Konad Nail Art - Musical Notes!

Aloha!

I really like how this manicure came out, I don't use my Konad plates nearly often enough, there are some adorable images on them but I tend to steer towards Bundle Monster. I started with a base of this creamy nude polish from Claire's Accessories, then sponged on Barry M Gold Foil sporadically onto the nail. I then used Konad Black Special Polish to stamp the sheet music image from Konad Image Plate M73. I added a coat of Seche Vite, cleaned up my cuticles with a cotton bud and nail polish remover (sponging is meesssyyy!) and VOILA:

So there it is...I think the gold sponging and cream base kind of make it look ye olde, like an old musical transcript haha! It's definitely one I'd do again, I love the image. Although it seems like there's only really one thing you can do with it, there are actually tons of possibilities! Let me know what you think!

Valentine's Day Nail Art!

Eeeeeevening!

This is a kind of improvised manicure - I wanted to do a "love letter" style design, with a cream and pink heart background and newspaper print over the top. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the STUUUPOIIDIDIDD newspaper to transfer with vodka, so I've ordered some surgical spirit to try instead! I was very frustrated. Bundlemonster to the rescue, I decided to use plate BM09 and stamp the "love" image repeatedly, so it looks almost like a love letter (or weird love graffiti).

I started out with a base of 3 coats of Bloom Nicole and then stamped the swirly heart image from Bundle Monster BM02 using Konad Special White Polish mixed with bright pink. I then used Rimmel Urban Princess to stamp three little love-hearts from BM03 in the gaps.

After a coat of Seche Vite, I used Konad Black Special Polish to stamp the Love image from BM09 repeatedly over the whole nail. This was tricky to get straight! The beauty of adding a coat of topcoat before stamping, is that if you make a mistake you can take it off with nail varnish remover without destroying your previous stamping.

Don't forget you can click to enlarge!! A little bit different from my Anti-Valentines Day manicure...but I can get into the spirit of things!

I hope everyone had a lovely V-Day, single or not! Let me know what you think on the comments :D

xxx

Hello Kitty Nail Art!

I have done Hello Kitty Nails once before, but that was just as I was starting out. Seen as I don't get to use the Hello Kitty stamp from the Born Pretty.com (great Nail Art Supplies) promotion very often, I thought I'd dig it out and do an EVEN BETTER MANICURE. Haha. I painted the nails with Natural Collection White and stamped the Hello Kitty image using Konad Black Special Polish. I filled in the bows and noses with pink and yellow and added a coat of Seche Vite. For the accent nail I drew Hello Kitty's face using various Nail Art Pens.

Sorry the photos are a little blurry and dark, I had to take them in my shower because I was out of day light! Sounds odd, but it's the brightest light in the house, and still doesn't do the job!

They came out really cute and are a fun way to wear white nails - which I rarely do! Let me know what you think!

Born Pretty Store also give away 10 of these Hello Kitty Image Plates COMPLETELY FREE, everyday. All you have to do is add it to your cart, and enter the code BP299 at the checkout. To be taken there, you can click on the banner in my side-bar! ----------->

xxx

Star Print French Manicure

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Here are the nails I was sporting at the Motel and Glossy Box Event (see last post!). It's a "Funky French" Mani, aside from the accent nail, and is inspired by the black and white star-print which is creeping into fashion lately. I started with a base of 3 coats of Miss Sporty French Pink and then taped my nails with Scotch Tape (once the were completely dry) so that just the tips were showing. I then painted over the nail with MUA Shade 2, an opaque black, and lifted the tape off while it was still wet so as to attain neat, crisp lines. Once this, too, was completely dry I re-taped the tips and stamped the Star image from BM14, horizontally across the nail, with Konad White Special Polish. I then went back with single, stamped stars to fill in any big gaps and make the print more complete. Once dry, I added a coat of Seche Vite. For the accent nail, I simply stamped the star image numerous times to create an all over nail design :)

Photography is getting really, really difficult now the days are so much shorter, it has been dark practically all the time, and sunlight is extremely rare! Forgive the darkness of my photos!

Voila! A relatively short post (I'd forgotten how quickly you can write a post when it isn't 11293943 words long!), but it's a pretty simple design that's easy to re-create at home! Even if you don't have the Bundle Monster Image Plates, you could still freehand in the white starts with a Nail Art Pen or even a toothpick :D

Let me know what you think, everyone! xxx

They're Not Teardrops...They're FLOWERS NOW!!!!

Many of you who follow my blog (and probably some who don't!) will know that the designs I showcase are a mixture of both freehand and "stamped" nail art, with the image plates I use for the latter coming from Bundlemonster (and the occasional Konad!). WELL. Bundlemonster don't just do image plates, no Sir, they kindly sent me an array of other Nail Art bits and bobs that I wasn't even aware they produced! These included little wheels of rhinestones of carious shapes and colours, sequins, little starts, little flowers, and even teeny tiny coloured balls.
Many of the rhinestones are in a teardrop shape, and they came in such pretty colours that I really wanted to use them. Call me Little Miss Sunshine, but I didn't fancy using them as teardrops, and so decided to utilize their shape and create little diamonté flowers! Each petal on the flower is a separate Bundlemonster, tear-drop rhinestone - and they're great, really easy to work with:-

My short nails are really starting t bug me now, they just KEEP breaking! I don't want to have to resort to fakies!

I started with a base of Barry M Spring Green, and added the leafy design using Konad Special Polish in Green, from Bundlemonster image plate BM19. After a couple of heavy lashings of Seche Vite, these babies stayed put for a couple of days!

Overall, these little Nail Art additions are really good, and can add an entirely different dimension to a manicure, not to mention some bling! They're really not all that expensive from their website, about £10 for a set of 5 wheels, each containing 12 segments with a different accessory in it. They are also a fantastic company, who take customer satisfaction very seriously, always looking to improve their products on OUR suggestion.

I hope you liked this design! Let me know :D

Don't forget you can still vote for me in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards! You can find me under Best New Beauty Blog of 2011! Click on the picture to cast a vote - it's quick and easy! :)

*Product was provided by Bundlemonster, but all opinions and reviews are 100% honest, and completely my own. For more info, please visit my disclosure page!*

Bundle Monster Roses Nail Art!

Hi Everyone!

So sorry I've been absent for the last 3 weeks, I was in America visiting the 8th Wonder of the World - Disney World. I thought I would have more time to blog, but after rollercoaster-ing all day, and unfortunate breakages as a result of acting the like the epitomal "big kid", I didn't quite happen! I am sporting short nails at the moment (they KEEP breaking!) but decided to use my Bundle Monster plates and have some double stamping fun - I kind of think this looks more like a wallpaper design, haha -

The flash picture showed the subtle gold design better!

I started with 3 coats of Bloom Nicole, which is a gorgeous sheer cream colour. I often use two coats of this on the tips if I want a classic french - it looks so natural and elegant. It really compliments a tan, too! I then used Bloom Goldie to stamp the vine image from BM21, and finished it off with a rose, from BM14, in the corner of each nail. I used Konad Special Polish in Red, and Black for the accent nail.

I hope you like it - I'm loving being back! Haha!

Nails Inc Victoria and Bundle Monster Nail Art!

Hi Everyone!

Today I'm showing you one of my favourite Nails Inc London polishes, called Victoria. It is a gorgeous dark, dark, plum red, that deepens with the more layers you paint on. The first coat is almost a bright cerise colour, but by coat three, you've got a really deep sexy red/black - it's how I imagine Vampire Blood would look like, only much more sophisticated and beautiful, OBVIOUSLY.

It looks almost black indoors, but when the sun shines on it you can really see that deep, claret colour coming through. This is sans topcoat as well, it is the glossiest polish ever!:

You know me, I just couldn't leave it alone, could I?! I added some nail art, using Miss Sporty Electric Beige to stamp the swirly image from BundleMonster image plate BM04.

 

I know it's not quite as interesting today, but sometimes I do like to look sophisticated, as opposed to ridiculous, ya knooooow?! Haha, it's a far cry from banana nails, that's for sure. I'll make up for it tomorrow, you can count on that! 

What do you think to this shade? It was the quickest Mani ever, so great if you're in a hurry to do something smart, but you've not left enough time to get ready - story of my life!

Hope you're all having a lovely Tuesday, stop by tomorrow because I will be having a GIVEAWAY. NOOICE!

In other news, if you all "like" Cadbury Caramel Bunny on Facebook, you might get a nice surprise on Friday! (Hint: IT'S MY FACE. And Manicures!)

Scotch Tape Zebra Print Manicure

Hello everyone! I know, two posts in as many days, almost like the good old days eh?!

When I was on holiday with my family, we had a very restricted weight allowance for the flights, and so we ditched all the heavy beach gear in favour of lighter alternatives. This included picking up some cheap, light beach towels from Asda, and my, ever tasteful, father chose the most trashy-fabulous, attention grabbing, lurid print that was available - zebra print with a bright purple border. They were amazing. And chavvy. But mostly amazing. They inspired this manicure!

I started with a base of 3 coats of Natural Collections White and allowed to dry before stamping the zebra image from Konad M57 with Konad Special Polish in Black. If you're in the UK, and don't want to splash out for the Konad special Polish, I've heard that MUA Shade 2 - available for only £1 in Superdrug - is a fantastically opaque alternative, though I've yet to try it myself. I added a coat of Seche Vite to dry it all quickly, and ten minutes later added strips of scotch tape diagonally across each nail. I then painted the nail in Claire's Matte Purple (I LOVE mixing textures!) and pulled the tape away while still wet. ET VOILAAA! Trashy Towel Nails.

 

I love how the shiny and the matte finishes look together. The cameras playing tricks on your eyes, the purple is, in fact, a lot more violet and red toned in real life, my camera is in perfect, purple denial, turning it blue. The photos were also taken at dusk, so sorry they're a bit dark and blue. (gawd I need to build myself a light box!)

Let me know what you think everyone! :D

And We'll Lie Beside A Turquoise Sea.

Sorry for not being around much this week, I promise I still read all of your comments and emails, I just haven't got around to posting - anyone who blogs will know it can be rather time consuming! Here is a Bundlemonster Konadicure for you, though, using Rimmel's Sky High as a base. Sky High is a gorgeous blue turquoise, goes on beautifully and opaque after 2 coats - I wore it on my toes for 2 weeks sans topcoat, and it didn't chip once.



I stamped the swirly image from the new bundlemonster set of image plates, BM201, using Konad's special polish in White. I think it kind of looks like art-deco style ocean waves, like a sea-themed mosaic!

 

I used Rimmel 60 Seconds as a topcoat - DO NOT WANT. I did not get on with it at all. Firstly, it smeared my stamping, which wasn't noticeable to the naked eye, but macro shows EVERYTHING! Secondly, it turned the white, stamped image yellow. You can't tell too much from the photos, as they are taken in bright sunshine, but trust me, the topcoat stained my manicure. I have NO IDEA how this can be, it's a topcoat for goodness sake! It is supposed to provide a clear coat over whatever I choose to use as a base! I'm baffled! Won't be using it again - money well spent...not. It's crazy how much I love Sky High, but hate this topcoat.

In other news, I loaned my nail art skillz to a little girl's birthday party, which was an exhausting 2 hours - kids are sticky and demanding! They loved my Del Sol Colour Changers though! (A post to come on those soon , once I've acquired Ruby Slipper!) I'd definitely hire myself out again, I've already been asked to do a wedding party - exciting stuff!

I also went to Parklife festival in Manchester this weekend (the reason Ive been so lax on the posts!) which was amaaazing, all the DJs we saw were fierce, and the crowds went mental! Skrillex was a definite highlight for us all, and despite the rain (and camping out for a couple of hours in a tea and cake tent!) we had a hilarious (if not muddy) time!

Leanne on my shoulders (yes, I'm a beast) and Sara during Chase and Status! Note the rained on makeup hahaha

The only one in wellies - soooo sensible

yes, the sun actually came out for day 1! Snapped in the Wagamamas noodle station with the dancing tigers. RIP reflective aviators, you shall be sorely missed (replaced)

Hey, look at that! Some of my real life made it on here! :D

I hope you are all well!

Snakeskin...

...'cus I'm classy like that. This is deliciously White Trash, I feel like I should be wearing a matching pair of trousers and Crocodile handbag. Mmmmm.

I reckon I'm probably building up to some sort of crazy safari manicure, with the theme of animal prints emerging! I had wanted to try this image from the new BundleMonster set for a while, I was just trying to figure out the colour combos, which I'm not sure I've got spot on! I started with a coat of Barry M Mushroom (I'm not sure if this is because it's quite old now, but this is now a perfect one-coater, though I'm sure it's not always been!). I then sponged on Claire's Jade Green, down either side of each nail. I used Miss Sporty Electric Beige to stamp with:

I remembered after the pictures, that I had used Electric Beige instead of Catrice Be My Millionaire!

I added Claire's Matte Topcoat over the design, and I really prefer it! What do you think? I love the feel of mattified nails as well, they're all smooth and velvety, I keep rubbing them on my face - weird? Yes.

 

Wooo hoo, snakey fingers, I'm off to explore the Jungle (and by Jungle, I mean Pub).

In keeping with the wildlife theme, I entered the Tiger Nail Art into Swaafie Blog's Inspired competition, and voting is now open! If you love me, you can head over and give me a vote! My design is number 3, and you've got until the 8th! There are so many amazing designs, and you can vote for your favourite three, so GO MENTAL! I would really appreciate you taking a look :D:D

"Check out Swaafie's contest, it's GGRRRRRRREAT!"  (I'm a loser) click here to see the original post

I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday!

Stars, Skulls, Swirls, Sponging and Stamping. (Giveaway Winner, too)

God, I love it when an alliterative post title comes together.

The whole shabang for you today, I went a little stamp crazy...

All photos in natural light

Please ignore the smudge-tasic index finger! After all that work, there was no way I was re-doing it haha!

I'd been wanting to use the Skull image from the new Bundle Monster Image Plate set for a while, but was in danger of utilizing it to create some kind of gross emo-dream/Pirates of the Caribbean tribute! I decided, in the end, to keep the colours light, and add some swirly pattern and some stars :D

I started with a base of Barry M Turquoise, and sponged on Models Own Blooboo in differing places on the nail. I then repeated this with Silver, from Claire's Silver Nail Art Pen. Now, I've mentioned this before, but however wonderful this silver is (and it is), it gives you the WORST glitter herpes ever. You can scrub and scrub at your silver-stained cuticles but it Just. Won't. Go. Away. So, I apologise for the sparkly cuticles haha! I also added a little bit of Rimmel Sky High to the sponged base too :)

After adding a coat of Seche Vite to smooth it out, I stamped the swirly, planty image from BM225 using Konad White Special Polish onto different parts of each nail. Then, using THIS method, I mixed my own pastel Special Stamping Polishes and stamped some pink, green and purple Skulls from plate BM211. I then did the same with the Star image from BM206, adding them sporadically to make a pattern. I added some coloured rhinestones to the Skull eyes (a later addition - I liked it without, too) that you can get from Nail Art online store Born Pretty.

If people like this look, I may do a sponging/stamping tutorial, because it looks rather busy and difficult, but it's really very simple, when you know how!

Also, I'm going to quickly announce the Giveaway winner (I know it's been a long time coming, soorrryryyyy).
I have contacted her and she's accepted, the winner is...

Lily over at Beauty's Bad Habit!

Congratulations! I'll be posting your goodies after my exams (next week :D)

I used Random.org to select a random number, then simply found that numbered entry in my spreadsheet!

(Didn't want to include your email, Lily!)

So, there we are! My first Giveaway, over and done with! As you can see I had a colossal amount of entries, so they took a while to verify - thank you for your patience, and for entering in the first place!

I hope you enjoy your prize Lily, check out her blog Beauty's Bad Habit!

I also got some great feedback from the giveaway question "What would you like to see from me in the future", so I'll be sharing some of the suggestions with you soon! 

Thanks Everyone!

Totally Tropical

Hi everyone!
In the spirit of craving summer SO BADLY, I decided to try out my newest Konad plate M29, and stamp a design I had been wanting to try for a while. Unfortunately, I only managed a quick flash shot of this, as I headed down in the morning to do the washing up, and a) broke a nail on the light switch, and b) managed to chip it all - washing up is kryptonite for manicures!

photo with flash - sorry it's the only one!

I started with a base of Topshop Green Room, and Bloom Flamingo sands II (both my absolute favourite polishes for the summer). I bought a couple of other Topshop polishes, and they are quickly beginning to rival my, previously unfaltering, love for Barry M! The formula is great and the colour selection is so different - I hope to do a review this week!

I added yellow ovals to the nail in Miss Sporty Taxi! and stamped the pineapple image from Konad M29, very carefully, over the top of these using Konad Black Special Polish/Konad Green Special Polish (for the leaves).

For the accent nail, I sponged 17 Orange Soda and Miss Sporty Taxi! over the top of Flamingo Sands II, then stamped the hibiscus image three times using Konad Special Polish in White and Red, as well as mixing my own pastel blue from Barry M Cobalt Blue and Konad White Special Polish (to see how click here). I stamped the "Aloha!" image in Konad Black Special Polish. I then added a coat of Seche Vite after the stamping had ten minutes to dry properly, so as not to smear the image.

I absolutely love this design - especially how the accent nail and the rest of the fingers do not match each other AT ALL in colour - I'm loving the colour clash trend this summer haha! My favourite mani in a while - I only wish I could've kept it on longer! I'm eager to try some variations on the accent nail design, the sponging is really subtle, which gives a cool effect.

Let me know what you think!

xxx

Twist on the Traditional Leopard Print Look

I say "The Traditional" leopard print like animal print nails are the most common thing in the world, but here in the UK at least, you still don't see them that often! I love a leopard print manicure, it's so eye-catching, and there's so many different colour combinations to try out. Today is a grey and silver combo, and my first time doing leopard print with the Konad M57, as opposed to my usual freehand technique - which do you think is better?

moley moley moley moley

All photos are in natural light, no flash. I started out with 2 coats of Urban Oufitter's Sparkle and Fade in Light Grey, and then stamped the leopard print image from Konad M57 using Konad Black Special Polish. Does anyone else find this relly messy to work with?! I find it gets eeeeverywhere and my hands always end up covered in it haha! Maybe I just need to improve my technique! I added silver dots to the centre of the circular designs using Claire's Silver Nail Art Pen. I finished off with 2 coats of Seche Vite Topcoat.
What do you think?  What other colour combos would you try? I'm dying try a neon one!

x