grey tipped nails

Any manicure that is easy and quick to do along with looking effortlessly chic is my kind of manicure. Lately, I've been loving the effect of applying a nude base colour and adding small details, be it dots, flowers or coloured tips. I'm a big fan of how this kind of look is much more natural and pretty looking than just a block of colour, plus it's ideal if you're going for a fresh spring vibe. Barry M Nude is my all time favourite base shade, and this time I opted for Barry M Grey for the tips.

spring pastel dotted nails

Nail Dotting Tool | Ciaté Sugared Almonds | Models Own Indian Ocean and Apple Pie | Bourjois Fashion gris-gris | Maybelline Surreal

It's been far too long since I attempted any kind of nail art, probably because I've been feeling a bit lazy and just sticking to nude nails for the majority of the time. With Spring in full swing I've been inspired by pastel shades (check the new blog design!) so thought I'd get back into nail dotting too. It's a super easy look to create, just use a nude base colour and then put a splodge of each colour on a piece of paper and grab your dotting tool. I'm never too precise about where I put my dots and generally just have fun with it, it's surprising how quickly you can make them look so cool in no time at all, especially if you use a glitter shade too.

If you're after some more Spring nail inspiration, check a couple of my old posts here and here. 

the reverse french manicure

The typical french manicure of having white tips with a nude coloured base has well and truly had its day, and as much as I love wearing all white nail polish it can look like I've just nabbed the tipex rather than looking sophisticated. I've mixed up the two trends and used the white to paint upwards from the half moons on my nails, it really is just as easy as painting them as you normally would (in vertical stripe motions) except you start at the half moon rather than base of the nail. You will want to keep some cotton buds soaked in nail polish remover handy just to tidy up and create as much of a neat line as possible but apart from that if you have a fairly steady hand then you should have no problem at all having a go. 

glitter triangle half moon nails

Another nail art post for you all today, I'm starting to get quite good at this now! I painted a black base colour and then used striping tape (again) to create a triangle shape at the base of my nail and filled it in with a gold glitter polish then peeled the tape away to reveal the design and sealed with a topcoat. It was actually super easy to do and looks even more amazing once the light catches the glitter and is really well suited for wearing on a night out.

how to: black and nude caged nail art

I'm back with some more nail art today and this time I went for something really different and that I thought up myself without inspiration pictures. I painted Barry M 'Nude' as my base colour and then applied tape vertically to my nails and then horizontally to create a grid pattern as you can see in the photo above. I then layered a black nail polish over that and started peeling away the pieces of tape as I did in this blog post. It did take a while to complete all of the nails but if you haven't got the time this look would look really great on an accent nail or two. If you are bored with the usual nail polish looks then get creative with some striping tape!

vertical black and white striped nails

I'm back with more nail art, and this time I went for black and white vertical stripes which made my nails look like little mint humbugs. I used the same striping technique that I did with this post but used the tape vertically rather than diagonally, although if you don't have striping tape you could just use a nail art brush if you have a steady hand.

how to: pinstripe nails

1. APPLY TAPE STRIPS AND SMOOTH OVER THE NAIL 2. PAINT ON TOP COLOUR OVER WHOLE NAIL 3. GENTLY PEEL OFF STRIPS STRAIGHT AFTER 4. TIDY AROUND THE NAIL AND APPLY TOPCOAT

 NAIL TAPE WHEEL - EBAY | COLOR CLUB TOPCOAT | KONAD WHITE | MODELS OWN BETH'S BLUE | NAIL SCISSORS AND TWEEZERS

Most of my free time seems to be spent on creating nail art and scouring the internet for endless inspiration images at the moment. I recently came across a tutorial using striping tape and upon noticing how cheap they are on Ebay I instantly ordered a set, 10 for just over £2 including delivery no less! It does take quite a while to do two hands using this method (around an hour in total) but it's so worth it as the effect is neater than anything else, though you could always just do an accent nail instead. A few tips that I have are to make sure your base colour has been drying for a few hours before you go ahead with striping, also use nail scissors to trim the tape to size and lastly use tweezers to pull of the tape from one side to the other. I decided to paint the stripes on in opposite directions for each hand which I think turned out really well, I will definitely be trying out more designs using striping tape. Let me know if you are going to try this out!

pastel vintage floral nails

COLOR CLUB TOPCOAT | BARRY M MINT GREEN | MODELS OWN UTOPIA & PEACH FUZZ | KONAD WHITE

I've been having a go with nail art again and this time steppd away from anything I had done before and ventured into trying out a floral pattern. I created little blobs with the peach shade and then added white detailing and polka dots and finished with mint coloured leaves. They don't look perfect that's for sure but I quite like the shabby chic feel to them and adore the colour combination. I've just ordered some nail brushes online meaning I will be able to add much more detail to my future designs. Toothpicks can work really well for designs like this too as you can draw thin lines and shapes with them. If you want to have a go at this yourself just have a browse on Youtube for tutorials, but I will probably post one up soon. Just be sure to use a thin polish that hasn't gone gloopy as you will find it impossible otherwise, my Konad white shade was perfect for that reason. 

tutti-frutti dotted nails

NAIL DOTTING TOOLS - EBAY | AMERICAN APPAREL NEON GREEN & NEON ORANGE | MODELS OWN PINK NAIL ART PEN | MODELS OWN SNOW WHITE

I've been playing around with my nail dotting tools again and have created this bright neon dotted effect. I started in the bottom left corner of each nail with a bright pink shade then moved onto the green and lastly the orange to created diagonal stripes of each colour. I absolutely love the overall effect and it's definitely the brightest that my nails have ever looked, which can only be a good thing. Nail dotting is unbelievably easy to do once you get the hang of it properly and that's coming from a very clumsy person, it's really worth giving a go.

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chic dotted nail art

ROCOCO UNISEXY MATTE | BARRY M NUDE | COLOR CLUB TAKE THE STAGE | MODELS OWN UTOPIA | KISS WHITE NAIL ART PAINT

If you haven't already got yourself some dotting tools (why ever not?) then you can bend out a bobbi pin and use the end dipped in polish which works well too. The dots end up larger and not as precise as when using a proper dotting tool but it's worth trying out and is a handy tip for creating nail art. I decided to update my nail polish from a black French mani to this which meant it hardly took any time at all and I was super pleased with the results.

nails inc feather effect nail polish in 'cornwall'

One of my favourite nail looks recently is the Nails Inc Feathers, it's a trend that is actually wearable and is super easy to pull off. The nail polish bottle is filled with tiny strips of confetti suspended in clear nail polish that once layered on the nail creates a feather like look. I absolutely love the combination of the blue and white, it's so simple yet eye catching and will be perfect for Spring/Summer. This is definitely my favourite shade that I've seen from the Feathers collection, and I'd say if you are to invest in one nail trend this Spring then make it this.

NAILS INC FEATHERS IN CORNWALL - £11

neon and nude dotted nails

MODELS OWN PINK PUNCH | BARRY M LYCHEE | NAIL DOTTING TOOLS - EBAY - £2.50

My nail dotting tools arrived through the post the other day and this is the first look that I tried out, I adore the combination of the nude milky base paired with bright neon bubblegum dot detailing. I found the nail dotting technique much easier than I first expected and I think that with a little practice I will be able to create some really cool designs. The dotting tools were so cheap including postage and are all double ended meaning that in total you can work with 10 different sized dotters.

casino themed nail art

Recently I was set a little challenge by Ladbrokes to come up with my very own casino themed nail art, whilst a betting site has virtually no relevance to a beauty blog I couldn't resist having the excuse of getting creative with my nails. I'm no stranger to painting my nails lots of different shades but I very rarely get arty with them, which is a bit of a shame really and as a beauty blogger I should hang my head in shame.

I was sent a Konad stamping kit to have a go with (including a casino themed nail plate) and spent most of the night getting the hang of it properly. Firstly you have to paint on the polish to the plate, making sure to fill all the gaps of the design and then use the scraper at just the right angle and level of pressure to scrape away the polish from around the design in one stroke. Secondly you need to stamp over the paint gently and then roll the transfer over your nail with care and precision. I am one of the most clumsy people that you could ever meet so to have worked out a method of using the kit properly is nothing short of a miracle for me. Lining up the stamper with your nail is the trickiest part and it's pretty much a guessing game as to where the polish will transfer onto your nail.

All said and done I really enjoyed creating a nail look with the inspiration of the casino and would love to have a go at doing more of this kind of thing for my blog. I will put up a tutorial post soon of how to use the Konad kit for anyone interested.

KONAD RED NAIL POLISH | CHINA GLAZE 'KIWI COOL-ADA' | MODELS OWN 'EMERALD CITY' | KONAD CASINO THEMED NAIL PLATE

candy striped nails

Just another quick nail art post today, featuring pink and white candy stripes. I'm certainly no nail art expert and am prone to smudging my nails before they dry and having a bit of a shaky hand however I found this look fairly easy to do as all that it requires is a base colour of your choice and then using a nail art pen create thin stripes with the brush and then seal with a topcoat. I think that square shaped nails look best for this as they have an even defined edge and make it easier to get the stripes painted on right. 

Topshop 'Milkshake' Nail Polish

Stargazer White Nail Art Pen 

neon yellow half moon nail design

  

Lately I've been bored with wearing just one shade of nail polish so I decided to mix it up a bit and try my hand at some nail art. I know it looks fairly basic and simple but you definitely need to have a steady hand and good eyesight to be able to pull it off, and a cotton bud soaked in nail polish remover at the ready to clean up any mistakes. It's also best to use a thin nail polish and not one that has gone tacky as it can make it impossible to draw a good line. Illamasqua 'Rare' is exactly the same colour as the one I used and is easier to get hold of in the UK.

American Apparel 'Cotton' and China Glaze 'Yellow Polka Dot Bikini'

rimmel instant art nail wraps

Hi dolls, just a quick post today on the Rimmel Instant Art nail wraps that I have been  given an exclusive sneak peek of before they hit the shops.

The strips are surprisingly easy to apply and literally take half of the time to painting your nails, and then of course the best bit is you don't have to wait around for them to dry! I've posted on nail wraps before so don't really need to go in depth about how they are applied, but basically they are perfect for any nail polish addict that doesn't have the time to faff around with polish. Just place on the nail, rub down and file off the excess wrap, simple. I found that they lasted the same amount of time as a normal polish would without a topcoat, so basically a couple of days before the tips started to chip.

I am in love with the Union Jack design especially with the grungy grey and black shades, definitely something to try for Autumn/Winter.

This was a sponsored post

The nail wraps are now available on the Asos website for £6.99 and in Superdrug stores.

xox

nail rock leopard print nail wraps

The other day I tried out some nail wraps for the first time by Nail Rock and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy they were to apply. I'm going to do a tutorial video soon on how to use them but basically you just pick the correct sizes from the sheet and stick them half on from the cuticle area, you then use a hair dryer on a low setting which melts them slightly and just rub over any air bubbles to smooth them down. After they are applied, depending on your nail size, you will probably have to snip any excess off the end with nail scissors and then file in a downwards motion to smooth the edge and make the wraps blend with your nails. The process is a lot easier with longer nails and as mine were short at the time it took a little longer than usual. But for a first attempt I think I did pretty well! It took around 40 minutes to complete both hands but with a bit of practice probably half that.

I wore them in London for a few events the next day and the got a handful of compliments which showed the effort was definitely worth it. I did actually end up removing them a few days later but only because I'm really bad at changing my nail colour constantly, most reviews say that they last roughly a week on longer nails. There are 24 nail stickers in a pack which means you get two sets of manicures (or even pedicures) for your money. If you fancy a different design then have a browse on the Nail Rock website as there are plenty of options.

Price: £6.65
Available at the Nail Rock website: Leopard print design

colour tipped nails

Morning lovelies. Today I'm going to show you the nail art that I've been doing recently, well I call it nail art but this is as close as it gets for me! I'm really enjoying using grungy colours as a base with a pop of neon colour on the tips, very on trend for spring/summer. It's not difficult to do if you are fairly steady handed, just drag the brush along the tip of your nail as you would with a french manicure. But if you are using one of the Kiss nail artist paints it's almost impossible to mess up.

Polishes used: Chanel 'Particuliere' (you can use Barry M 'Mushroom') as the base colour and Models Own 'Bubblegum' on the tips

Polishes used: Beauty UK 'Slate' as the base colour and Kiss Nail Artist Paint in 'Silver Glitter' on the tips.

Polishes used: Barry M 'Strawberry' as the base colour and Kiss Nail Artist Paint in 'Pearl Gold' on the tips.