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

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

Greyed out

I love grey polishes and W7 Nail Polish in Grey is one of my faves. So using this as a base I've played around with three Models Own nail art pens. The plan was just to have a heart on one finger but as usual I got carried away! Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake and didn't wait long enough before applying top coat, so I've smeared one of the design .. grrrr!

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Polish Days - Geometry

So although I'm a nail art pro amongst my friends, it has become very apparent that I'm a novice in the blogger community. A whole new world has opened up to me... I had no idea how big the nail blogger community is... and I love it! The challenge is... how to break in to this cyber world of loveliness? Some of these bloggers have been posting for years with professional looking sites and thousands of followers. Some of my personal favourites are The Nailasaurus and Polly Polish and it's Polly who's presenting an opportunity for me to feel part of the vast blogger community.

She's created 'Polish Days', where a theme is set and all subscribed bloggers post a design around that theme all at the same time, with links to all other blogs.

So this is my first stab at the latest 'Polish days' theme - 'Geometry'.

My first thoughts were of the doodles often created in the margins of many a school work book where you end up with lots of little triangles, which inspired the design on the thumb. And things developed from there... basically, it's all about angles with a tribal neon theme to make them pop.

I started with a base of Models Own Pro Limited Edition in French White. Then I created the designs with three Models Own nail art pens in yellow, black and pink (I'm not sponsored by Models Own, honestly!). Then finished off with a layer of Seche Vite top coat. I repeated the designs on my right just mixing up which design was on which finger.

You definitely need a steady hand for this one, so for those of you who want to try something more simple, I've resurfaced a previous 'geometric' design from last month.

You can see the 'how to' here

Check out what the other bloggers have done...

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Now you see it... now you don't!

I sometimes find it difficult to just do a plain nail colour... I always find myself reaching for my nail art pen or wanting to add a different coloured tip! However, for some occasions, less is always more! So this is a clever trick to add a bit of flair to plain manicure without being all out nail art-tastic!

By using a crackle top coat similar to the base colour the stripe can only be seen in certain lights.

Firstly, I applied two coats of Nail Colour by H&B in Nerd followed by a diagonal thick stripe in Nail Colour by H&M in Check me out.

Step 1 - pale colour and bold stripe

This in itself is a great look which you can further jazz up with a dark crackle top coat over the stripe or add a similar coloured crackle coat to the base colour to create the 'now you see it, now you don't' look. I used 17 Nail Xtras Crackle Top Coat

Step 2 - add crackle coat

Add top coat and enjoy your subtle but on trend nails!

The kit

Happy painting.. the nailist xxx

Bright angled tips

So unfortunately my Olympic nails were looking a bit dingy so they've gone before The Games have even properly begun!

So I've opted for a quick and simple bright look for the last day of sun this week using a couple of my favourite colours

After base coating (I use a strengthening treatment so I'm keeping up with nail maintenance), apply two coats of a bright colour  - I've used Models Own in Purple Passion.

Step 1  - all over bright colour

Once dry, add angled tips with a contrasting colour. Create an inverted 'V' shape by sweeping diagonally across the outer edge of your nail then repeating the action on the inner side of your nail. I find it easier to go from bottom to top edge/tip. The strokes should cross over at the top.

I opted for a gorgeous bold blue - Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Candy Blue.

Step 2 - create inverted V tips

Repeat the process on the other hand and apply a second coat if needed.

There'll be quite a lot of edges to clean up so don't worry. Use an acetone soak cotton bud to do the majority and any small bits will come off easier once it's fully dry and you've washed your hands a few times. Finish off with a quick dry top coat and there you have it.

The kit

Happy painting... the nailist xxx

Teeny tiny polka dotty

I didn't have much time today but seen as the sun is finally out I opted for a bright pink and pepped it up with some quick polka dots.

No long step by step 'how to' needed for this one... all you do is select a bright colour for all over your nails. Paint two coats and allow to dry. Then using a nail art dotter add some tiny polka dots - keeping the pattern random. You can either do all the same colour dots or alternate colours on every other nail as above. Or if you have a bit more time mix the colours up on each nail so you have a multi-coloured dot effect. Finish off with a high shine top coat.

Here I've used Urban Retreat 'UR hot' for the base hot pink colour and then black and white Models Own nail art pens for the dots.

Happy painting... the nailist xxx