Spotty tiger

I've had one of those weeks which started kind of OK (Mondays are never great!) and then every day has gradually got more stressy (is that a word?!). This resulted in me not having much time for nail painting but I can't go bare nailed (even the thought makes me cringe) so cobbled a quick design together after the Snow Leopard surviving, unchipped, a good 4 days. I've actually ended up with a design I really like, albeit very simple. 

It took me a while to think of a name as it was more impulsion lead rather than inspired but I've landed on spotty tiger as the striped nails remind me a little of Toni the Tiger! They're gggrrreat!

The base colour is a new purchase - W7 UV Nail Polish in Disco - love the colour but haven't tested out the UV-ness as yet. I then added detail with black and white nail art pens. Trick to get tapered stripes is to draw from outside edge in, pressing firmly to start with and giving lighter pressure as you draw towards the tapered end.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Evidence of my obsession

So I've had a few requests for a photo of my newly arranged collection...

We have (spiralling clockwise from top left) Reds/berrys and white/pearlescent stood up, glitters, pinks, blues, purples, nail art pens and special effects such as crackles and magnetics, earthy colours/gold/greys/blacks, Strictly set (I found this after sorting so yet to divide up!), greens/yellows and finally oranges/corals

Excessive much!

New post to follow shortly

the nailist xxx

Snow leopard

I sorted my nail polish collection out this weekend (I know.. rock n roll lifestyle!) and it's official, I have a serious addiction! I own 366 nail polish, 22 nail art pens and a ridiculous amount of base coats, top coats, nail wraps and nail decorations! No doubt there are more lurking in the recesses of handbags and drawers yet to be counted! I had to relegate 11 to nail polish heaven as they were gloopy beyond repair.

So after dealing with my silent shame, I have beautifully arranged them all by colour in a variety of boxes so at least I can start to make use of my whole collection, rather than the same old faithfuls. I would say that I  have enough and won't be buying anymore... but I would be lying!

Apart from my undeniable obsession with nail polish I also love animal print. Be it zebra or leopard I always find myself heading straight for the bold prints when clothes shopping, although I draw the line at zebra print trousers! Lucky for me animal print looks fab on nails too... check out today's design

Here's how..

I used Sally Hansen's Miracle Nail Thickener as a base coat as my nails seem to be splitting a lot recently. Once your base coat is dry, apply a base colour in a light grey or beige, I used Models Own Nail Polish in Concrete Mixer. Then create a gradient by sponging on three layers of a metallic grey or silver such as No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish in Sunshine, going about half way down each nail.

Step 1 - created a graduated base with a grey/beige and metallic grey/silver

Now for the animal print... using a black nail art pen draw on a leopard pattern. Best way I can describe to do this is by drawing jagged circles, interspersed with a few blobs. So if you don't have a steady hand.. don't worry because shaky is a bonus!

Step 2 - Animal print it up!

Then to accent the print, fill the jagged circles in with a dot of white, again using a nail art pen or thin brush. Let it all dry, clean up the edges and finish with a high shine quick dry top coat.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Let me upgrade you!

Yesterday's mani upgraded! I just added some pink and yellow stripes...

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Monochrome fan

I didn't like yesterday's design at all so it had to go! Today's is a lot better.. eye catching, bold and easy to do...

The base colour is one of my favourites... Nail Polish by H&M in Blue My Mind. Two coats of that, followed (once dry) with a deep curved tip of black going to almost halfway down the nail. I used a black polish from an FCUK gift set. To help, you can draw a black curved guide line with a nail art pen before filling in the tips.

Once the tips are fully dry, use a white nail art pen to add 5 white stripes to each tip. Using my trusty Models Own Nail Art Pen I started with the centre stripe to make sure I created an even fan shape. 

To finish off, before adding top coat, I actually went around the bottom of the curve with a black nail art pen just to neaten up the lines but that's not necessary. I'm ridiculously anal when it comes to things like that! Even now, looking at the pic it's annoying me that the outer edge of the curve on my little finger isn't filled in properly... best go off and rectify that!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Wrapping paper

So today's design has ended up looking like wrapping paper... which wasn't what I originally had in mind! It definitely looks better in the flesh as the matt vs glossy effect doesn't come across that well on screen.

I wanted to test run a new polish which is the base colour - W7 Nail Polish in Matt Green. It's got more of a satin finish than completely matt which I really like. After two coats of the green, I added an angled tip to each nail in Bourjois 10 days Nail Enamel shade 15. The polishes in this range are great for applying coloured tips as they have really small brushes with angle end.

Over the top I then added two silver stripes using a No7 nail art pen I have from a limited edition Christmas set. The pen is really good as it gives a dense colour in just one stroke.

I finished off by adding a high shine top coat just over the pink and silver so there's a real contrast between the matt green and the tips. I think it's this, and the colour combo, that makes it look like fancy wrapping paper!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Sunset wonder

One of my favourite things in the world is sunsets... they never since to amaze me. I saw a fantastic sunset sky this weekend while have a boozy picnic in Hyde Park, which has spurred me on to try gradient nails. They're really on trend right now and there's some amazing combos being created in the blogger community. There's two techniques - sponging or merging the colours by sweeping an acetone dipped brush along where your chosen colours join. I decided to try the sponging technique and here's the result...

I'm pretty pleased with the colour combo, given it's my first attempt, but I definitely need to work on the blending and layering!

I started with two coats of Marks & Spencer Nail Colour in Soft Orange and once dry I started the sponging process. Just using a cut off section of a regular washing up sponge, I painted on a layer of Stargazer Nail Polish shade 121 directly on to the sponge, which I then dabbed over the top half of each nail. This created a dappled effect. I repeated this, moving the sponge a little further up the nail so a graduation of colour was created. Finally, to give a more dense colour on the tip, I painted directly on to the very top of each nail and then used the sponge to soften any lines. I finished off with a coat of INM Out the Door quick dry top coat.

The kit

Next time I'm going to try three colours and concentrate on blending!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx