Quick Designs // Holo Monstera

A quick look today! I bought an amazing Lina stamping plate during What's Up Black Friday sale last year (where does the time go) and I was playing around with it and came up with this quick look! I only did the index finger as I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I think I'll have to do the entire hand now.

I love A-England polishes but they take so long to dry. For this effect I applied them to a silicone mat first, swirled them round together a bit then picked up the polish using a flat brush and applied it to the nail to achieve that drag marble effect. I'm no Sveta Sanders (she makes it look so easy) but I'm getting there. You need polishes that take a while to dry though for it to work well so A-England is the way to go but sitting there waiting for your nails to dry before you can stamp is painful.

When the sun hits this design though the leaves come alive. This is why I love negative stamping designs because stamping polishes that look like that would cost an absolute fortune. It's still a beautiful look even without the sun though:

Polishes/Tools Used:-

Base:

- A-England // Puck A Fairy (blue), Dragon (dark green), Fotheringhay Castle (olive green)

Stamping:

- What's Up Nails // Blanc My Mind (white)

- Lina // 4 Seasons - Summer 04 Stamping Plate

The Summer Classic // French Manicure with Gold Leaves Nail Art Design

When I did the french manicure I just couldn't resist adding more detail to it and took inspiration from this Blusher and Bronzer palette I bought from Essence. I'm going to eventually do a match that mani of the pattern because I love it.

This involved some really simple double stamping with the first layer in Pink Clay and then adding the gold. I really need to start doing MoYou London polish swatches though because they are, for the most part, trash. They just never pick up properly.

Polishes/Tools used:-

- OPI Infinite Shine // Brightening Primer

- H&M // Bleached Peach (sheer nude), All Clear (top coat)

- Cuccio // Mystery In Milan

- MoYou London Stamping Polish // Pink Clay (dark pink)

- Twinkled T // Liquid Gold (gold)

- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Tropical 23, Tropical 28 

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.

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