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?