flowers in pink. I think they'd have been better in yellow or something, as the pink clashes with the red lanterns and the lanterns had to be red!

I highly recommend a trip to Montreal Botanical Gardens if you get the chance, there is so so much to see, you could easily spend the day there! We couldn't believe how big the greenhouse was too! I've included a couple of bonus pictures at the bottom of this post of the thumb nail in front of my desk, as it did look good without the glitter too!
Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Sharpies In Various Colours, Crsytal Shimmer - Accessorize