Northern Nights

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is a bit of a nail fail to me though it's growing on me slightly! It's for two combined Glam Nails Challenge themes of Mountains and Northern Lights. Both great themes but I didn't have time to do them separately. I have done northern lights nails a couple of times before and they've definitely come out better! I think it didn't help that I was on the phone when I did them so I wasn't really concentrating.

I started with a base of sparkly black for a starry night effect. I then used silver polish to add mountain images over the top from Mo You London's Sailor 18 stamping plate. I knew the silver would stand out well against the black. I then used blue and green polish to add some wobbly lines in the sky using a nail art brush. I also added some blue and purple dots underneath with the end of the brush. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

Colours used: Thunder and Lightening - Models Own, Wicket Witch of the West - Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Audacious Green - Accessorize, Prima Donna - Jessica Polish, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M

Trees in the Mist

Hello space turtles! Today's nail art is inspired by my view when I was swimming in the lake near me on a cloudy day. I absolutely love wild swimming and while it's wonderful on sunny days I also enjoyed the view of all the trees in the mist. I've also added birds as we're sometimes joined by birds on the lake.

I started with a couple of layers of sheer white and then added the back row of trees from Mo You London's Noel 16 plate in green. I then added another layer of sheer white followed by some more trees at the front. Once dry I added clouds followed by birds and then a glossy top coat to finish.

I really like the inspiration for this one but it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. I think there isn't enough contrast between the trees and the base looks a bit dull (although maybe it should since it's mist!). I think I would have benefited from a tinted base coat and maybe more layers of sheer polish between the trees and over the clouds, with the birds added at the end. Great stamping plate though so I look forward to using it again.

Colours used: Allure - Essie, Forrest Green - Mo You London, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

From Sunglasses to Nails

Hellooo space turtles! Today's nail art is one I've fancied doing for a little while - based on my sunglasses case! They are a pair of Kate Spade sunglasses and one half of the case is pink and the other racing green with some gold lettering on the pink. It's not a colour combination I would have imagined working but it does so I thought I'd use it for some nail art.

I started with a couple of coats of polish on the plan pink and green nails, then used a nail art brush to add a line in green down the middle of the half and half nails. I was then able to use the brushes from the bottles to carefully fill in the rest of the nail with two coats of polish. Once dry I added some images from Mo You London's Le Musee 04 stamping plate in gold. They definitely show up better over the green but still like nice over the pink I think.

Pretty pleased with how these came out. The only way I think i could have improved them would be to have used a slightly brighter pink the match the sunglasses case better. This is close but a little more pale and muted. I think it makes an interesting and sophisticated look :)

Colours used: British Racing Green - Butter London, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Bright Lights (Liquid Chrome) - Barry M

Fancy Plants

Well look at you Miss Fancy Plants! Might have to start doing more plant themed nails so I can say that more often :D

For this look I started with a base of cream on my two middle nails and two coats of gold on my other nails. First time using this gold and I love how sparkly and bright it is! While these were drying I made decals on my Uber Mat using Mo You London's Le Musee 04 stamping plate to add to the cream nails. I finished the look with a glossy top coat. The effect is simple but I really like the images and the way the gold contrasts with the green.

Colours used: Frozen Benanas - Holo Taco, Cream Soda - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Sparkly Safari Sunset

Hey space turtles :) I'm a bit behind with blogging at the moment so playing catch up. This one is for a Glam Nails Challenge prompt of Sunset. I had liked the idea of trying sharpies over reflective glitter for a while and thought this would be a good opportunity to try it in gradient form.

I started with a peel off base followed by two coats of reflective glitter and a quick dry top coat. I then used yellow, orange and red sharpies to draw three stripes of colour directly onto my nails. I then took a wide nail art brush and some nail polish remover which I used to blend the colours together. Next I added some tree, giraffe, bird and rhino images in black using Mo You London's Mother Nature 08 stamping plate. I finished the look with another glossy top coat.

I'm super happy with these. The reflective glitter sparkles so nicely through the gradient. I've had a few good compliments on them too :)

Colours used: Platinum Diamond - Fun Lacquer, Various Sharpies, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Disco Animal Print

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is for the Glam Nails Challenge theme Animal. I had so many possible options for this but decided to do an animal print as I thought it would go well with a watercolour look and wanted to try that with my new Holo Taco topper. 

I started with a white base and then top coat, and added sharpie inc over the top, drawing directly onto my nails. I then used a wide brush and nail polish remover to blend the colours together and get the watercolour effect. I added a coat of Holo Taco's Reflective Taco and then stamped the animal print over the top from Uber Chic's Warm Blooded stamping plate.

I am pleased with how these came out however I'm not sure this is the best way to use the Reflective Taco. That or I have a dud. I really struggled to get the sparkle to show even in bright lights and not just on camera. I really like that it's a topper rather then dense glitter but perhaps for this reason it gets drowned out by the watercolour pattern underneath. I will try it over a darker colour and hopefully get better results.

Colours used: White Out - Nails Inc, Various Sharpies, Reflective Holo Taco - Holo Taco, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Travelling Taco's

Hey space turtles! Who doesn't love a travelling taco? The perfect treat for hungry nails! I tried out Hatch from Cirque Colors again as they had a competition recently where to enter you had to swatch your first ever Cirque Colors polish. Was interested to look back and see that Hatch was my first, closely followed by the first installment of my beloved facets collection. Couldn't resist doing a few more Glam Nails Challenge prompts this month so added some Travel themed nail art over the top of Hatch. I went for a Mexican theme as I like the look of travelling to Mexico.

I added three images from Uber Chic's Let's Taco Bout It stamping plate in gold, followed by black slightly to the side so the gold would show through, On my remaining fingernails I used patterns from Mo You London's Explorer 33 stamping plate. I finished the look with a glossy top coat. Verdict - fun! These were pretty simple to do and I like the effect.

	Colours used: Hatch - Cirque Colors, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Foil Effect in Gold - Barry M