Christmas nail art #1 & #2

10 days until . . . December!!!  Sorry, but I'm getting on the Christmas nail art bandwagon early so I can show you some styles to try for yourself before the big day.


First up - Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree . . .

I used Essence - Flame Fatal as the red background, Sally Hansen - Emerald City as the tree colour and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in silver for the tree baubles.


Next, Mr Snowman . . .

 

 

I used Essence - I Love Bad Boys as the blue background, and Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens in White, Black and Red for the details. I then thought that there was something missing and added . . .

 

 

 

. . . a scarf!  Okay, I probably could have also given my snowmen hats, but my nails are super short at the moment due to nail polish crimes, so there wasn't any room for the hats.

 

 

NN

Mauve and Mint Gradient

Finally, after much deliberation, I attempted a gradient mani using the easiest method of painting the colours onto a make-up wedge and sponging these directly onto the nails.  Here are the results:


Without flash

With flash

I used:  Savvy - Grapetini and Mint Julep for the two colours, because I love purple and green together.


I then used Savvy - White Russian as the topcoat, as it has pearl-like reflective elements of both colours of those colours.  It really helped to complete the gradient mani.


I admit, I was apprehensive about doing this mani, but it's a heap easier to do than say, a marble mani, and I think the first time results aren't too bad at all.


NN

A leopard doesn't change its spots

A bit of fun nail art to bring out your animal instincts . . . leopard spots!


With flash:

Natural light:

Using this tutorial from The Beauty Department, I was able to create these wicked nails using Essence - Grey-t to be here as the base colour, Revlon - Gold Coin as the middle spots and Essence - Black is Back as the outline of the gold spots.


When I initially tried this one, I used a beige base colour thinking it would look more natural, but it just didn't work very well, and so I switched to the grey which seems to help the gold spots stand out more.


Work appropriate?  A big, fat NO.  But they're so cool that I may not be able to resist . . .


NN

Cling to me

I've been getting funky with my nails lately.  I seem to be getting a bit more adventurous with the nail art, and I'm okay with that.  Can't get better at it without practice, right?  And with so many tutorials out there, how can you go wrong?  Besides, it provides me with endless hours of entertainment, and a chance to have an "arty" outlet.


The next technique I would like to show you is my version of using cling/glad/saran wrap to sponge polish onto your nails.


My efforts turned out as follows:

I used Ulta3 - Lily White as the base, along with Essence - Let's Get Lost (blue) and Better Late than Never.


Personally, I think this looks more effective than splatter nails, and it's a heck of a lot less messy.  Oh, and a handy tip I learned was that to aid with clean-up, you can use Vaseline instead of sellotape to cover the skin around your nails.  You could also use Vaseline when marbling - how excellent is that?!  Gotta give that a try!


NN

May the odds be ever in your favour

Earlier this year, The Hunger Games was released in cinemas.  I won't drop any spoilers for those of you who haven't yet seen it, but ever since I've been dying to try to replicate Effie Trinket's (one of the characters) nails.


My first attempt is below.

I used Bourjois - Fuchsia Hype and then sponged on Revlon - Gold Coin.  Love this look, but a bit glitzy for work.


Then I got an idea that, with Christmas on the doorstep, I could start doing some Christmas themed nails, and so "Effie Trinket - Christmas Style" was born.

I used China Glaze - Frostbite (how appropriate!) and then sponged on Revlon - Silver Dollar over top.

NN

Spatter nails, take 2

Just a quick one - my second attempt at splatter nails:


With flash:

Without flash:

NN

Peacock feathers

My first attempt at peacock feathers.

I started with The Face Shop - BL602 (a shimmery turquoise) as the base colour.  Then used a Sally Hansen Black Nail Art Pen to draw the feather design.

Next, I painted a gold oval shape in the middle of the feather on each nail, using Revlon - Gold Coin.

I then painted a turquoise circle on top of the gold oval, using Jordana's Boy Oh Boy.

Lastly, I painted a tiny navy blob on top of the turquoise circle, using Ulta3 - Hollywood.

And there you have it - very basic peacock nails!


NN

Marbling: attempts #1 & #2

On this blog I aim to show you not just the cool stuff, but also the attempts and fails I have with my various nail art adventures.


Yesterday, after many months of procrastination, I finally tried out marbling.


Here are a few pics (**warning**:  they're not pretty):

Things I learned:


1.  It's fun!
2.  It's VERY messy - even if you tape your fingers up.
3.  It's time consuming.
4.  Not all polishes work well, so you have to experiment.
5.  The water must be at room temperature - too hot or too cold and it won't work.
6.  You have to work quick to make a pattern once the polishes are in the water.
7.  It's VERY messy (oh yeah, said that already!).


I am grateful to know that even the nail art queens note that this marbling technique takes practice.  So that's what I will do!  I even have a couple more ideas of colour combos, so stay tuned.


NN

Essence Colour & Go - new bottle & brush + gel colours

Priceline has just brought out a range of Essence Colour and Go polishes in their new bottles with new easier application brushes.  Most of the colours are similar to the ones released earlier this year, with a few new ones which caught my eye:


In the bottle - L-R: Date in the moonlight, Oh my glitter, I love bad boys, Grey-t to be here

On digits - in the same order as above

There's something that I adore about Essence polishes - the key to working out how each polish will look on your fingers is by studying the bottle's lid.  As you can see from the first pic above, each bottle's lid has a slight shimmery glitter running though it, and this holds true right down to when you paint your nails.  I love that! 


How many times have you bought a polish thinking it looked *AWESOME* in the bottle, and then once you were finished painting, felt disappointed because it promised so much, but delivered so little?  For me - A LOT! Not so with Essence - WYSIWYG.


NN

Just Spotted the Lizard & Comparison

Last week at my local Cosmo Cosmetics store (stores at Met Centre/Wynyard & George Street (just up from the new Topshop store)), I found a Chanel Peridot dupe often talked about on the interwebs - OPI's Just Spotted the Lizard (JStL).


Cosmo's prices are great - they have a smallish selection of OPI polishes for about $14ea, and whilst previously I've never seen any colours I was particularly keen on, when I saw JStL, I knew it had to join my collection.


Here it is:

 

 

Now watch as it flashes it's duo chrome brilliance . . .

 

 



Gold and green/teal - it's so purty.


I then thought it might be a good idea to do a comparison with another Peridot dupe I have - Missha's HGR01:

Misha - HGR01 on index and ring fingers, JStL on middle and pinky fingers

Bottles side by side:  HGR01, left, JStL, right


Verdict:  JStL seems to carry on where HGR01 finishes, and has much more gold flash than HGR01.  That said, HGR01 seems to have much more of a blue flash compared with JStL (which has no blue elements at all).  I think JStL is a closer dupe of Peridot, but neither has both the gold and blue combo that Peridot possesses.  Close, though, and pretty enough on their own merits!  At the very least, a cheaper alternative to the ultra expensive Peridot.


NN