Neon half moons

Oh what a horrid rainy day it is in the UK. So I thought I'd post some summery neon nails to cheer myself up. Come on sunshine!

This neon is one of my favourite polishes! I started with a base of Models Own Pro in French White all over the nail. Then the neon, which is Models Own in Pink Punch, over the top, leaving a half moon gap at the base of each nail. And then as an afterthought, I added the defining black line using a Models Own nail art pen. So it's a Models Own takeover!

Putting the white underneath the neon makes it even brighter!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Polish days - Vintage

Well seeing as I've been a bit slow on the posts recently I thought I'd at least make the effort to join in on this month's Polish Days - the blogger event organised by the lovely Polly Polish.

This month's theme is vintage and I decided to pay homage to art deco - I've always loved a bit of Rennie Mackintosh!

This is two coats of Revlon Top Speed in Stormy. The detail is free hand using Models Own in Utopia, Models Own nail art pen in black and No7 nail art pen in silver.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Be my valentine

Quick post tonight...my cheeky Valentines nails are currently on Boots Facebook page! They seem to have split the vote - some people loving them but others seem to think I have crusty hands, lol! Best get myself to Boots for some hand cream!

This is two coats of Models Own Pro in French White Tip. Followed by a free hand painted design using Models Own Nail Art Pen for the black and Bourjois 10 day anti-chip in shade 20 for the red.

Happy Valentines everyone! Right, best go and get scrubbing these crusty hands of mine! Feel free to comment and share the Boots FB post if you disagree

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Rum punch

Those of you who are my friends will know I've been lucky enough to have been away in the Caribbean for work on the island of St Vincent... mainly because I've been instragramming like crazy everyday...sorry! I couldn't help it...the island was so beautiful.

My friends will also know that I tan in like 5 minutes so have come back very brown - almost dirty looking! The bonus here is that bright nails look even brighter. So I took inspiration from the the most popular island drink...a rum punch...

...and created a very simple but 'punchy' look! (photo taken in situ for max effect!)

And for good measure I did my toes too!..

This is two coats of W7 in Fluorescent Pink followed by a diagonal covering of Max Factors Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Red Carpet Glam. I flipped them round on the toes.

For base and top coat I used Rimmel 5 in 1 Nail Treat Base & Top Coat  Total Care Action. This was a packing space saver but i must say I wish I'd just taken my favourite separates as I ended up with chips on day 2 of the mani.

Can't wait for some UK sunshine to start working those fluoro shades!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Polish days - Get back to nature

It's Polish day time again - the monthly blogger event set up but the lovely Polly Polish. I, unfortunately, missed last months' in the haze of post Christmas back to reality, so even though I'm currently overseas with work I made sure I did a design ready to post. The theme is 'back to nature' so pretty broad and I had a vision of a daisy chain but it didn't quite work out like that in the limited time I had before my trip, but it certainly still fits the brief...

So just a quick run down of the polishes used... the base blue is one coat of H&M Nail colour in Blue my Mind. Then using a striping brush I added the grass using Bad Apple in Green Apple. Then added the flower detail using Models Own nail art pens in white and yellow.

All finished off with a generous coat of Save the Nail 45 second top coat.

And as we're talking about nature I thought I'd share the beautiful sunset here in the Caribbean...

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Funky matte french

So I'm not a huge lover of matte top coats - often finding they just make you look like you've scratched the sheen of a nice glossy polish. But I think it all depends what colour you're top coating and also the quality of the top coat. I've found one I really love from Models Own Pro which gives a lovely satin finish rather than dull matte.

This twist on the classic french manicure is two coats of Essie Nail Lacquer in Fancy Pants, followed by a free hand striking fuchsia tip using Models Own in Purple Passion (I personally think it's more pink than purple!). Finished off with the Models Own Pro Matte top coat. You can't really tell from the photo but the finish is a lovely muted sheen rather than being completely dull matte.

I think the colour combo works really well. The key is to use a muted sophisticated colour for the base and then a colour that really pops for the tip. It's a great way to venture into nail art or to take a boring work mani to the next level without being over the top!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Acid angles

So as the snow scuppered my plans this weekend I decided to get ahead of the seasons and rock out some truly summer colours to bring some sunshine into my life!

I absolutely love acid colours so didn't feel I should have to wait til summer to wear them!

The base orange is two coats of Angelica Nail Colour in Hip Hop from Primark. I then free hand painted a inverted triangle using Barry M Nail Paint in Matt White, followed by a smaller triangle in Bourjois Ultra Shine So Laque in Lime Catwalk. Then using a black nail art pen, I used Models Own, I defined the triangles.

The result would have been a lot better if I'd used tape for cleaner lines but oh well! I'm trying not to sweat the small stuff as much in 2013!

I used W7 top coat to finish off.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Dash dash dash

Well I have basically been a bit rubbish with the posts lately - I've got a bit of January inertia! I plan to make a more concerted effort from now on!

I'm using two new polishes in today's post. I went on a bit of spree before Christmas so have quite a few to try.

The base blue is from a RCH Style Society gift set in the Boots Christmas range. After two coats of that had dried, I applied a horizontal brush width stripe on each nail using Essie Nail Lacquer in Fancy Pants (love this name!). Any wonky lines I just straightened up with some more of the blue.

The I simply added some pink and white dashes using Models Own nail art pens.

This is one of the designs that there's no need to worry about being exact as the overall effect is what you're after.

I finished it all off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 Second Top Coat to make it all nice and shiny!

Happy Painting.. the nailist xxx

Dark side of the half moon

Hey there, it's been a while but I'm back!

I wasn't going to blog these nails but for a few reasons I changed my mind. So I work in marketing in the retail industry and I get to here about up and coming trends and the word on the street is that come Spring/Summer nail art with be out and stripped back nails will be in! It will be all about muted colours and very simple designs such as the half moon. I'll still be going strong with nail art mind you!

On a recent photo shoot I was at the nail artist did a half moon design in a navy and gold colour combo which I just loved, so I had to recreate it (I used a slightly lighter coloured blue and did bigger half moons)

So the trends news and the colour combo were two reasons for me deciding to blog this look but another is that this has lasted for a whole week without any chips whatsoever and no top coat touch ups! I'm well impressed particularly as the blue colour is a very cheap brand. It's two coats of Angelica Nail Colour in Sapphire 55 from Primark, which I picked up for the grand price of £1.50!

I then added the gold half moon using a nail art pen from a No7 Christmas gift set and finished off with a coat of Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

Simple but very effective!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Christmas nail art overload!

So it's almost the night before Christmas and up til now I haven't done any Christmas inspired nails. I've had a few designs in mind but for one reason or another haven't had time to do them. So tonight it's a Christmas nail art overload! 
It will take me ages to go through how I did each nail so I won't go there, but here's which polishes I used...

Rudolph thumb
Base colour - No7 Stay Perfect limited edition in Sultry Sands
Face - Essie Nail Colour in Lady Godiva
Eyes - 17 Lasting Fix in Mini Skirt (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit) and Models Own nail art pen in black
Nose - 17 Fast Finish in Knockout Red (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit)

Christmas tree index finger
Base colour - No7 Stay Perfect limited edition in Sultry Sands
Tree - one coat of Ruby and Millie Nail Color in Green 720C followed by a coat of Bad Apple in Green Bramley
Tinsel - 17 Fast Finish in Knockout Red (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit) with dots using a No7 nail art pen in silver
A silver nail art diamante for the star on top!

Santa suit middle finger
Base colour - 17 High Gloss in Risky Red
Fur trim - 17 Lasting Fix in Mini Skirt (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit)
Belt & buttons - Models Own nail art pen in black

Christmas pudding ring finger
Base colour - No7 Stay Perfect limited edition in Sultry Sands
Christmas pud - Essie Nail Colour in Lady Godiva
Icing - 17 Lasting Fix in Mini Skirt (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit)
Berries  - 17 Fast Finish in Knockout Red (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit)
Holly leaf - Ruby and Millie Nail Color in Green 720C

Gift little finger
Base colour - Barry M  Nail Paint Instant Effects in Gold Foil
Ribbon & bow - 17 Fast Finish in Knockout Red (from limited edition Best of British nail art kit)

My particular favourite is Rudolph!

Then I've just mixed up the designs on the right hand...

Right I'm going to eat my body weight in mince pies!

Merry Christmas and happy painting... the nailist xxx

80s disco ball

Very quick post tonight as I'm mid gift wrapping and general Christmas business!

I absolutely love this glitter polish - and the W7 brand in general... they have such a wide and usual variety of shades and, although on the budget end of the market, they're great quality. Nail Polish Direct have a good selection.

The glitter polish is two coats of W7 in Moondust (I even love the name!). Then, as the glitter reminded my of a disco glitter ball, I added an 80s inspired zig zag line. First, a single line using a Models Own nail art pen in black. Then, a line either side of the black using Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique dot & flick pen in pink.

Here's my right hand...

All finished off with a coat of W7 top coat.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Studded pink party nails!

It was my work Christmas do this week so I set about creating some party worthy nails. I bought some silver ball nail art studs a while ago so, as I was aiming for a bit of bling, I thought I'd try them out. I'm really happy with the result but did struggle firstly, with the top coat which went a bit bubbly for some reason and secondly, with actually taking a decent photo - believe me they look a lot better in the flesh!

I started off with two coats of Max Factor Nailffinity in Onyx. Once dried, I free hand added inverted pink triangles using Bourjois 10 days no chips in shade 15. Then the time consuming bit began... the balls are individually stuck on using top coat and a cutcile stick. So one nail at a time I painted top coat on in a line where I wanted to add the balls. Then, by adding a bit of top coat to the end of a cuticle stick you can pick up the little silver balls and dab them onto the nail. Add the top coat line by line and nail by nail, otherwise it will dry too quickly.

Then to make sure they were all sealed on, I finished three coats of Seche Vite quick dry top coat. I think I added these too quickly one after another  - hence the bubbling... lesson learned for next time!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Accidental silver tips

They're accidental as I intended on doing a purple base with two silver vertical half moon lines, so it divided the nail into 4 purple sections... but I went wrong on the first nail so improvised!

The purple base colour is Mavala in 30 'Mexico' and I free hand painted on the silver design using a No7 nail art pen from a Christmas gift set. It's basically two outward bracket shaped thick lines touching in the middle and then the top section filled in.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Python skin

This design is probably more appropriate for Halloween seeing as it looks like my nails are haemorrhaging! But I thought I'd share anyway as I love how well this crackle effect cracks...

This is two coats of Models Own in Utopia followed by Bourjois Top Coat Python in unnamed red shade. Finished off with a Save the Nail 45 second top coat.

Might go and get myself a different colour!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Polish Days - Get your bling on!

It's Polish Day time again and it's all about bling! Even though I love sparkles I really struggled to come up with something really inspired for this one. So I decided to just use the sparkliest polish in my collection and add some more bling, courtesy of some recently purchased nail glitter off of Ebay.

It's really hard to take a photo of sparkly nails - this was about my 56th attempt and it still doesn't really do them justice but at least it's not just lots of camera flash!

The base colour is two coats of Nicole by OPI 'Kardashian Kolor' in Follow me on glitter. I love this polish as it's hard to find a glitter polish which actually delivers what it looks like in the bottle...this one does - it's really dense and sparkly!

I then added an angled tip of glitter in a mixture of silver, dark pink and light pink just with top coat and a cuticle stick. Finished off with about 4 coats of Seche Vite quick dry top coat. Here's a close up...

It's definitely put me in the mood for more sparkly festive nails!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Peekaboo leopard print

I actually did these nails on Monday but just haven't had a chance to post. So I'll miss out my usual preamble and get to it...

I've come to realise I have a slight obsession with animal print... the other day I had a pink leopard print top on, a grey leopard print umbrella, a purple leopard print phone cover and these leopard print nails! Eek! Need to be careful I don't tip over into tragic thirty-something.

This design was a Models Own extraganza! The base colour is two coats of Models Own in Mushroom. Once dry I added an angled tip with Models Own in Concrete Mixer. I then free hand painted the leopard print using black and white Models Own nail art pens. Finished off with some Seche Vite quick dry top coat.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Gilted pink

Ooh I'm back on my sofa catching up on X factor after a party weekend in London. My body is feeling a bit worse for wear after far too many drinks and definitely too much fast food from Camdem market, which always seems like such a good idea at the time. But hey my nails are still looking good!

This is a two coat base of Barry M Nail Paint in Black followed by a free handed pink inverted triangle in Max Factor Nailffinity in Disco Pink. Then I added a lovely gilted edge to define the pink triangles with a 17  nail art pot in Gold (this was from one of their Limited edition 'Hot Metals' nail art kits).

As always, I finished off with a good coating on high shine quick dry top coat - this time I used INM Out the Door.

Right I'm off to drown myself in carbs before detox Monday arrives.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Lucky dip favourites

So as I mentioned on my last post there was a charity nail polish lucky dip at work. I've been working my way through my haul and here's a few of my favourites.

The base grey is Models Own in Mushroom and the two lines are Butter London in Artful Dodger (turquoise) and Dahling (dusky pink). I particularly love the Models Own one - might try it with a matte top coat next time.

I started with the grey all over the nail then free hand added the layers of colour so the top part of my nail has basically got 4 coats of colour. Just make sure you let it dry between coats otherwise it will be too thick to dry.

Finished off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 second top coat.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Stripe out

It's been a week since my last post because I've had a busy busy week with no time to do my nails - shocking I know! The main culprit is putting in some extra hours at work but I also went to my first yoga class on Tuesday (only just stopped aching but loved it!) and also out for obligatory Thursday night cocktails (Thursdays are the new Fridays!).

Low light of the week was my thumb nail breaking and taking some skin with it (youch!). Highlight of the week was Children in Need charity day at work in which there was a 50p nail polish lucky dip - imagine my excitement! I was by far their best customer and while doing my bit for charity bagged myself around 10 new polishes. Favourites were some Butter London (love this brand) and a couple of Bad Apple polishes which, as far as I know, are fast becoming popular - or I might just be behind the curve, who knows! Anyway, one of them features in today's post...

The base colour is two coats of No7 Stay Perfect in Me Me Me! then, nail by nail, angled striping tape followed by a coat of Bad Apple in 3D Arkansas. Make sure you tape is stuck down right to the edges before applying the top colour and also be sure to peel it off almost straight away before the paint starts to dry. Hopefully you can see from the pic that the Bad Apple Arkansas is a lovely iridescent turquoisey pink.

Sorry about the ugly thumb  - makes me look like I have man hands :o(

Finished with a top coat of Seche Vite quick dry.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Falling to pieces

Quick post today as I must go to bed at a decent hour. After a lovely weekend visiting the parents and basically eating, I've watched X Factor and have now vowed to get a good night's sleep. However, I know I'm myself as my sister and I are currently addicted to playing scrabble and hangman against each other via Facebook! Seriously, we can't put it down and are ever so slightly obsessed... she's the hangman queen but I usually wipe the floor with her on scrabble. Reading that back we sound like complete losers... I promise you we're actually quite interesting, trendy and cool people... honestly!

Anyway, enough of my rambling.. tonight's post is something I saw on a YouTube tutorial a while a go and have been meaning to try.

I started with a base of Models Own in Fuzzy Peach then free hand painted the black squares with Barry M Nail Paint in Black. If you struggle painting free hand then you can either add some guide lines with a nail art pen or you could try using sellotape to tape off the squares. Just make sure you wait till the base colour is completely dry before taping and then once you've painted the black pull off the tape before it dries.

Then using a dotting tool I simply added dots to create the jigsaw connections. Quite simple really.

Finished off with a coat of Seche Vite quick dry top coat.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx