Return of the Cactus!

Hey space turtles! Back with more cactus nail art today as I had more than one cactus nail art idea and thought this would be a good opportunity to try out this yellow reflective glitter I got for Christmas (last untried from my Christmas polishes!). 

For the cactus images I used Uber Chic's Succulent stamping plate to create some decals on my Uber Mat.They were nice and straightforward to do using only two colours. While these dried I applied two layers of off-white to my middle two nails and two layers of glitter to the others. After trimming the decals and applying them to my nails I finished the look with a glossy top coat. Ta-da!

Colours used: Radiant Forces - Emily de Molly, Cream Soda - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Spring Green - Barry M

A Reflective Rainbow

Hey space turtles! Something fun and bright to share today - rainbow nails. This was for a Glam Nails Challenge prompt on Instagram but is also something I'd been meaning to do for a while with my new rainbow reflective glitters (colours listed below pictures). 

I started with a nude base coat for opacity as I knew there's only be one layer of sparkly polish. I then used a small nail art brush to add the striped on my nails one colour at a time. This was easier and came out neater than I expected as the consistency of these polishes is so perfect for it. Reflective glitters tend to be quite opaque and thick so it worked really well. I loved looking at these gorgeous glitters sparkling in the sun too! All of the colours are from the Painted Polish 'At Sea: Rainbow Reef' collection except the red as that wasn't in stock where I buy my indie polishes. The red is from the same brand and finish however so is close enough I think, just slightly darker. Love how these came out :)

Colours used: Soft Focus (nude) - Polished for Days, You Razz My Berries, Shell We Dance, Catch Sun Rays, Can't Kelp Myself, Laguna Matata, Feelin' Knotty - All Painted Polish

Rainbow Sparkle Ladybird's

Hey space turtles! This is my final catch up blog post for now, and it's for last Wednesday's Glam Nails Challenge theme of Ladybug. I've done ladybird nails before and thought of a few ways I might do them a little differently, settling on some sparkly purple ladybirds which don't cover my whole nail. I wasn't sure whether to add eyes as they looked quite good without but glad I did as I definitely like them best that way. Pictures of both in reflective and non-reflective forms are below.

I started with a muted pink base coat which ended up looking a bit more purple after I added a tinted top coat at the end! I then painted a line on each nail where the purple point would end and then added a thick layer of sparkle underneath it. I used a small nail art brush to outline their little heads and fill them in before painting some antennae. Once dry I added lined down the middle and then used a dotting tool to add the spots and eyes, finishing with a super glossy top coat. Love how these turned out :)

Colours used: Briar Rose - Polished for Days, Rainbow Stardust - Fancy Gloss, Essential White - Uber Chic Beauty, Lady In Black - OPI

Strawberry Reflections

Hey space turtles! I'm launching straight into Spring with some nails which are actually quite summery! I have loved this winter so I'm sad to see it go but Spring brings new opportunities too (and lots of gardening unfortunately!). I was inspired by Kim Sorta Nailed It on Instagram to use this reflective red nail polish for strawberry nail art (colours listed below the pictures).

I started with a peel off base and then two coats of red reflective glitter. I almost only needed one coat as it's so rich and opaque - such a beautiful nail polish! Next I used a nail art brush to add leaves in green nail polish. Once done I added the little seeds in yellow. I would have probably done the seeds in black so I'm glad I had the inspiration pictures to try it in yellow for a brighter look. I really like the way these work with my shorter nails and I think it's a fun look. They're not perfectly neat but you can certainly tell what they are and I love the sparkle!

Colours used: Burning Bright - Emily de Molly, Spring Green - Barry M, Notting Hill - Nails Inc

Happy Valentines Day Beavers!

Hello space turtles and eager beavers! I was struggling for inspiration for Valentines Day nail art this year so I put out a request for ideas on Instagram and a friend suggested animals who mate for life. With that and another thought that later popped into my head I now have too many ideas! I think this one is my favourite though so I'm sharing it on actual Valentines Day. The first animal I've chosen which mates for life is beavers. This one is also close to my heart as I'm part of a winter swimming group called 'frosty beavers and shy turtles' so this is fitting for that too!

I started with a peel off base coat and two layers of red reflective glitter on three of my nails, and pale muted pink on the other two. I had no beaver images on my stamping plates so this was one of my rare moments of freehand! I added the brown polish with the brush from the bottle, and then used a small nail art brush and dotting tool for the details on the beavers face. I used a striping brush for the pattern on the tail. I also used a small nail art brush to add two red hearts in the same red glitter. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

I love how these turned out! The beavers tail is a tiny bit smudged but it's only visible in pictures or very up close. I love this gorgeous red glitter too - another of my Christmas presents. Colours used are listed below the pictures and the pictures show the look in different lighting and angles.

Colours used: Burning Bright - Emily de Molly, Vintage Tee - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry M, Cocoa - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M

Ice Swimming Mermaids

Hey space turtles! Today's nail art is close to my heart as it's inspired by my cold water swimming which I've managed to keep up throughout this winter. I'm loving the swims and post fire chats so much that I almost feel like I don't want it to warm up! I usually swim in a lake near me and had the fortunate experience of trying an ice swim earlier in January (it's all organised with life guards etc). Last weekend I also swam in the sea with my sister who is into wild swimming too - great fun! So I wanted to do a tribute to that with some wintery mermaid nails.

I started with a peel of base coat and one coat of gorgeous reflective nail polish (colours listed below pictures). I created decals on my Uber Mat using white nail polish to stand out against the background.  While these were drying I added snowflake images to my outer nails using Mo You London's Noel 08 stamping plate. The mermaids are from their Atlantis 05 stamping plate. After placing the decals on my nails I added some smaller snowflakes around the mermaids and some little drops of snow using a dotting tool. I finished the look with a glossy top coat.

I'm undecided as to whether I should have done the outlines of the mermaids in black or white but I think white was probably the right decision. It's hard to know how well black would have shown up. Overall I'm pleased with these - the base colour is gorgeous and I love the theme! I particularly like how the mermaids are looking up at the snowflakes. I look forward to wearing these for my lake swim tomorrow!

Colours used: Tapped Out - KB Shimmer, Essential White - Uber Chic, Charlotte Street - Nails Inc, Cappuccino - Barry M, Purplicious - Mark

A Post-Christmas Winter Reindeer

Hey space turtles! More Glam Nails Challenge nail art to share today, this time the theme is Reindeer. I had a few options for this but decided to follow a tutorial I saw recently by naglarbynattis on Instagram. I like it's wintery vibe the and tutorial was easy to follow, I did use stamping plates instead of doing a freehand reindeer but this worked well for me, The tree and reindeer images are from Mo You London's Noel 06 stamping plate.

I started with one layer of magnetic polish on three of my nails and then another layer which I magnetised with my new zig-zag magnet. On my middle two nails I started with two coats of black and then one layer of sheer white for the smokey look. I moved the polish around a bit to make it uneven and more smokey looking. Next I added some tree images with black stamping polish and then another layer of sheer white followed my a reflective glitter topper. Finally I added the reindeer image and followed up with a glossy top coat.

Really pleased with how these came out. The tutorial was easy to follow and I love how it looks with and without flash. I'm blown away by the beauty of this magnetic polish I got for Christmas too! (colours used listed below pictures)

Colours used: Illusionist - Mooncat, Lady In Black - OPI, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Reflective Taco - Holo Taco, Sheer White - Unspecified

Let It Snowww

 ... but let it wait till I've stopped commuting to London! Today's snow nail art is for one of this months Glam Nails Challenge prompts. I decided to try out a new sparkly reflective polish I got for Christmas and thought it would be just right to go with snowflakes. I started with a peel of base and then two layers of glitter. I had many snowflake stamping plate images to choose from and settled on the Noel 20 plate from Mo You London for the multi snowflake image and for the individual ones I used their Festive 02 plate. I added the images using white stamping polish after a 'glitter grabber' layer of clear polish. I then used a dotting tool to add some more snow and finished the look with a quick dry top coat.

Below you can see the look with and without flash. I love the colour and the sparkly effect. These were simple to do and I really like them. In particular the index finger and little fingernail. Really loving doing some more wintery designs!

Colours used: See Through You - Emily de Molly, Essential White UberChic Beauty

Gifts and Gold

Merry Christmas space turtles! Today I'm sharing some nail art I had on for Christmas Day which fits one of the December Glam Nails Challenge prompts which was Gifts. I wanted to do something quite snazzy and sparkly for Christmas so went for a reflective glitter and a stamping plate I was excited to use more of.

I started with a peel off base coat and then a few layers of reflective gold glitter followed by a layer of gold holographic glitter. While all of this was drying I was creating decals on my Uber Mat using Mo You London's Noel 15 stamping plate. I chose all gift themed images and was pleased to try these vintage looking images, particularly the dog and the lady with the big skirt. After I'd applied the decals I added a glossy topcoat and job done! Definitely wasn't as quick as I've just made it sound though :D

I really like these though the only downside is that the images are quite dark so if lighting isn't great the colours and intricate details of the design don't always show up. Pictures below with and without flash so you can see them in natural light and with reflective glitter activated.

Colours used: Flash Platinum Gold - Fun Lacquer, Million Dollar Dream - Fyn Lacquer, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Cream Soda - Barry M, Red Hot Rio - OPI, My Car Has Navy-gation - OPI, Watermelon - Barry M, Cappuccino - Barry M, Charlotte Street - Nails Inc

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