Corset Mani

My friend told me that I should try out this nail art style last night, and I am very pleased I listened to her as I love the results. It was I style I had been meaning to try out for a while, my concerns were that a) a lot of the pictures I've seen look like little shoes rather than little corsets - being a corset wearer myself this would have bugged me, and b) finding a flesh colour nail varnish opaque enough to cover up my free edge.

So, I worked out a plan, looking back at my old mani's, I decided that Revlon's Sheer Cotton was probably the closest I had to an opaque (in 3 layers) vaguely flesh colour nail polish. I also decided that slightly curved lines for the edges of the corset looked more realistic, and less shoe like, giving the impression of a waist, and this was what I was hoping to achieve.

For this design I used -
Revlon Top Speed nail polish in 010 Sher Cotton
Models Own nail art pen in Black (a christmas freebie)
Rimmel Lycra Pro in Matte Finish Matifying Top Coat
Constance Carroll Diamond Gloss in 248 Diamond

I started by painting on 3 layers of the Sheer Cotton, adding the matte top coat, and waiting for it to dry. I then drew on little black tips, and the corset shape on my ring fingers and thumbs, using the pen side of the Models Own nail art pen. I then used a small dotting tool to add silver dots along the edges of the black tips, and on the corset nails to show the holes that the corset ribbon goes through. Finally I drew on the corset ribbons using the brush side of the Models Own nail art brush. Here is the finished product -

I love this mani, I just hope it lasts! as I wanted the base colour matte, and the design to be glossy, I couldn't top coat the whole design. Oh well! I'll enjoy it while it lasts :)

Blog you soon, S x

First Fishtail Nails

I created this look by following this tutorial from Chalkboard Nails. I really like this look, and it was very easy to create. I also tried out wrapping my tips with my top coat, and 5 days later my mani is still perfect apart from a tiny chip on my right index finger. Not bad considering all the packing and laundry I have been doing lately!

Here is what I used for this look -
Base Coat and Hardener by Constance Carroll
Constance Carroll Diamond Gloss in 248 Diamond
Constance Carroll Diamond Gloss in 365 Pastel Green (though it is clearly blue...)
No7 Stay Perfect in Betty Blues no 280
No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat

And here is how it turned out -

Not bad for a first attempt! I am really pleased with the finished look here, I think the colours compliment each other well, and has a bit of shiny-ness too :) I am looking forward to trying this design out with different colour combo's.

Much love, S x

Wintery Mani

This mani is a prime example of one that didn't go quite according to plan. I did end up quite liking the finished effect though, so I wore it for a couple of days anyway :) I did this mani whilst I was working at Boots, so I had to have something subtle enough for work, which this was.

I started off with 3 coats of Revlon Top Speed Nail Polish in Sheer Cotton. I then decided that I hadn't done any stamping for ages, so stamped on some super subtle white snowflakes. When I say super subtle - you can barely see them, the base colour was too pale for white to really show up. The white polish that I used was just a generic french manicure polish. I then Mattified the whole lot, with Rimmel Matte Finish topcoat, which made the snowflakes just slightly more visible.

I really liked the effect of the matte top coat over the Sheer Cotton, but the snowflakes were so subtle that they didn't add much to the mani. Still gave me a good opportunity to practice my stamping though :) Here is the finished design -

I do love the base colour, especially with the Matte top coat, but I did find the Revlon polish just a little annoying to work with again. I just find them slightly tacky (it is a brand new bottle) and difficult to get a smooth finish without doing so many layers it takes a lifetime to dry. I wouldn't mind this from a cheap polish, but a £7 a bottle I'm not hugely impressed. Saying that though, both of the Revlon glitters I have a brilliant.

Anyway, until next time, S x

Glittery French Manicure

This manicure is one that I did a little while ago, it started off as a basic french manicure, then after one day I got bored of it, so covered it all my Pink Sapphire Glitter by BarryM! I loved how it turned out. I did one coat on all but my ring finger, on which I dabbled on 3 coats, for a much more dense coverage of glitter, as an accent nail.

The French Manicure polish was just a generic set I was given as a gift one year, it's just called Professional Nail Care Super Finish French Pink, French White and Top Coat. I did the white tips free-hand.

Here is what I ended up with -

I love this glitter so much, with it's little pieces of holographic bar glitter it is gorgeous. I really loved this mani too, and the different effects achieved by adding extra glitter! It was a real pain to remove, but this glitter is so worth it :)

Bye for now, S x

Experimental Taped Mani

I have a bit of a weird one for you today folks :) I was just experimenting with some of my new colours, and also the tape technique which I have not tried before.

My little fingers are a bit out of place in this mani, I did them in BarryM Amethyst Glitter, just to see what the glitter was like! Then I just couldn't bring myself to take it off because a) it's really pretty and b) it is 3 coats of relatively coarse glitter, and I am not yet ready for the struggle of all the shredded cotton wool! I am going to leave them on until they start chipping, and hopefully come up with a few more suitable manis to compliment them when I am back in Bristol with my full collection of polishes :)

For the rest of my nails, I was just experimenting with a couple of the new No7 polishes, and how effectively they would go over each other. The colours used are Vivid Violet and Star Shower. I started off with 2 coats of star shower on my thumb, index and ring fingers, and 2 coats of vivid violet on my middle fingers. I then used standard sellotape to tape off a diagonal stripe on each nail, and painted the stripe on in 1 coat of the opposing colour. I removed the tape immediately after applying the polish, and am pleased with how clean my lines are. In future, I may invest in some masking tape or coloured tape, as the transparent stuff is tricky to place in the right place, and a couple of my lines are a little wonky. Still, not bad for a first try!

Here are my nails pre-striping -

I love all the colours, but I admit the glitter is a little out of place here! Here are my nails after painting the stripes on -

I do like the effect, the colours I used really remind me of the YvesSaintLaurent Manifesto bottle (you can tell I spent a month selling fragrance, right?!) Here is the bottle, see what I mean?

Anyway, I am going back to Bristol tonight, and so will have access both to Photoshop, and my full selection of nail polishes, yey!

Blog you soon, S x

Some Of My Newbies

This is just going to be a post about some of the new additions to my collection of polishes. I have included pictures of what most of them look like on too :)

I'll start off with my new No7 polishes, this one is a Stay Perfect Nail Clour in Star Shower, it is a gold/brown base packed with gold, blue and silver super fine glitter, it is gorgeous, and not at all difficult to remove as most glitters are. Here it is -

And here is what it looks like on -

Those photo's really do not do it justice, it's gorgeous. It is shown above as 3 coats, but only 2 are required really.

The next one is Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Vivid Violet -

And on my nail -

This is just 2 coats, I love it, it is certainly vivid!

I chose the next one as it is really subtle and smart for professional occassions (job interviews in particular... hopefully) but also looked like it would be a good base for nail art. It is another Stay Perfect in colour Practically Perfect, and here it is -

It is pictured above with 3 coats.

The Final No7 polish I got is my favourite, it is stunning. I have already done a post showing this beautiful polish in all of it's glory here. In the bottle it looks like a pink polish with a fine silver glitter -

On my nails however, it looked more like a pink foil! You can see this by following the link above.

I have also now got my first Sally Hansen nail polish, I found it in poundland! It is Sally Hansen InstaDri in 130 Beige Blast -

Again, this is pictured as 3 coats.

The next one I was particularly excited about, it's my first ever Krackle polish! It was a christmas present from my mum. It's by a brand called toma, which I had not heard of before, and the colour is TCK11 Mauve.

I have tried it out over a couple of colours already, to see it over Milan, click here, and to see it over Pearly Queen, click here :)

The last 2 polishes were a christmas present from my brother. They are both by BarryM, first there is the Chameleon Lilac, which changes colour when you apply a topcoat. I have not tried it out yet, but here it is in the bottle -

And finally here is BarryM Amethyst Glitter, a gorgeous multicoloured glitter with pinks, blues and golds -

Pictured above is 3 coats, dabbled on. I took a couple of different angles, and a blurred picture to show the glitter off better. It dried very quickly, but I'm sure it will be a nightmare to remove!

Anyway, epic long post over now! S x

Another Kracking Mani

So, since I left my topcoat behind in Bristol, I decided to try to prolong the wear of the No7 Milan, by applying a coat of my Krackle polish by toma, colour TMK11 Mauve. The effect actually totally transformed the original colour, it hardly looks like Milan any more, it appears darker somehow! It does slightly take away from the shiny awesomeness of the Milan, but it does make a nice change after wearing it by itself for a day.

Here is how it looks -

I have got to admit, I am really loving using the krackle polish, and am looking foreward to getting some more to try :) It's a really quick and easy way to make a manicure more interesting.

Until next time, S x

Milan!

My post today is just to show you one of my new nail polishes, this one is a No7 one, called Milan, and it is gorgeous. In the bottle it looks like a pink, with a fine silver glitter, but on the nails it really looks like a shiny pink foil. It reminds me of christmas sweet wrappers!

This nail polish, as all of the No7 ones I have used, is a lovely colour, and goes on well. This one in particular is perfectly acceptable to wear as just one layer! I did 2 layers for these photos, just to see how much a 2nd layer would improve it, but I think I will stick with one layer for this one. Also, it did dry very fast, and despite going to bed shortly after doing my nails, I did not awake with any marks from the sheets, or fingerprints :)

Anyway, here it is -

Isn't it pretty!

Much love, S x

Timeless Ocean of Snowflakes

First of all, I apologise about these photos, I am currently in Devon, with no photo editing software at all, so these haven't even been cropped, please ignore any mess in the background! I just didn't want to get behind on my blogging again, and since I am in Devon until sunday, a few unedited photos are necessary I'm afraid!

This post is about a mani I did purely to experiment with a few of the new polishes I recently bought, I will do a post about all my new polishes soon too, there are a few :)

I started off with 2 coats of Revlon, Timeless; my first grey polish. Here is how that looked -

I really like the colour, and the finished look, but I have to say that for nearly £7 a bottle, I had expected a little more from the Revlon polishes. I found that it was difficult to get an even finish, as the polish dragged a little. Oh well, it is definitaly a nice colour, for when I have the patience for it!

I then wanted to try out 2 of the other new colours I bought, my first ever Models Own polishes. My ring fingers each have a coat of Snowflakes over the Revlon, and all the rest have a coat of Indian Ocean, this is the finished look -

I love this finished look, I am super happy with both of the Models Own polishes, even though the Snowflakes was predictably tricky to remove. I really enjoyed wearing this sparkley wintery look :)

Bye for now, S x