Spider Web Chic

Hello spooky space turtles! Some quite belated Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today as I've been away with very patchy internet. The theme for this look was spiders and I decided to use a few different web images and try sheer black polish with glitter underneath for a glamorous spooky look.

I started with a peel off base coat and then added two layers of silver glitter topper. Once dry I added a layer of sheer black to each nail. For the images I used spider webs from Mo You London's Halloween 16 and 17 stamping plates. I didn't add any spiders but did include a glamorous spider lady on my thumbnail! As this dried I used a nail art brush and some black polish to carefully add an outline to each nail, trying to keep the thickness consistent. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

I'm so pleased how how these came out. I must admit I'd meant to add a spider but forgot to bring the right stamping plate with me on holiday. However as it turned out I think adding the spider would potentially make them a bit too busy, I really like them the way they are. The outlines are possibly the neatest I've done and I'm pleased with how consistent they are. I love how the glitter shines through. Only thing I'd maybe (and only maybe) change is to add some colour to the spider lady. Really pleased with the way it all came together and how they look on long nails. I think sheer black with an outline is perfect for Halloween. So overall as you can tell, I love them!

Colours used: Diamond Glitter - Barry M, Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Lady In Black - OPI

Inside the haunted house

Hey space turtles! More Halloween Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today, this time the theme is Haunted House. I decided to go for something a little different and do a look inspired by the inside of a haunted house rather than the outside. All images are from Mo You London's Halloween 12 stamping plate.

I started with a base of sheer polish on my thumb nail and two layers of colour on all other nails (colours listed below pictures). I then added a selection of images in gold and black to look like wallpaper and other items found in a haunted house. On the thumb nail I added spider webs as no haunted house would be complete without those! I used a small nail art brush to add an outline in black. I really like how the shimmer in my base coat shows subtly through. These were pretty simple to do and I like how they came out.

Colours used: Coal - Fancy Gloss, Misery - ILNP, Eclipse - ILNP, Bright Lights - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Toasty Ghosties

HelloOo space turtles! More spooky Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today. This time the theme is ghosts. There were many possible options for this but I decided to go with sheer black and create something similar to a Halloween look I did in October 2020 which I loved.

I started with a shimmery base coat and then a layer of sheer black. I then used black stamping polish to add images from Mo You London's Halloween 13 stamping plate. Next I added a light layer of flakies at the edge of three of my nails where the ghosts where going to appear from. Finally, used more of the sheer polish to create a border by roughly splodging it around the outside with a nail art brush. This was with the intention of creating more of a foggy border rather than a solid border.

I like these. They're a perfect theme for Halloween I think and autumnal too. I'm not sure if the flakies look more like leaves or flames (hence toasty ghosties!). I do think the smokey outline works but doesn't look as smokey as it could. I prefer the look I did in 2020 but that was one of my favourite nail art looks ever so this had a lot to live up to!

Colours used: Coal - Fancy Gloss, Magma - Fancy Gloss, Back Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Flakies in Space

Hellooo! I hope you're having an enjoyable weekend. I was at a wedding yesterday and had a wonderful time! Today I am sleepy but still need to do some DIY this afternoon. Wish I had another day of weekend! I will share my wedding guest nails at some point but today I'm sharing some previous nail art which was inspired by Alina's Nail Place on Instagram. She made this gorgeous space flakies look and I was please to have the same stamping plate and Unicorn Skins so I could re-create the look!

I started with two coats of black nail polish (colours listed below pictures). I then chose four of Holo Taco's Unicorn Skin polishes and dabbed them onto each nail for the below effect. Really straightforward - no sponging required.  Once dry I used white stamping polish to add space themed images from Mo You London's Sci-Fi 10 stamping plate, finishing off the look with a glossy top coat.

Really pleased with these, I love how the different colours of flakies catch the light. I did mess up some of the stars a little but I don't think it's too obvious. The rocket image is may favorite.

Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, Cosmic Unicorn Skin, Aurora Unicorn Skin, Galactic Unicorn Skin, Solar Unicorn Skin - All Holo Taco, White Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Angling for a new year!

Hi all! In my family we like to use the phrase 'angling for' as in 'she was angling for some chocolate!' so I decided to name my blog post that way as it features an angler fish, I might be reaching a bit... So when deciding what to do for this nail art I suggested underwater theme and my partner suggested an angler fish. I didn't have any stamping plates for that but liked the idea so went ahead anyway! The nail art is extra new year nail art for the latest Holo Taco competition on Instagram which closes today.

I started with a peel off base followed by two generous coats of Holo Taco's Black Holo Wish from their latest Christmas collection. Got to have glitter for new year nails! Meanwhile, I created decals on my Uber Mat for the number and fish nails. I painted each one using a small brush onto some clear polish and then added more clear polish over the top, peeling off to stick on my nails once dry. Fiddly but easier than painting directly onto my nails! While creating them I had the idea to add some lights as well as I was already going for a glowing theme. I added light images from Uber Chic's Happy Christmas plate. I then added a quick dry topcoat, and once dry I added the colours using an assortment of Sharpies.

I do quite like these, they are so weird and random and sparkly! I like to think it's an angler fish in the darkest sparkly depths of the ocean hanging up some lights for new year - perhaps it can light them with it's own light? Pictures came out a bit mixed but I enjoyed a couple of new hand poses!

Colours used: Black Holo Wish - Holo Taco, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Sharpies

Chroma Rose and Lace

Hi there! Getting closer to Valentines day so although hearts and such aren't really my thing I will be doing some vaguely Valentines themed nail art. The first and perhaps the vaguest are these lacey nails. Lace often has romantic connotations and I was planning on trying this look out already so I may as well try and pass it off as Valentines! I am entering it into the Holo Taco Valentines competition even though I'm not using their polishes (which is daft as I do have some - but was just really feeling this shade for this look!). Their shade Cat's Evasion is pretty similar though so could be used instead.

I started the look with one coat of sheer black on all nails except my ring fingernail where I added Chroma Rose from Cirque Colors. I then used my Fashionista 18 stamping plate from Mo You London to add a lace pattern over the sheer black. I chose the images at random and most worked well. Once stamped I painted a section of most other nails with Chroma rose as well, leaving only my index finger. Once Chroma Rose was dry I used a small nail art brush and black nail polish to paint an outline around each of the lace parts of my nails.

Overall I have mixed feelings about these. Sometimes I look at them and love them, and other times they don't look particularly exciting as the detail doesn't show up that well in dull lighting, especially on my middle finger. Chroma Rose is such a gorgeous polish and I do like the style of these, they're quite grown up for me! I think the same look with glitter instead of multi-chrome would work well too. I do have one other look from a while back which would be so perfect for this competition but my pictures are so bad that I think I'll just stick with this one!

Colours used: Chroma Rose - Cirque Colors, Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Lady In Black - OPI

A Liquid Crystal Galaxy!

 Hey everyone! Got some more first time nail experiences to share with you today! This was another of  the options on my birthday poll and I've been keen to try it out for some time! I'm not used to using gel polish either so it's a bit of an experimental one for me!

I started with a peel off base coat as I don't fancy soaking off the gel - so we'll see how long these last! I then applied 2-3 coats of gel polish to my nails. It is a little lumpy but I'm definitely getting better at it! I rarely work with gel and have often found I've ended up doing it too thick. After my final layer of black gel I used silver foil effect polish from Barry M and an image from my Kelli Marissa and Bundle Monster  (now Maniology) collaboration stamping plate to apply the star image. I was really pleased with how well it came out, I liked it even before the liquid crystal!

The next step was to apply the liquid crystal. Mine is a little bottle from Dance Legend, and I used the brush to gently swipe some of the liquid over my nails in wavy lines. It was quite runny and took a while to dry so took some getting used to, but once it dried I got the lovely multi-coloured effect you can see below. It;s quite hard to capture and doesn't always show up but when it does I love the way the colours change just like the mood rings I used to have as a child! I finished the look with a gel top coat to seal it in and am still enjoying wearing them!

Halloween Nails - Autumn at the Haunted House

Happy nearly Halloween! This nail art is what I've been planning as my 'official' nail art for Halloween this year, although I have actually already had to take it off because it chipped as I used a peel off base coat, at least I have time to squeeze in some more nail art as I have loads of ideas at the moment! I was inspired earlier in the year by some nail art I saw on the Rainbow Connection Facebook page, which encouraged me to buy the flakie polish I've used here (colours listed below the pictures) and I already had my eyes on the sheer black. I then kept this idea in my head for the next few months, tweaking it a little by using slightly different types of images and adding the outline.

To create the look I started with one layer of sheer black, and then used images from the Halloween 13 and Festive 16 stamping plates from Mo You London over the top in black. I was pleased to use the two Victorian figures image as I think it's so perfectly spooky! Next I used flakie polish to make the autumn leaves/ flames effect at the bottom. I used Magma from Fancy Gloss which has a gloriously dense consistency of flakes, so I had to make sure I didn't have too much on the brush at one time. Finally, for the part I thought I'd probably mess up entirely, I used a thin nail art brush and black nail polish to create an outline around my nails - this went a lot better than I anticipated! I think using a brush with longer bristles was useful for the outline, as previously I've struggled more using my usual shorter brushes, but maybe I was just having a good day!

In conclusion I am super happy with these! I really wasn't sure how the outline would come out but I think it finished the look off perfectly (if I do so so myself!), so they look kind of like spooky scenes through windows. I'm definitely going to try outlines for more nail looks. I would definitely have struggled to ever take them off if they hadn't chipped, and for future it would be worth the flakie polish removal challenges to use a regular base coat so they last longer. I find thin layers of polish with a peel off base do chip quite fast.

Colours used: Coal - Fancy Gloss, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Magma - Fancy Gloss, Lady In Black - OPI

Halloween Nails - Black Cats On The Moon!

Hello again and I hope you're ready for more Halloween nail art! These are probably a bit more versatile than just being Halloween nails, but I have had this design on my mind for a while, so when the Black Cat prompt came up in this months Glam Nails challenge it seemed like the perfect time! I saw this look on the Nail It Mag Instagram account, and then recreated by srg.nails. It didn't entirely go to plan for me but I think it came out OK in the end.

I started off with a grey-ish base, one I got from Topshop when they had their gorgeous matte metallic shades out years ago, it's been a while since I've used it! The next step was to paint a rough outline around my nails using a generous amount of black nail polish. I then used a wide flat brush to try and blend it into the middle a bit. This was the first part where I thought it went wrong, some came out too dark, and all of them looked pretty scruffy. Next I used a small nail art brush and white polish to draw the moons, and at this point I seriously considered giving up on this one, they are pretty wonky, freehand really isn't my strongest skill! I powered through and added some little stars and spots. It was only once I added the cats (using a dotting tool and nail art brush) that I thought it looked OK!

As I wasn't 100% sure on this look I added some shimmer over the top to jazz it up. The last picture shows it before the shimmer/glitter. So overall I adored the original look, mine was not so good but it did get a lot better once I added the cats! Good freehand practise too!

Colours used: Easy Peasy - Topshop, Lady In Black - OPI, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Crystal Shimmer - Accessorize 

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