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!

Movember Nails! (Part One)

Who says girls can't have a little fun for Movember?! Just because we are challenged in the facial foliage department doesn't mean we can't join in and help raise awareness, while making fun of our nearest and dearests' feeble attempts to pull off  "The Magnum P.I", of course. I'm wearing moustaches on my nails, with a different 'classic' 'tache on each one. The idea behind it is that you can hold a different nail to your top lip, in a hilarious fashion, to mimic some face-fuzz of your very own, whether you're in the mood for...

1. The Cowboy (Index finger)
2. The Mario (Middle finger)
3. The Fancy French (Ring Finger)
4. The Charlie Chaplin (or The Hitler, depending on how politically sensitive we're all feeling today) (Pinky Finger)

I have freehanded the blue Male-Cancer ribbon onto my thumb with Nail Art Pens from eBay, and painted the 'taches onto a base of American Apparel Palm Springs (which is the best polish that I own to match my skintone)

and here is my ridiculous face, demonstrating the concept!

It's-a meeeeee Marioooo!

Je m'appelle Moustache.

Howdy Partner

Felt like an absolute idiot taking these photos in front of the window, but I think that's almost the whole point of Movember, doing something fun to raise awareness! I also did some other moustache-y nails this week, so I'm making this post a two-parter (you lucky things), so expect some more Movember Madness tomorrow!

I had fun doing these, and actually did an astounding amount of research into facial hair. I never thought I'd find myself googling "famous moustaches", but life is full of surprises. Just a bit of mid-week fun for everyone, let me know what you think, would you ever wear these out? It's a conversation starter at least!

Please don't forget that you have until Friday to vote for me in the GlossyBox Nail Art contest HERE on their Facebook! If you love this manicure:

 

you can click "like" and make me one happy bunny! I would really appreciate it :D

Thanks everyone!

Marie Claire Ciaté Freebie

I can't resist a good freebie, and when it's a £9.00 Ciaté polish, I can't resist just that little bit more. This months Marie Claire magazine (£3.60) is giving away a choice of two Ciaté Paint Pots.This polish is called My Fair Lady, and I am in love with it. She's a glossy, pink-beige nude, it's gorgeous - and I'm a self-confessed 'brights' addict. The formula is the best I've used in a while, and the ergonomically designed handle makes application a breeze - it dries fairly quickly, this is 4 coats (more than I'd usually like, but I like that the colour is buildable, so you can use it as a perfect base for french manicures too):

 

I applied enough coats to hid the nail-line, but one or two coats also looks lovely, if you're into your sheer polishes. Love that little bow on bottle too! This is how I imagine Deborah Lippman Naked would look, so I can clutch my little Ciaté and pretend that I have a DL in my stash...wishful thinking.

I added some nail art, because I can't seem to leave anything alone, in the form of the swirly image from the new Bundle Monster Image Plate Set, BM-214. I used Konad White Special Polish to stamp with, as it's brilliantly opaque. It looked lovely beforehand, but I blinged it up with some Kiss rhinestones to the centre of the pattern, stuck with nail glue (which I'm now regretting because I CAN'T GET THEM OFF.) After a coat of Seche Vite, it was all ready to go:

Very girly! These would be perfect wedding nails, not that I'm making plans. 

Did anyone else pick up the free Ciaté polishes? I think they're great, and will be showing you the other Marie Claire freebie option Wait Until Dark, soon! Let me know what you think!

Don't forget, if you haven't already, you can still enter my Apothica $25 Giftcard Giveaway!!! 

You can also still submit nominations for the Cosmo Blog awards! :)

She's My Cherry Pie

If you haven't been over to www.bornprettystore.com, seriously, check it out! I get a lot of my nail art supplies from there (my brushes, rhinestones, fimo canes etc), because they are so affordable, and it's free international shipping - always a bonus! They often run little contests and give away freebies too, which is great - they're a really customer-friendly company with a wide range of supplies.

I was sent some of their heart-shaped rhinestones to try out,* and was struggling to think of a design to incorporate them into. I've wanted to do a Manicure along these lines for a while, using cherries, and thought I may as well use some of the red heart rhinestones :D

I started with a base of American Apparel Palm Springs, a lovely peach nude, and used a dotting tool to add some red dots in Boots 17 Knockout Red. I added some highlights and shading with Nails Inc Shoreditch High Street and Claire's White Nail Art Pen, and some stalks using Claire's Jade Green and Barry M Spring Green. On the accent nail, I used Born Pretty Store's heart-shaped rhinestones as the cherry fruit, rather than painting them :D

With Flash!

And there we are! Because it's a nude base, it reminded me of cherry pie :D

Here is the wheel of Heart Shaped Rhinestones, they come in 12 different colours, and you get around 30 of each colour, I'd say:

my own photo

my own picture - much less in there!

Here is the picture they use on the website:

stock picture

As you can see, the stock picture is rather misleading regarding the amount of rhinestones you actually receive. where the stock picture is jam-packed, the reality is you probably only get half that amount - if that. Nowhere in the item description does it specify how many rhinestones you will receive. This is really the only criticism I have here, as they really are a great product, some people may be disappointed, however.

The packaging is a good idea, the top of the wheel rotates round to reveal each segment at a time, however the rhinestones do become statically charged, and stick to the top, which leads to the colours getting all mixed up. It doesn't really bother me, as I still think it's a better method of storing them than having them stuck to a sheet of acetate, like the Kiss ones I bought from Superdrug. 

The hearts really are sweet, and are a great alternative to regular circular rhinestones - I love them! They're the perfect size, around 2mm, and the range of colours mean you can literally incorporate them into any design.

The wheel costs $3.33 (£2.06), with free shipping, which is fantastically cheap considering the quality and amount you get (even if you are misled in the stock picture!). They also get cheaper the more wheels you buy, for example, if you buy ten wheels, you get a 10% discount.

These took around 2 weeks to reach me in the UK, I'm not sure how long it would be for anywhere else in the world, but the website says to allow up to 4 weeks. The service is great, though, and there's always someone on the email who is quick to reply to enquiries you might have.

To pick up your own set, or check out some more cheap nail art supplies, you can click on the banner at the side of this page :D

Let me know what you think of the nail art, guys! xxxx

*This product was provided by the retailer for review. I am in no way influenced by any affiliation with the company. All opinions are my own, and honest. For full details please read my disclosure policy page

Caramel Cupcake :) Nails Inc

I got this Nails Inc polish free with the Diet Coke promotion, I REALLY wanted to get the other ones too, but my crappy local Boots seemed to only have Caramel - which is fine, it was my favourite of the collection anyway! I hope they do another one soon. Superdrug did the same promotion except with two of their MUA polishes, which cost £1 each. Yeah nice one Superdrug, thats the same as a Ltd Edition £11 Nails Inc. :/ POOPerdrug more like.
Caramel is a lovely fudge coloured beige- nude, smooth application and I was suprised how fast it dried, although I did get a couple of bubbles - but it might've just been my painting skillz. I think it's a very sophisticated shade, and it will literally go with anything.

I kept this Manicure plain for like...four hours. SHOCKING. After a while I just felt far too sophisticated for my own good, and since it is the colour of Toffee sauce (or Caramel...um) I added a little cupcake from BM14 in pink and white. It would help if I could stamp straight though, eh?!

not the best picture, but it's the most accurate colourwise.

I hope you all have FABULOUS weekends, don't forget that Forever 21 are giving EVERY SINGLE PENNY taken through their website to the Earthquake/Tsunami relief effort for today only. BUYING NEW CLOTHES SAVES LIVES, OK?! I've already spent £50, its such a worthy cause and the situation over there breaks my heart so any little I can do to help. Even if you just need some new socks, Give and Receive at the same time! :D

lots of love people xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <- some kisses for you, apply where necessary.