Slime Noir // Black And Green Dripping Halloween Nail Art Design

Time for another spooky look! Like I said, I'm obsessed with Zoya Pixie Dust and dripping designs so that's where this came from. Also, no stamping! I'm trying my best to use different techniques and I simply blobbed on the green polish using the brush and then drew on the cobwebs with a fine brush and some acrylic gouache. 

I'm also in love with the black. It's a one coat wonder and dries pretty quick as well. My local TK Maxx just got this massive shipment of L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish and I pretty much bought them all as they are super pigmented. I use them as stamping polishes that's how good they are. 

I did however spill a brown one all over my grey carpet when I was swatching them...I've tried everything. YouTube has failed me. Oh well, I'm going to say it's a style statement.

 

Polishes/Tools Used:

- L'Oreal Colour Riche // 674 Noir Noir (black)

- Zoya PixieDust // Cece (green)

- Holbein Acrylic Gouache // D925 Titanium White

- Windsor & Newton Cotman Brush //  0000 Round

Hello Monstera // Pink & White Monstera Leaf Nail Art

Yes, more pink nails! More monstera! I just wanted to do something simple after work and I wanted it to be pink with green leaves...as usual. This will also tide me over until my Barry M/China Glaze haul arrives. I promised myself I wouldn't buy any nail polish in quarantine but then Barry M had a 20% off code (and a lot of items on sale) and I then discovered the 2015 Summer China Glaze collection....I've literally just bought 15 pink/peach shades and I'm not even mad.

Anyway, in other news I've decided to finally turning my hobby into a weekend job once we're all allowed back out again. I started looking into how to get a licence and discovered that unlike the US, the UK does not require a nail technician to have any formal training or qualifications which is kind of disturbing. To think that anyone can just go round offering services like a professional with no training, is not only demeaning to hardworking nail technicians who have trained for years but just downright dangerous. 

Due to this, I wanted to get some training in but I really can't afford right now to do some of the courses I really want because they're £1k+ so I paid for an online course a couple days ago and I'm going to ask for my money back from them because it is shocking how much information is inaccurate. For example, they incorrectly teach that the the nail fold is the cuticle and that it's necessary to cut it. I'm a hobbyist nail artist and even I know that's wrong. They also had a entire module on "best customer practices" in which they teach you to talk to the client and ask them if they want a drink??? Like that's just common courtesy, why did I pay £25 for this? And that was on sale! It's normally £100. What did I expect for £25 though? At least the course gives me access to a Salon Services trade card so I can buy at wholesale prices. That was worth £25. I guess I will just continue to save so I can do a proper course but for the moment I feel I'm more than ready to just do standard manicures and gel nails.

Alright, rant over, back to the nails. This look comprises of my favourite pink polish and two monstera leafs that were stamped on but then I used acrylic gouache to add some extra detail. I'm so happy with how they turned out, they almost look like water decals!

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Ciaté // TuTu (pale pink)
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Cotton (white)
- MoYou London // Hello Absinthe (green)
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy  // Diamond Top Coat
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc, 48 Primary Yellow, 42 Emerald Green
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Tropical 23

MATCH THAT MANI: Morrisons Exotic Palm Scented Diffuser // Peach & Green Tropical Leaf Design

More peach! More Monstera! This doesn't exactly match...it's more "inspired that mani".... I had to peel myself away from the home aisle in Morrisons as a reed diffuser isn't exactly a necessity in these times. So instead I took a photo and then created these nails.

I will probably try again using more exact colours but I was having a bit too much fun swirling all the acrylic paint around on my mat and ended up with more vibrant greens than blue/greens.

I did think about doing every nail but I thought it might be too overpowering so I settled on some lighter peach nails. Once the whole mani was done the bare nails felt like they were missing something and I rummaged round the tiny stash I brought with me and found a pack of broken holo nail stickers from essence and they added just the right amount of detail. (They also only cost 99p, bargain!)

I can't stop staring at my hand; I wish I could say I hand drew this but I would be telling giant lies. I stamped on the design in a light green and then painted the detail on top. It's fun and oddly therapeutic. I used a white stamping polish on my little finger but the white sticks out in some places and it did blend as nicely as the green.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Daisy DND // Peach Buff (light peach), Havin' Cabbler (dark peach)
- MoYou London // Hello Absinthe (olive green)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc, 48 Primary Yellow, 42 Emerald Green, 49 Cyan
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // #Summervibes 02 & 04
- Essence // Broken Holo Nail Stickers

*psssttt happy easter every one! I'm gorging my way through a 12 pack of cream eggs...no regrats.

Spacrylic // Pink & Blue Space Nails using Paints

Not my favourite space nails but it's not awful so I decided to give it a post. I've been some more experimenting with acrylic gouache paints and I really love how the colours bleed together when some water is added. It works better when used on top of a matte top coat but I couldn't be bothered.

This is how it originally started off but I wanted the edges to be a little darker like the index finger, so I added some more blue. As well as sparkles...all space nails need sparkles.

I could've gone a bit darker but I didn't want to end up ruining it with my terrible painting skills. I then topped it off with a glossy top coat and was a little upset when it smeared the paint :(

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // 
- Mavala // 213 Pure Diamond (scattered holo)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc , 49 Cyan , 50 Magenta
- Primark // Fast Dry Top Coat

Candy Leaves // Pink, Rose Gold & Green Leaf Nail Art Design

Well this came out of nowhere. I really wanted to do some free hand painting but I also really wanted to use the leaf designs on the Love Is...04 plate by MoYou and so this look was born. It's definitely inspired by the ever-amazing @lieve91 (I don't think I'll ever get her hand pose right) and I need the days to start warming up so I can transition to just palm leaf mani's all the time.

I invested in some higher quality acrylic gouache paints a few months ago after asking Lieve91 what kind of Liquitex paint she used. Unfortunately I can't afford Liquitex just yet, but I did see a set of acrylic gouache in TK Maxx for £20 and it seemed higher quality than what I usually buy. This was my first time using the different type of paint and I have to say I'm impressed. It is so much more pigmented than normal acrylic but it mixes with water like watercolour paints to give that beautiful ink-washed look. I have a feeling marble nails will be really easy with these paints.

The leaf designs though are just everything to me. I had a dream about wanting monstera leaves in this exact wire frame type design and then MoYou brought this plate out; it's like they read my mind.

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Barry M Gelly Hi Shine // Candy Floss (pink)
- H&M // Dawn Song (gold/pink glitter), Bijoux (Rose Gold Glitter)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 (Blanc), 42 (Emerald Green)
- Twinkled T // Glow Up (white)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Love Is...04

Peach Peonies // Watercolour Tie-dye Inspired Acrylic Swirls

How delicate is this mani? I got inspired by some of the new candles from Primark and with acrylic paints making it so much easier to get that watercolour look I decided to give it a go. I always tend to practice the look on my thumb first as I can hide that for photos but I couldn't replicate the look on my other fingers. I went in way to heavy with the paint instead of watering it down and it created this tie-dye space effect instead which is still cute.

I clearly still need a lot of practice as acrylic paints just don't mix the same way on nails as they do on paper but I've found that working on top of a matte base helps immensely. I really want to be the best at marble nails though so I need to keep practicing. 

How I did it:-

Start off with a white base coat then add a matte top coat. Then mix your chosen colours together on a silicone mat (it helps with cleaning as you can just peel off the dried acrylic paint) with a little water and blend the paints together. It's tempting to just keep adding water and blending but everything will become a muddy mess. You really need to let the paint dry and sometimes even paint with an almost dry brush as the nails don't absorb any water. Once the desired look has been achieved just top it off with some top coat.

I ended up adding this geometric print on top but I think it ruined it as the there just isn't enough of the white background showing for it to blend in properly; the lines are a little too clean.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Essie // Blanc (white)

- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 105 Titanium White, 276 Orange, 831 Florescent Peach Red

- Avon Mark. // Gel Shine Top Coat
- Born Pretty // #4 (white)

Cantaleaves // Mustard Yellow Palm Leaf Design

Time for a cute mani! I love this look so much. It's directly inspired by this post I saw on pinterest and I managed to track the author down to @mkmk1209 on instragram. She is an amazing nail artist so please check out her work. Here's the original:

I am no where near this level of artistry yet but I'm trying!

I would wear this everyday throughout summer. I just love that mustard yellow colour but boy does it stain your nails. Once it came off it looks like I have a 90-a-day smoking habit. Oh well, I guess that just means I have to paint my nails more often to cover it up...

How I did it:

I did two layers of Cantaloupe and one layer of White Heat. Then I mixed some of the green and white acrylic paint together to add detail and used a little black at the end to darken the edges. I then just topped everything off with a glossy topcoat. I also have a video this time! Please be aware though that this one was filmed after these photos were taken and in the video I decided to place the leaf at the top of the nail.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Ciaté // White Heat (white)
- H&M // Cantaloupe (mustard yellow)

- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 105 Titanium White, 615 Emerald Green, 753 Black

- Avon Mark. // Gel Shine Top Coat
- MoYou London Plate // Tropical 12

Spread Your Wings // Birchbox May 2019 Nails

I think this was one of the first Birchboxes in a while that I wasn't desperate to recreate. There's just something about butterflies...I don't think I'm a butterfly person. The contents weren't the greatest as well. I've received the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer 5 times now and I've not even used up the first tube I got. It's just such a pain to use. The best item by far is the Mimitika sunscreen. It's SPF50 with no grease, not even a hint; it actually mattifies my makeup. It also doesn't have that sunscreen smell or leave any white cast/flashback. It was the item I wanted to receive the least and ended up being the best. I'll be buying this full size for sure.

But onto the nails; again not my favourite.

The grass was hand-painted and not the best but I am really enjoying using acrylic paint, who knows, maybe I'll become the next Bob Ross but for nails.....I won't hold my breath.

How I did it:

I started off with a white base coat and then painted on the leaves. I used the overprint stamps from the Harunouta plate for the butterflies and then used a dotting tool to add some extra detail.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Essie // Blanc (white)
- MoYou London // One and Only (pastel peach), Orchid Chic (magenta)

- Born Pretty Polish // #379 (pale yellow)
- Sally Hansen Hard as Nails // Jam Sesh (lavender)

- Barry M Liquid Chrome // Bright Lights (gold)

- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 105 Titanium White, 605 Green Pale, 615 Emerald Green, 753 Black

- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat
- Harunouta Plate // L071

Urban Beauty // Look Fantastic Beauty Box May 2019 Nails

I finally managed to get up this months Look Fantastic nails! I was wondering what to do for this month but then in the box magazine they had this skyscraper ombre thing going on and I thought city sunset mani! It didn't turn out perfectly because I don't have any skyscraper stamping plates so I freehanded it...that's right I'm entering the world of freehand. Acrylic paint just makes it so much easier.

I also really enjoyed the curation this month. The conditioner only lasted twice because I have butt length hair but it left it smelling fruity and fresh and the lip liner makes a beautiful nude lip shade. I mix it with lip balm for a nude lip. The other items I haven't used yet but I love the Polar night cream so I was super excited to receive another item from them. I was going to do a full review this month but I think I'll start next month with that stuff again. I'll just leave it at; this was a good month.

How I did it:

I started off with one coat of white polish; any will do, it's just so the ombre needs less coats. I used two and then topped it off with top coat. I used black acrylic paint to create the skyscrapers and Golden Hour for the highlights as the highlights on the box was rose gold this month.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Cutex Care + Color // Catch The Sunset (bright coral pink)
- Essence The Gel // Orange To Go (bright orange)

- Essenge The Gel // Pumpkin Spice (dark orange clay)
- Ciaté // Golden Hour (rose gold)
- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 753 Black (black)

- Barry M // Plumpy Hi Shine Top Coat

Nude Palm Leaves // Pink Nude Tropical Design

Something a bit different? Perhaps my favourite mani I've done so far and hand painted! Well....half hand painted. I bought some acrylic paint a couple months ago but with assignments piling up I've been doing the most basic of mani's. However I handed in my last assignment on the 24th and now I have time again. It's so strange to be able to do whatever I want and not feel guilty about not doing uni work. 3 years has gone by so quickly and now I have 6 weeks till I move to Birmingham to start the next chapter of my life.

But, these nails. I've been wanting to get into using acrylics for a while now thanks to talented nail artists like @narmei (piggyluvs). These are kind of cheating though because I used a stamping plate to get the shape of the leaves and then I painted over them to give them more detail but boy does it make a big difference!

I also found a use for one of the sheer polishes from this months Mani & Lola! Now I just need to use the other sheer pink in something. I think a more pigmented background would've ruined this as the pop of green and the pink leaves are the focus. It's a little streaky but with a nice glossy top coat it's only noticeable up close. I was also surprised at how easy it is to work with acrylic on nails, it dries quite fast but water activates it again (unlike when it's on paper). I definitely need some proper brushes though as my cheap ones are a bit to soft to do really fine detail with.

How I did it:

I applied one coat of Pink Nude and followed it with the pink leaves using Rosewood Forest. All the stamping designs are from Tropical 36. I then stamped on the green palm leaves using #12 and then mixed the acrylic paints together to create a light, dark and mid green tones and randomly painted them on to create the detail. Once it was dry I topped it off with a glossy top coat.

I have so many designs I want to do and I want to film as well! I'm also thinking of adding skincare reviews to the blog as I really miss the skincare blogging, it's just the makeup stuff I can't really stand doing. I think I'll be adding beauty box unboxings as well considering I have 6...So much to do! I'm actually excited for everything and I'm going to start my nail polish app soon once I've finished designing it.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- ORLY // Pink Nude (sheer pink creme)
- Essence // Rosewood Forest (dusty pink)

- Born Pretty Polish // #12 (green)
- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint // 105 Titanium White, 605 Green Pale, 753 Black

- Barry M // Plumpy Hi Shine Top Coat
- MoYou London Plates // Tropical 36