Today I wanted something vaguely spring-like. I ended up going with these blue and yellow floral stamped nails.
The base is two coats of Jacava Justice Walk, a pretty slatey grey-blue with a great formula.
I then stamped using MoYou London Bahamas Punch, and a Bundle Monster plate, the Lucy's Stash blogger plate BM-XL209.
I added topcoat for extra shine. I really like how these turned out!
Regular readers will know how much I love the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield - I've posted about it and done nails here, as well as having done snooker nails here. Last night though, I got a very exciting opportunity which deserved its own nails!
Every Christmas, the Crucible does a classic musical. This year's is Annie Get Your Gun, which I'm very excited about because OMG! Cowboys! Chaps! Saloons and comedy shooting competitions? What's not to love? It opens on Friday and runs to the end of January, and I've got tickets for a week on Saturday. But yesterday I was lucky enough to be part of a group of twitter fans who got to have an exclusive backstage tour, and it was SO MUCH FUN! We met the musical director, who took us to the remote orchestra pit under the stage and gave us some sneak peeks at the music secrets. We went to the wardrobe and costume department and chatted to the staff, and tried on lots of hats (and oohed and aahed at Kenneth Branagh's Richard III costume). We ate pizza, we chatted panto and musicals and theatre, and we got to watch some of the technical rehearsal for AGYG itself. There's a TRAIN! And hats! And chaps!
The nails are inspired by the production artwork, which is gorgeous!
You can read all about Annie Get Your Gun (including lots of photos and cute video trailers) here.
Anyway, on to the nails! I started with a base of Barry M Mustard, and sponged a mix of Barry M Satsuma, Full Throttle and Models Own Sarong Wrap to make the blended background.
I really liked how these looked, and wore these for two days as they were.
Tonight I added the bullet holes, using Konad Black sponged on and then Konad White dotted on over the top. I then mattified everything using Barry M Matte Topcoat. Then, because I never know when to leave well enough alone, I added a fringe to the ring nail, using nail glue and some edges from a fringe on an old scarf, as well as an accent stud. Because every cowboy mani needs fringes!
The fringe wasn't massively successful to be honest, but I suppose it's quite fun. It was too short to have any weight though, so it wouldn't swing very well.
I'll let you know what I make of the show when I go - I really can't wait!
I wore these bright gradient nails for four whole days this week, because I liked them so much.
I used four of the Models Own Polish for Tans for these - Sarong Wrap, Beach Fire, Barrier Reef and Island Hop.
These blended so easily, they were so easy to make a gradient with. I added topcoat for shine and longevity.
I was planning on stamping some kind of tropical flower design over these, but in the end never did, because I liked them as they were.
I wore these for a couple of days at the end of last week. I used 6 of the Models Own Polish for Tans for this watermarble.
I started with a base of Models Own Coconut Cream, and then used Island Hop, Barrier Reef, Boat Party, Sarong Wrap, Beach Hut and Beach Fire to watermarble over the top.
These polishes spread so easily on the water and are perfect for water marbling. I imagine I'll be doing plenty more of these in future.
I love how these came out!
I've been stamping a lot recently, and I felt the urge to do some freehanding for a change. The weather has been grey and damp, and I wanted something bright and cheerful, so I went for my favourite flowers, sunflowers.
I started with a base of China Glaze For Audrey (my bottle has gone a bit thick and gloopy - it's now a PERFECT one coater!) and freehanded the flowers using some MoYou stamping polishes and a fine brush. The yellow is Bahamas Punch and I used two greens for the leaves, Key Lime and Spring Green. I really like how pigmented and rich the MoYou London stamping polishes are - they're not too gloopy to do nail art with, but they're still opaque over strong colours.
The brown flower centres are Barry M Cocoa.
And just to show you that I do always do both hands (apparently some people don't! Who knew?) here's my other hand as well. The cleanup's not quite as good, but I'm pretty pleased with these.
Weirdly, I posted a pic of these on Twitter, and my friend Wendy from MASPOOASE pointed me at the sunflower nails she did almost 3 years ago today, and they're almost identical!
I know, I know! I've hardly posted this year, sorry. I've had very little urge to write any posts, although I have been painting my nails. But I thought I'd show you these nails!
This gradient uses Illamasqua Prosperity, Illamasqua Superstition, Barry M Satsuma and Barry M Yellow, which I sponged on.
I'm a touch disappointed in how little the pink shows on these - it seems to disappear into the orange and the purple somehow. Still, that's a fairly minor point, because I do love how these turned out.
I am considering stamping over these tomorrow, but not sure I can decide what colour or pattern. Do you have any ideas?
Today I got the urge to do an autumnal watermarble! This was done with all Barry M Gelly colours.
I'm really happy with how this turned out!
I've used Mustard, Mango, Paprika and Cocoa, which I think work really well together.
What do you think?
This morning, Emma from Em's Little Corner spotted this gorgeous mani by PiggieLuv and shared it with me because she knew I'd got the OPI Color Paints recently.... and wow! What a fantastic design! I knew I had to have a go at doing my own version.
I did mine a bit differently, as I didn't want to paint white over the top of glitter and end up with it lumpy, and certainly didn't trust myself to do neat lines freehand. Instead, I started with a base of white (Barry M Cotton) and use curved tip guides to tape off the central section of the nails.
Then I painted a silver glitter over the curved central section. This is 2true Sequins Christy, which is a lovely dense one-coater but with small particles which won't overlap the tape too much.
I topcoated over the silver to make it smoother (Christy has a rough finish to it), and then used the Color Paints to paint my rainbow. I removed the tape, added more topcoat, and there you go.
It's not as fantastic as PiggieLuv's, but I'm pretty damn chuffed with this! The Color Paints look fab over glitter, and I love the contrast of white and the colours. I included this blurry photo because it shows how glossy and juicy these colours are!
What do you think?
Following on from yesterday's big post about the OPI Color Paints (click here if you missed it!) here are two more quick looks I did this morning while I was experimenting with them.
This is my first attempt at leadlighting. It's not the tidiest, but I do love the effect! I started with a base of Silver Canvas, then stamped using Laqa & Co Black Gloss and MoYou London Holy Shapes XL 04. Then I used a fine paintbrush to add the Color Paints in the spaces.
This gradient look was done with a white base. I then added a stripe of Color Paints down each side of the nail (yellow and pink, and yellow and turquoise) which I then dragged sideways using the polish brush. Where the yellow and turquoise meet, they make green. Where the yellow and pink meet, they make orange. I love this effect!
Ever since I first saw the press release for these, aaaaages ago, I have wanted the OPI Color Paints polishes! They're described as "blendable nail lacquer" colours that can be combined for all sorts of artistic effects. Officially, these aren't on sale in the UK until July 1st, and will only be available in Selfridges. However, they are available on Amazon from lots of different sellers. I bought a set of the minis, as I couldn't decide on what colours I wanted, and didn't want to spend a fortune buying several and then be disappointed.
This set has Silver Canvas, the 'undercoat' polish, and then 5 of the 8 colours: Primarily Yellow, Chromatic Orange, Pen & Pink, Purple Perspective, and Turquoise Aesthetic.
How sheer are they?
They're sheer, but very pigmented, so they're nowhere near as sheer as polishes like the Sheer Tints. Depending on the colour, some are more sheer than others. They are beautiful, glossy and pigmented jellies.
Here are, left to right, Primarily Yellow, Chromatic Orange, Pen & Pink, and Purple Perspective with one coat each.
Here they are with two coats each.The yellow is obviously more sheer than the others. The purple in particular is almost opaque. But I love how juicy and glossy they all are!
Do I need the silver base?
Well, it's going to be up to you. You probably don't need this specific silver base. Do you need a silver base? No, but it does do something different to the polishes.
Here is Turquoise Aesthetic left to right over the silver base, no base, and a white base. As you can see, the polish is less streaky over the silver base, and the colour pops much more. On its own, you have the sheer effect and less colour-pop, and over white you get the colour-pop but have some streakiness. Which you prefer is going to be a matter of personal taste.
How does the silver compare to other silvers?
Left to right, I used Models Own Chrome Silver, Barry M Silver Foil, OPI Silver Canvas, and OPI Push and Shove. These are all one coat, except the Models Own, which is two.
The Models Own Chrome Silver is good for stamping, but I find it hard to use as a polish on its own as it is quite thin, and drags a bit on application, so ends up streaky unless you're really careful. As you can see, it's a bit uneven in application. The Barry M Silver Foil is excellent for stamping, but nothing special to wear on its own. Silver Canvas is nice and even. OPI Push and Shove is really nice as a shiny chrome, and is definitely shinier than the others here. I found the two OPIs very similar in application, although Push and Shove is more of a mirror-shine. Silver Canvas is really nice to apply, and isn't nearly as brush-strokey as many metallic polishes are. If you already have a silver chrome/metallic that you like, then you probably don't need Silver Canvas too.
I tried the Color Paints over all the silvers. As you can see, they're much of a muchness, so if you already have a silver you like, I wouldn't buy another just to use with the Color Paints.
How do they compare to the OPI Sheer Tints?
Very well! I was really excited when the OPI Sheer Tints came out, but they were so disappointing. Formula was gloopy and thick, and the colour was far more sheer than I'd hoped for. The Color Paints are what I hoped the Sheer Tints would be.
Here I've compared Purple Perspective and Don't Violet Me Down from the Sheer Tints range. Left to right is one coat of Don't Violet Me Down over silver and on its own, then Purple Perspective over silver and on its own. This is typical of the difference - the Sheer Tints are very pale, just a hint of colour, where the Color Paints are very pigmented. The formula of the Sheer Tints is also really difficult to work with as it's so thick and sticky. The Color Paints have a much better formula - it's much less thick, and not at all gloopy. It seems strange to me that the formula can be so much thicker on the Sheer Tints, and yet the colour less visible, but I suppose that was what they were going for. Anyway, Color Paints beat Sheer Tints hands down for me.
Do they water marble?
Yes. I struggled to get the mini bottles to drip well, which meant that the colours dried more quickly than I could work with, but the actual spread is really good, and they look really zingy.
Left is over silver, right is over white. I think my issue was only because the mini bottles are so small that you need to be careful with the brush, so the dripping takes longer and leaves time for the polish to dry on the surface of the water. With full size bottles, I think this would be fine.
Do they stain?
Generally, no. But you probably need to be very careful with Turquoise Aesthetic!
Can you stamp with them?
No. But you can stamp with black over a base, and then use them for leadlighting. This is my next mani plan for these - I'll add a link here when I've tried this!
What can you do with them?
Lots of things! Here are two designs I did.
This ruffian design uses the Silver Canvas base. I then painted on Chromatic Orange and Purple Perspective on alternate nails. I also added a stripe of another colour over the original - Primarily Yellow over the orange (which doesn't show) and Pen & Pink over the purple (which does!).
I wore these for a day, and loved how glowy they were.
My second design was this freehand flower art, which I did using all the colours and a fine paintbrush. I don't have the green one, so I used yellow and turquoise together.
I love how this looks!
It really glows in the evening sunshine!
What's the formula like?
It's good. Even and smooth, and not too thick and gloopy like the Sheer Tints, but not so runny that it floods the cuticles. Application is nice and easy, and drying time is normal.
Overall, I LOVE this collection. I am definitely going to buy the red one in a full size, although I'm not sure I need the darker blue or the green. I may well also buy some of these mini colours in the full size, although I need to wait til after pay day!
I saw some gorgeous neon nails the other day that were a white background with lots of different neon looks on each nail. I can't find it now though! If anyone knows what it was I saw then please let me know so that I can see how mine compared and credit the inspiration!
Anyway, I started with a white base (Barry M Cotton) and then used dotting tools, striping tape and a fine brush to add various patterns. The colours I used were Models Own Sun Hat, Bikini and Shades, Barry M Superdrug Limited Edition 2013 and Cyan Blue, and Essence Flashy Pumpkin.
I know these aren't perfectly executed, but I am happy with how they turned out. They're bright and colourful (brighter than these photos, which look a bit washed out) and cheered me up during a busy day at work.
And just to prove that I do do both hands every time, here's my right hand!
I know it's less neat, especially with regards to the clean up (and don't look at my scabby cut on my thumb cuticle!) but it isn't significantly different from my other hand, so I'm quite pleased. I was a bit surprised to see a nail blogger on YouTube the other day (NOT the same blogger who did the neon nails I liked) who had gorgeously decorated long nails on one hand, but short, bare nails on the other hand! I understand that sometimes someone will only swatch colours on one hand because it's coming straight off again, but I do nail art because I want to wear it, so I always do both hands!
I've really had no nail mojo recently! I've worn bare nails to work most days in the last couple of weeks, and I've had no motivation to do anything with my nails. I didn't even do snooker nails this year! But today I got a sudden desire to do a gradient, and this is what I ended up with.
I used all Makeup Revolution Nail Geek polishes for this gradient, Holiday (the yellow one), Flare (the orange one) and Summer Lovin' (the pink one). I started with a plain white base, and then sponged on the gradient and added topcoat.
I found this really awkward to clean up round my cuticles, so I apologise for the lack of neatness there. My cleanup brush has just about had it, I think. It's starting to be quite splayed out.
However, despite the cleanup issues, I'm quite pleased with this. I'm sure my gradients are getting better, and I do like how cheerful and zingy the colours are.
