Blueberry Flowers

Hey everyone! The second Glam Nails Challenge prompt this month was blueberries and I've seen some gorgeous designs people have done for it! I was a little unsure what to do at first so was pleased when I discovered my Maniology Fruit Deco plate had a berry image I could use. I decided to go for an abstract sort of look with some pale colours so the blueberries would stand out. 

I started with a base of white (a challenge as my white nail polish is getting quite thick!) and then added a swipe of pale purple and pink nail polish on each nail. After that I used the blueberry image from the Fruit Deco plate on each nail. It's a layered stamping plate so I didn't need to create decals and could just layer up the colours. To finish off the look I used a dotting tool and gold nail polish to add a little extra detail on each nail.

I think the final look is very summery and reminds me of jam jars or some sort of  cottage core fruit packaging! Also looks kind of floral to me, hence the name of this blog post. I used a shiny top coat but might add a bit one just to see how it looks.

Colours used: Floral Street - Nails Inc, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Indigo - Barry M, Uptown Glamour - Nails Inc

Pinapular Delight

Hey everyone! I'm trying the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram again this month. All the themes are fruit based which I think it pretty good fun, and some of them are more unusual ones to try too. I was a bit behind with the first one which is pineapples. Pineapple nail art is great and I've had an idea on my to do list for ages so thought I'd give that a go. Ever since I saw Belle of So Hot Right Nail do foil pineapples I knew I needed that super shiny pineapple look!

I started with a base of pale pink on my middle two nails and blue on the others. I added a layer of gold flakie polish over the top to add something extra! I then used the Tropical 07 stamping plate from Mo You London to add pineapples on the middle two nails in black. Once dry I added foil glue over the top of the pineapples, followed by the gold foil then the green foil once the glue was dry. I worked surprisingly well I think and the gaps around the leaves kind of looks like an outline. I used a thin nail art brush and black nail polish to add a bit of detail over the gold. 

So in conclusion I wasn't really expecting this to work but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome! It was never going to be quite as fabulous as the original but I think it went as well as it could! Also to explain the title of this blog post - my boyfriend and I use the word pinapular to describe something pineapple like - I can't think of any examples....

Colours used: My Car Has Navy-gation - OPI, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Lady In Black - OPI, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

Polka bubbles

Hi hi! It's been a slightly strange day and I'm glad to be in my PJ's writing a blog post! This is some nail art I did on Sunday and have been meaning to try for absolutely ages!  I saw Trunails275 on Instagram do these bubble effect nails absolutely ages ago and I was blown away! She included a brief description of how to do it so I had to give it a try.

I started with a dark blue base, and then on my Uber Mat mixed some white acrylic paint with water using a nail art brush. I then used my largest dotting tool to pick up some of the watery paint mix and apply it gently to my nails in spots. I then used a cotton bud (or q-tip if you're in the US) to gently remove the excess water from each bubble. This worked pretty well and once dry I used sharpies to add some colour to the bubbles, finally finishing off with a top coat to seal it in.

I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out even if they aren't quite as bubbly as the originals! I think the circles need to be a bit more 'wobbly' and perhaps a bit clearer as well. I reckon I should have used more water. Not bad for a first attempt though!

Colours used: My Car Has Navy-gation - OPI, White Acrylic Paint, Multiple Sharpies

Dun dun dun dun dun dun SHARK WEEK!

Hey all! So I'm aware I have just missed shark week but having seen lots of lovely shark themed nail art over the last week I couldn't resist adding some of my own. I was inspired by Happily Polished on Instagram to try this grey shark look. I've always gravitated towards doing shark nails on blue. Looking at it now it seems obvious to do grey shark nails but I hadn't thought of it and I like it!

I started with a base of grey on my index and little fingernails and silver on the rest. I then added a sprinkling of silver glitter over the grey nails. While this was drying I used a multi-shark image from Uber Chic's Just Beachy stamping plate to add a white shark pattern on my thumb and ring fingernails. I used the same plate to layer up a toothy shark image, and then used a dotting tool to add eyes. The contrast isn't strong but I'm glad it's enough to be visible.

In conclusion I rather like these, I'm glad I got the eye placement right and am enjoying the various elements of the look. Chomp chomp!

Colours used: Grey - Barry M, Diamond Glitter - Barry M, Silver Lining - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, White Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection

Holo Taco Anniversary Fun!

Hi again! This one was a bit of a nail fail but I think the amount of sparkle saves it! It's around the time of the nail polish brand Holo Taco's 2nd anniversary and they have done another nail art competition. I wasn't feeling particularly creative but thought I'd get the 1st anniversary collection out and try using some nail tape for some sparkly colourful nails.

I started with a base of navy blue (colours listed below pictures) and once dry I used some nail tape in diagonal lines on my nails to create sections. I then added some of each of the 1st anniversary Holo Taco's before peeling off the tape. It looked so fabulous with the tape on I was a bit disappointed when I peeled it off! This was partly because the blue polish wasn't quite dry enough so made a bit of a mess, but also because it removed an element of contrast from the look. I therefore added some silver lines to disguise the mess. This did make it look better but it's still pretty messy! 

Although these did not come out as planned I'm still enjoying wearing them because of the sheer gloriousness and sparkle of the Holo Taco 1st anniversary flakies!

Colours used: The Serpentine - Nails Inc, Purple Flakie Holo Taco, Blue Flakie Holo Taco, Gold Flakie Holo Taco, Dazzle - Orly

Pastel Dino's for Sammy of My Nail Envy

Hey everyone! Got some nail art to share today :) This one is for a birthday collaboration on Instagram for Sammy at My Nail Envy. The theme was animals, and though dinosaurs possibly stretch that theme a little I wanted to do a pastel dino look as she once created another pastel dino look of mine! It was good to use the Jurassic Park plates again and this gorgeous mint Starilly Polish (Mint To Be).

So I started with a lovely sparkly mint green base - a good start in my opinion! I then used the Jurassic Park 02 stamping plate from Mo You London to create a few dinosaur decals on my Uber Mat (see now here). I also added a few layers of leaves from the same plate on my thumb and ring finger nails. I started with just gold and silver but it was a bit too pale so I added some black leaves for more contrast. I finished with a shiny top coat to seal it all in.

In conclusion I'm pretty pleased with these, they're cute and fun. Can't go wrong with dino nails! I hope Sammy likes it :)

Colours used: Mint To Be - Starilly, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Seymour Walk - Nails Inc, Foil Effect in Gold - Barry M, Foil Effect in Silver - Barry M, Hatch - Cirque Colors, Blueberry - Barry M

Cirque Colors Facets 2021

Hey everyone! Blogged a bit less than usual last month and I think it might be another month of the same as I'm managing to do more social stuff at the moment. Going to try and take it easy this coming weekend so may have a bit more time for nails!

Today I'm sharing my swatches of the new 2021 Cirque Colors Facets Collection polishes. I was surprised and excited to see them release new additions to the Facets collection as it is my favourite collection of all time! I did think some of these were a little similar to some polishes I already have but on receiving them I think they're totally worth it! As I have been short of time and reviewing them later than intended I have done my lazy swatches with a colour on each nail rather than each hand. I've listed my thoughts on each colour below the pictures. It's a really gorgeous collection and has all that beautiful sparkle you'd expect from Cirque Colors Facets polishes.

Champagne Diamond - On my index finger in the top left picture. This is a gorgeous champagne gold and really classy. It's one of the most sparkly in the collection too! It took 3-4 coats to get the look I have here but also looks beautiful as part of a more sheer look and would look good over other colours.

Spinel - Middle fingers in the top left picture. This gorgeous purple is a little lighter than Amethyst (previous collection) but still a gorgeous rich colour. Only a couple of coats needed though I did do a small third one just for extra depth!

Pink Diamonds - Ring finger in top left picture and bottom left. This was another fairly sheer one that needed a few coats and was super sparkly!!

Aquamarine - Little finger in top left picture and middle right. Again gloriously sparkly and fairly sheer so did need a few coats. 

Tsavorite - Middle left picture. This one is a little less sparkly than the others but the perfect shade of tree green (lighter than Emerald and darker than Peridot). I used two coats.

Fire Opal - Bottom right picture. This combined with Tsavorite make a great Christmas pair! This is a lovely rich colour (lighter than Garnet but darker than Ruby) and I think the name really suits it. It has great depth. I used two coats.