Chinese New Year nail art

I know I am a bit late, but Happy Chinese New Year! This year it is the year of the sheep/goat. I hope it brings all of my readers/followers a year full of love, fortune and happiness. Even though I am over a week late in posting this, I thought I would still do so, as I really like my design. I didn't opt for a sheep/goat look, but came up with this design using the colours I most associate with Chinese New Year.

I first prepped my nails with OPI's base coat, then used a Nails Inc shimmery red polish. Unfortunately I do not know the name of it, as it is a small bottle and part of a Christmas collection I got given a couple of years back. I used about three layers and topped with Seche Vite.

Using a make-up sponge and Nails Inc's 'Black Taxi' I created a gradient tip in black to each nail. Again I topped with Seche Vite and allowed to dry.

Using a dotting tool I was then able to get creative, I painted on delicate flowers and Chinese symbols using Barry M's foil effects in 'gold' and 'matte white' and Nails Inc in 'Heather grey'. I then topped it with Seche Vite and allowed to dry.

Let me know what you think in the comments box below.

Until next time...

Laura-Jane

City Skyline nail art

Today on the blog, I have a done something a little different: a manicure that runs across all nails to create a little picture. My scene of choice is a City skyline at night. I love the way London looks at night, especially on a clear, crisp evening, where you can see all the sparkling lights from buildings. Canary Wharf is a particular favourite of mine.

I prepped my nails using OPI's base coat and allowed to dry. I created a blue gradient effect using two unnamed blue polishes. I topped it off with a good helping of SV to help speed up drying time.

Once dry, I was able to get creative and start my skyline. I used 'Black Taxi' by Nails Inc for the buildings which I applied using a small nail art brush. Once dry I grabbed a toothpick and a pale yellow polish by Sally Hansen for the warm glowing windows.

 

To add the finishing touch I finished off the sky with some stars and moon using a toothpick and Barry M's 'Matte White'. All is topped off with an other coat of Seche Vite.

What do you think? Do you like manicures that spread across the whole hand? Let me know in the comments box below, I love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time...

Laura-Jane

New Year, New Nails

Firstly I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and apologise for my absence of late. I had a busy Christmas and New year and sort of lost my blogging mojo. Not to mention I had a massive nail break which has made my enthusiasm to paint my nails dwindle.

 

 

 

I received lots of nail polish for Christmas, so I was spoilt for choice when painting my nails for the first time this year. I opted for a beautiful burgundy polish called 'Savile Row' by Nails inc. I absolutely adore it. I prepped my nails the usual way using OPI's base coat, only needed one coat of coloured polish and topped it off with a generous helping of Seche vIte.

 

 

 

As I am not one to just have a plain polish on my nails I decided to add a little flower power to spruce it up a little. I bought these nail stickers from Viva La Nails for around £1. They are super easy to apply, and I secured them with some Seche Vite to help them last longer on the nail and not peel off. This actually worked really effectively and did not cause the stickers to shrink and they were kept in perfect condition for around a week. (Can you tell I have a dishwasher? And do not have to do the washing up!)

 

 

 

What do you think? What is your experience with nail stickers? What nail products did you get for Christmas?

 

 

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

Pink and gold skittle manicure for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My second pink Breast Cancer Awareness manicure comes in the form of this little sparkly skittle manicure:

 

 

 

I decided to go with pink in lots of different forms and pair it with gold, as I think this colour combination is rather lovely. I first prepped my nails my clipping them a little shorter, filing down the tips and then coating all ten digits in OPI's base coat.

 

 

 

I usually prefer a more uniform manicure with all ten nails the same. However I have experimented with a skittle type manicure in the past, and I thought I would try and do one again. You can have so much fun with these manicures and create lots of different looks all on one hand, which I am becoming quite fond of.

 

 

 

 

Here are the nails, step-by-step, finger-by-finger:

 

 

 

The pinky:

 

 

 

I used a dark metallic pink by Jessica called 'Kensigton Rose' as my base coat. Using a small dotting tool I placed small polka dots all over the nail with Seche Vite's 'Delicate'. I applied a top coat of SV to help with drying time, and then topped it off with Nails Inc Matte top coat.

 

 

The ring finer:

 

 

 

I think this is my favourite nail of the bunch. Its so sparkly, looks like it has so many layers, and it also meant I was able to try my newly acquired nail polish from Barry M. It doesn't have a name on the bottle, which is a bit annoying. It a lovely pink iridescent glitter and is so sparkly its unbelievable. I used three coats of the glitter on top of Seche Vites 'delicate' to create this look and topped it off with two coats of SV to give it a glass like finish, which is smooth to the touch.

 

The middle finger:

 

 

 

I used Leighton Denny's 'Hint of Mint' as my base colour. Once this was dry I free handed on some stripes using a nail art brush. For these I uses Seche Vite's 'delicate' topped with my new Barry M pink glitter and for the gold I used Barry M's foil gold topped with Nails Inc 'Wembley'. I then of course finished it all off with a couple of layers of SV.

 

The pointer:

 

 

 

For this nail I used Barry M's gold foil nail polish, and to add that extra sparkle I added a layer of Nails Inc 'Wembley' to give even more sparkle. To add a touch of pink to this nail I placed a light pink heart shaped stud which I bought from Sparkly-nails. I attached it using clear polish and sealed it onto the nail using another coat of SV.

 

The thumb:

 

 

 

This one is probably my least favourite nail. I used Seche Vite's 'delicate' as my base coat and then created a gradient effect using the Barry M pink glitter, making it packed with glitter towards the cuticle and lighter towards the tip. I then mattified the manicure with Nail's Inc Matte top coat. I think making it matte made it look a little dirty rather than the effect I was actually going for. I wanted to tie it I with pinky finger which was also made matte using the same polish.

 

 

 

Over all I do love this manicure, I think the pink and gold are really lovely together. For those of you who don't really like to wear pink nails, this a great way to combine the #WearItPink colour into a manicure without it being too overpowering and also help create awareness of such a worthy cause throughout the month of October.

 

Are you a fan of the skittle manicure look? Which nail do you like the best? What other colour combo's do you like to mix with pink?

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

Geisha Girl Water Decal Nail Art

For today's nail art post, I tried something I haven't tried before: water decals. Why haven't I tried these before? I have no idea! I wish I could take credit for the beautiful detailed little designs, but I can't. I purchased them from a nail art company called Sparkly-Nails and I think I paid around £1.50 for the pack which contains 15 decals. So enough to do one full set of nails and a few spare in case of mishaps or accent nails.

 

 

 

I first prepped my nails using OPI's base coat, and applied three thin coats of Nails Inc's 'Warwick Avenue' to make the polish opaque and applied a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying process and allowed to dry.

 

 

 

I chose five different designs to apply to my nails. I made sure I used the same picture for the same finger for both hands, but I used mirroring images so they were not all facing the same direction, which was a nice touch. I made sure I cut extremely close to the image so that it would fit onto my nails.

 

 

 

I filled a small bowl with tepid tap water and started with thee pinky finger. I placed the decal in the water for around 30 seconds and removed using tweezers. the image should then slide very easily off the paper backing and allowed me to place on my nail in the desired spot. You have around 30 seconds before the decal dries in place so you don't have to be super quick.

 

 

 

I continued with this process until all ten nails had been completed and topped them all off with a coat of Seche Vite to seal the water decals in place and to give my manicure that extra shine.

 

 

 

I am really please with how they ruined out and how simply and easy they were to apply. I got lots of compliments from this manicure. I ordered a bunch of different decals and I can't wait to use them again. Although I have lots of planned nail art for future posts to get through first.

 

 

 

Have you used water decals before? Do you find them easy to apply too? I would love to see some of your designs, let me know what you think in the comments box below.

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

4th July nail art

When I comes to nail art, nothing pleases me more than when I have a World wide holiday or event to display on my nails. Not only does it give me a purpose to paint my talons, but it also means I don't have to be that creative when coming up with a theme or design, it's already marked on my calendar.

 

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you will already know that I am from London, England. However with this post I shall be transporting across the Atlantic and shall be donning red, white and blue on my nails for the 4th July celebrations.

 

 

 

I have been lucky enough to be in the US on two occasions when they have been celebrating Independence Day, one of which was last year. Both visits were to Disneyland, Florida, and both were spent at Epcot, although about 10 years apart. I love Epcot for a couple of reasons, you get to travel the word (Disneyland style) in a single day, and the firework display at the end of the evening, especially on the 4th July are amazing, The best display I have ever seen live. However the 4th July holds another very significant memory for me. This Thursday shall mark the one year anniversary since my Grandad passed away, in which this nail post is dedicated to.

 

 

 

To create my 4th July nail art I first painted on a clear base coat using one from OPI's range. This was just to prep my nails, as I know from experience, blue polish is a nightmare to get off and I wanted to limit the stains on my nails. Once this was dry I used stripping tape to mark off around a 1/3 of my nail, to creates a blue French Manicure tip. I used Nails Inc 'Belgravia Place' which I thought was the perfect blue for my nail art. I topped this off with Seche Vite to speed up the drying process.

 

 

 

Once dry, using a red stripper polish from Fraulien I painted a single red line underneath the blue tip to create a second dimension to the French manicure and to also add a touch of red. Whilst this was drying, I blobbed some of Barry M's 'Matte White' nail polish onto some tin foil and grabbed a toothpick to add tiny white stars. The blue polish is rather porous, so the white stars need around 2-3 application to maintain the true white colour, otherwise when the manicure is completely dry they'll end up being light blue in colour.

 

 

 

I then added another coat of Seche Vite, before this was completely dry, I placed a white iridescent foil star the edge of each nail to complete my nail design and of course another coat of Seche Vite.

 

I hope you like the post, and it has given you some ideas for your own 4th July nail art?

 

How are you celebrating 4th July this year?

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

Zebra print nail art

Today's manicure post comes in the form of animal print. I am not too sure where this idea came from, but I am glad it did, as I really like it.

 

 

 

It may have popped into my head subconsciously after my birthday meal with the boyfriend a couple of a weeks ago. He took me to a nice little Chinese restaurant situated on a floating boat on the river called Feng Shang Princes. The restaurant is situated within close proximity to London Zoo, where they are currently holding adult only night time access. This is basically an excuse to walk around the Zoo guzzling alcohol, and then you get to spend all your hard earned cash on animal print onesies, head bands and face paint. When leaving to go home all we could see were animals! It was like Noah's Arc had reincarnated into the London Underground whereby they loaded onto the tube (subway for my American followers) two by two. It looked like a lot of fun and very surreal!

 

 

 

For my base coat I used 'hint of mint' by Leigton Denny, which is an off white colour. I think I actually prefer it to a bright white. It makes the manicure more subtle.

 

 

 

To create the zebra stripes I used a black stripper nail art polish by Frauline.

 

 

 

Just like a zebra, where every animal has their own print, a bit like humans and our fingerprints.  I tried to emulate this on my own nails, to make each fingernail unique and not so uniform. It also helped me, as I didn't have to worry about every nail being perfect, and I could just have some fun with it.

 

 

 

To finish the manicure I used my trusted top coat by seche vite.

 

Has anyone else tried animal print?

 

What do you all think?

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

Retro nail art; Back to the '60's

I have to say this manicure is probably one of my favourite manicures I have done. It will be a sad day when the nail polish remover comes out and I have to say goodbye to this one. I'm not too sure about the reason behind my fondness, but I just really, REALLY like it. I like the colour combination, the way it stands out, and I think it just looks really pretty. The best thing about it is that it is so easy to do.

 

 

The design on this manicure reminds me of the 1960's. Now, I wasn't around then, and I doubt I was even a twinkle in my parents eyes, as they were just kids. However, it does bring back fond memories of my GCSE Textile project, as it looks like the prints on dresses that would have been worn by the likes of supermodel Twiggy & Co. If you are around my age or older, you'll also remember a TV programme called 'Heartbeat'. This manicure would fit in nicely there.

 

 

 

What you'll need:

 

Three nail polishes of your choice.

 

 

From left to right:

 

Black Taxi - Nails Inc

Matte White - Barry M

Lilac Pastelle - Revlon UK

Fast drying top coat - Seche Vite

 

Two different sized dotting tools and a stripping brush.
 

 

Paint your nails with your desired base colour. I chose the Lilac Pastelle colour, which is quite a soft pink/lilac rather than a true lilac. It is very pretty. I used two coats as I prefer an opaque look; paint them to your own personal preference. Top it off with a coat of SV and allow to dry. Once dry, using a stripper brush,  paint lines with the black and white polishes, alternating them so the pattern continues throughout the entire ten nails (yes, I always paint both hands!).

 

 

 

Now using a dotting tool, place large size dots along the thin strips. Use the contrasting colour to place a smaller dot inside the larger ones. Top it off with a top coat and you're done. See, simples!

 

 

I really love the contrasting colours, and the way it has turned out. I shall definitely be doing this manicure again; I may experiment with different colours, but I have to say this combination is probably going to remain my favourite.

 

  

What do you think? Will you be giving them ago? Let me know in the comments box below.

 

If you have any nail art suggestions, let me know too, and I'll try my best to do them for you.

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

Dripping in Diamonds...

I was feeling in a very girly, glittery, pink mood when I came up with this new design. The beautiful blue skies and sun across London today also adds that extra sparkle. The pictures really do not do the glitz any justice at all.

 

  

I also used some techniques I haven't used before and I am very pleased with the results. Instead of using polish for my base coat, I used an array of different dazzle dusts by Barry M to create my desired colour. I used different shades of pink and added a touch of silver and bronze to add the extra sparkle.

 

 

 

 

I mixed the dusts together in a glass pot and kept adding colours until I got the shade I wanted.  Before applying the dust to my nails, I diluted PVA glue (mixed with water) and began to draw grass-like stands from the base of the nail to the tips. With a light feather brush, I gently dabbed on the sparkly pink dazzle dust. I then allowed to dry to complete the next step.

 

I then reapplied some diluted PVA glue to the dips of the fingernails, and packed on the powder to add impact and a pop of colour, which is quite like a gradient effect. I topped this off with Seche Vite's top coat.

 

 

Whilst the top coat is still wet, you need to add your rhinestones. I did one nail at a time, as Seche Vite dries VERY fast, and by doing it individually it allowed me to stick the rhinestones on without having to reapply wet polish, which would result in wasting the product. I used a selection of rhinestones from Cheeky-Beauty, which I received as gifts for Christmas. I opted to use diamond coloured stars and circular 2mm rhinestones in the same colour to complete the look.

 

 

I wanted a starburst effect, so I placed the stars in their desired place then added sporadic circular rhinestones to give that effect. I placed some close to the star shape to give the vision of a cluster, and then spaced them out to resemble a bursting effect. Make sure you do not place rhinestones too near the edge of the nail, as these will just pop right off with the slightest of touches.

 

Once all the rhinestones were in place, I then gave all my nails another coat of SV to seal them onto the nails and avoid them pinging off.

 

With all nails complete they look very nice together and they really do dazzle in the sunshine, giving the manicure an eye-catching look. To me, they also feel really nice to touch, as it has a bumpy feel to them and I can't help but touch them. I often catch myself doing this whilst daydreaming, and then have to remember not to or my manicure would be ruined.

 

 

 

What do you think? Let me know in the comment box below.

 

Have you used any alternative materials to create a manicure other than nail polish?

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane