Pinwheel nail art

Today's manicure is probably my favourite nail art I have ever done. I am so in love with it. I often ask the boyfriend what colour I should paint my nails, and he always give me the same answer, pulling out all the coral type colours out of my nail polish stash. So I thought I would try to do some nail art to incorporate all of the colours, just for him. Here is the outcome:

 

 

 

I started by prepping my nails with OPI's base coat. Then painted my nails using Barry M's 'matte white' polish.  I topped this off with a coat of SV and allowed to dry. Once this was dry I used four pieces of stripping tape per nail to divide my nail into eight sections; to create the pinwheel effect. I did one hand at a time, so before I started painting my nails again, I made sure all pieces of tape were sectioned off on one hand and the lids of all the polish were unscrewed.

 

 

 

The polishes I used:

 

The corals from dark to light:

 

Instyle coral - Rimmel London

Iisie Street - Nails Inc

Summer Fizz - Leighton Denny

Peach Melba - Barry M

 

The pinks from dark to light:

 

Miami - 17

Pink Flamingo - Barry M

Petite Pink - Sally Hansen

Strawberry Ice cream - Barry M

 

 

 

I painted each individual section with one colour starting from the darkest coral to the lightest, and continued the circle with the lightest pink to the darkest. On each nail I started the darkest coral in a different section so all the nails were different, which I think gives quite a nice effect.  

 

 

 

As soon as I had completed each nail, and before the nail polish was completely dry, I removed the tape and gave it a coat of SV, before I moved onto the next nail. I waited until all the nails on my left hand were completely dry before I started the process again for my right hand.

 

 

 

Once all ten fingernail were complete and dry, I applied another coat of OPI's base coat. Whilst the polish was still wet I used an orange stick to place a little diamond stud in the middle of the pinwheel and sealed in with another coat of SV to complete the look.

 

 

 

I shall definitely be giving this manicure another go in possibly cooler colours using blue/green tones or reds/browns for autumn.

 

What do you think? Will you be giving it a go?

 

Until next time...

 

Laura-Jane

The classic French manicure

My latest manicure is actually inspired by my sister, Charlotte. Shortly after I came out of hospital from having hip surgery she came up for a little visit. She had recently been on holiday to my parent's house in the south of Spain and had gone and had a pedicure in preparation beforehand. It was only a French manicure, but it looked lovely.

I have to say I do really like the look of a French manicure, I find it looks very elegant, feminine and girly. I also like the look as it makes the nails look very clean and fresh. My sister's nails brought back lots of memories for me too - I have a confession to make; before I got into nail art and painting my own nails, I use to indulge myself with acrylic nails, going to the nail shop on a weekly basis for about six years. Fortunately my nails have come out the other end unscathed, as I have naturally strong nails which have always been in really good condition no matter what I put them through (something I inherited from my mother.) Whilst indulging in this bad habit I always use to opt for the French manicure look. I would change it up from week to week using different airbrush designs, glitter, rhinestones etc, but the tips were always white. I made them extra glitzy just before I would jet off on holiday too, just to make them a little bit different.

So feeling inspired by my sisters feet, and the weather being as nice as it has been recently in London (even the boyfriend mentioned it was "holiday" weather) I decided to hobble on crutches to my nail polish stash and give the French mani a whirl.

To achieve this look is a simple as 1,2,3...

I prepped the nails by using OPI's base coat. Once dried I used a white stripper polish by Frauline to paint a very thin tip (I am not a fan of the large white tips.) I did this freehand, but if your hand isn't as steady or you don't own either a thin brush polish or nail art brushes, you can section off the nail using tape.

To make it a little bit different and to add a touch of colour I used a bright pink glitter polish, again by Frauline, for an extra strip underneath the white. I think it looks quite nice, has a hint of Summer and of course makes it that little bit more girly. Not to mention it also matched the pink dress I was wearing when I painted my nails. Once I had done all ten nails, I then topped it off with a coat of SV.

So there you have it, its a simple design this time, but I rather like it. What do you think? Are you a fan of French manicures? How do you makes yours a little bit different?

Until next time...

Laura-Jane