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

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