Dabbling in Nail Art

These are two designs I was absolutely dying to try out. Please excuse the messiness and the dry hands. Time wasn't on my side!

The first is zebra print, and I think I need some extra practise! It's pretty difficult doing it on your own nails as opposed to fake ones, so they're a bit rough and ready. To get this effect, I applied two coats of white for the base colour. I think the polish was from an old manicure set that I don't use any more, nothing spectacular but it does the job! Then I used a black nail art pen by Giles (from New Look) to paint on the stripes. I think this would have worked better if I had a picture of a zebra in front of me to work from. This could have made the manicure look a lot more realistic. As it was though, everyone loved them, ad I look forward to doing more animal print soon.

The next manicure is a little bit art-inspired. Monet-style impressionist roses and sparkly gold to go with a very pretty dress in a similar style. I love this manicure, but it took ages to do, and only on two nails! First, I applied a coat of Front Cover gold sparkle polish on each nail. Then I focused on the ring fingers. With a paint brush, I dabbed red polish on the nail to make a circle.. ish. It doesn't need to be exact, thank God. Then I highlighted using a white polish and that same brush when the first colour was dry. With the previous red paint still on it, it creates a little bit of pink that looks quite nice. Then, after cleaning the brush, I painted some light green on for the leaves, in a 'V' shape if I could. To finish off the manicure, I put some more of the sparkly gold coat on the tips of my other nails and used Gold by Giles nail art pen in gold to create a half moon.

What do you think?
Kyra

Nail Art - Getting Creative

As you all may have seen, recently I have been a little involved with the world of nails. I have been endlessly following blogs, looking for beautiful nail designs that don't look to difficult to do. In actuality, I have learnt that all it takes is a steady hand and a creative mind to make some really beautiful offerings to the nail art clan.

So without further ado, I want to show you all how my nail art is coming along, and what I hope to be achieving when I have more time on my hands. Any comments and feedback would be really appreciated, as I think I need all the help I can get!

This first one was simple because I've done manicures quite a few times. I also had the help of some very useful stick on guides. I was aiming for a simple and elegant look that was ideal for just about anything, so i went for a natural pink with a black tip. looks kind of classic, doesn't it? My friend liked this one so much that she got me to do it on her too!

For this next one, I wanted to create a look that went with my outfit. We weer dressing up as Moulin Rouge Ladies and my corset was a stunning red one, with an asymmetrical black bit and silver gems. Naturally I went for the asymmetrical part, but I wanted to fit all the colours in. The striper came to the rescue and gave me a clean(ish) line to separate the colours.

This one was a piece of pie, but I was so pleased with it, I took two photos! It was a simple pink coat with little star sequins stuck on. One word of warning, though; If the sequins are coloured don't try putting a top coat on or the colour will run off. The top coat stopped the stars from being pulled off my nails, though. Oh, and another word of warning; These are exceptionally difficult to get off. I advise lots of nail varnish remover, and possibly a crow bar.

So these are my attempts. And this is what I am aiming for:

I still think it's doable.. Do you?

Barry M Foil Effect Nail Polish Review

These little beauties were a Christmas present (see 'It's a Beautiful Christmas' for more), and I tried and tested both around New Years.

They are pretty thick, so ensure that when you paint on the colour you don't have too much on the brush. The colours are excellent, and they certainly do look like foil. The shine on them is brilliant, which is just as well, since you can't apply a top coat to it, as it ruins the foil effect. The only thing to worry about is that, as with most metallics, it creates tiny darker lines on the nail. To keep it neat, you need to keep the brush straight when you apply it and not brush in different directions.

Here's what they look like on:

And here are some nail art ideas:

Want some? You can get it at any good drug store, or from the Barry M website.
Colours come in Lilac Foil, Silver Foil and Gold Foil.