Comic Strip Nail Art!

Today I'm sharing bright comic-strip inspired nails. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with how these came out!! 

I used Rimmel 'Tangy Tangerine' for the base then I used the cling film (seran wrap if you're in the US) method to dot on some Collection 'Big Hair' (can't find a link I'm afraid!), a great bright red polish that I picked up in Superdrug.

I then used stamping plate BM-305 with MUA 'Black' polish to create the zagged lines. The ring-finger design is done with sellotape and MUA 'Black' again and Accessorize 'Crystal' (can't find a link again but I picked it up at Superdrug)... 

Of course, I finished the look with a coat of my trusty Seche Vite. What do you think? Have you done anything similar? I got a lot of complements for these as I think they are quite unusual. although they are a bit loud  for some occasions! 

Ice Cream Nails - Dessert - The Lazy 15

So here are today's Lazy Challenge nails, and on time for once!

I was between doing strawberry nails and these, but decided that ice cream is A far more fun dessert in my opinion. The look I've gone for is mint choc chip ice cream with chocolate sauce over the top!

I used Barry M 'Mint Green' for the base and No7 'Beanie' for the chocolate chips and sauce. I then dotted some bright acrylic paint colours over the top to look like hundreds and thousands. I used Seche Vite as a top coat.

This was my first attempt at doing drip nails and they aren't quite neat enough for me to be happy, I didn't have time to re-do them though and they were ok enough for me to post!

Here are the great nails from everyone else in the challenge:

Galaxy Nails: The Lazy Challenge #4

So today's challenge is galaxy nails which is something I've never even attempted before.

I was seriously contemplating re-doing these from scratch and right up until I put top coat on them I really wasn't feeling it. However, after a couple of coats of Seche Vite I was feeling a lot more positive about it! I'm definitely going to try these again, but I think I'll practice getting the colours to look more galaxy-ish rather than blodges on the nail.

What I used:

I started off with Xtras Black polish and then used Models Own 'Thunder and Lightening' to give the starry glitter effect you can see (loving this polish) I then sponged on small amounts of Revlon 'Violet', Models Own   'Copper Pot', Sally Hansen 'Model Behaviour' and Sally Hansen 'French Tip White'.

Really keen to see how my fellow challengers have got on with this one!

Bling Bling Sequin Manicure

Perusing Poundland this weekend (again!) I found a lovely set of glitters and sequins... I've been looking for some small round sequins for some time now, particularly since I heard of the upcoming launch of Ciate's sequin manicure, but most of what I see around are large sequins, the type with the hole in. These are more like tiny disks...

The pack came with 12 little bags of of 4 colours (pink, purple, orange and mixed) - 2 sequin bags of each colour and 1 'normal' glitter bag. I decided to try the mixed bag as it seems very similar to the 'Harlequin' Ciate version.

As you can see - the sequins are extremely similar to Ciate, as demonstrated on Kiss and Make Up. I don't think I've done the greatest job of it, as the sequins had a tendency to stick up, so the surface is VERY uneven. I used Technic 'Gardenia' as a base colour (2 coats) and then used Sally Hansen's 'Had as Wraps' and before it could dry, dipped the nail in the sequins. (as my bottle is quite old it's a bit goopy, so I thought that would be good for sticking the sequins to). I initially tried using a top coat but found that it made the nail look weird - almost like it had a slimy layer over the top, so I scrapped that idea.

Overall, I'm not hugely keen on this manicure from a distance it looks ok. but looking a bit closer makes it appear a bit 'messy' which I'm not keen on. I'm not sure what the glitter grip provided with the Ciate product is, so you may be able to get away with using this on top, but without being able to use my top coat, I don't think this will last too long. Ciate's promotional pictures are also a bit misleading - the sequins look much, much smaller, as you can see Grazia here.  This makes it look a lot neater...

I've also discovered that Nails Inc have launched 'Bling It On Rocks', as reviewed here on Sugar & Sparkle. I'm very keen to try this (or similar) as it looks more like chunky glitter than sequins, so the effect is classier (in my opinion). What do you think? Have you tried either product, or a similar version?

Red Velvet: Flocking Powder Manicure

I've been meaning to try this for a while, DIY style (as you all probably know, there is a premium kit available, for the not insignificant price of £15.) So, I purchased some flocking powder from Goldleaf Craft Supplies on ebay and away I went...

Firstly, I have to say that I'm impressed with how easy this was to do! It really did take me about 10 minutes from start to finish, and I didn't allow/need much drying time at all.

I used  Revlon Matte Suede in 'Ruby Ribbon' for the base colour. (a Poundland bargain! as I've mentioned in previous posts - hard to apply without streaks, but the colour match was perfect and it didn't matter under the flock.) I applied one coat, let it dry and then applied another and applied the powder while it was still wet - I did one nail at a time to make sure that the polish didn't dry too quickly for the powder to stick.

The verdict: I applied this last night, and I've worn it all day today. After showering and washing my hands many times  it is much more subdued and there are a few bald patches, plus the brightness really faded after I showered, it's now more of a dark maroon shade (I think the flock has lost it's pigmentation). As I couldn't apply my trusty coat of Seche Vite, there is tiny bit of tip wear after just a day as well (but do bear in mind that I'm not careful in the slightest with how I use my hands!) However, most of it is still there and I'm impressed that so much remains! I would definitely wear this again - as long as I wasn't looking for it to last more than 24 hours. 

Feather Nail Art!

I’ve seen a few examples of feather nails recently, and I think that done well, they are absolutely beautiful. My favourite example so far has been on Chloe’s nails.

I ended up using nail foil glue, which worked great. The link I’ve included is to the brand I have and, although it’s the only one I’ve used, I think it works well. The only thing to remember is that it takes a bit of time to become ‘tacky’. I leave it for around 6-8 minutes, too soon or too late and it won’t stick well… The brown colour, as pictured, is No7 ‘Beanie’ and underneath the feather I used No7 ‘So Simple’.

And the feathers? I’ve been planning on a trip to a craft store soon, but I actually picked this up at Poundland (you’ll soon come to realise my love of this shop). They were actually part of a feather ‘hair clip’ set, but they’ve done the job pretty well I think!

It looks much better in black and white I think. I made the mistake of using too much top coat, in too thick layers, so it’s got those air trapped bubbles at the end, which are more obvious in the colour image.