So... Shellac

I recently had a birthday, for which I was treated to my first ever Shellac manicure.

I have been aware of the phenomenon that is the world of Shellac Nails but had always been a little wary of the idea of a polish being on your nails for so long. Weird eh? I just thought that something that sat on the nail for so long could be really damaging, despite what I was being told by reviews and nail techs etc...

I got mine done at Centre Parcs Aqua Sana Spa, by the fabulous Kylie, she is the Nail Specialist at the Whinfell Forest Centre Parcs and is by far the most amazing person I have ever met in the Salon and Beauty industry. She is really passionate and so welcoming - she even remembered me from the year before! Her customer service is second to none and you should deffo give her a visit if you're ever near there. Last year I was there for my birthday and she gave me a bottle of sparkling wine, and a card. Literally how many people ever go that extra mile anymore?

In the short of it, she greatly inspired me to continue with this blog and look at training in nails (more about that another time.)

So back to Shellac. I chose a metallic antique gold colour, which I thought would do for my birthday and would look nice everyday after for as long as it would last. Which is has - I didn't purchase any cuticle oil - which is suggested as it helps preserve the quality of the Shellac, instead I have been rubbing my Bio-Oil into my cuticles at night and that seems to be doing the job just fine.

I have had mine on now for two weeks, and they are still great - no chips no breakage of the nail and still looking as fresh as they did when I first got them done, and I've been doing other peoples manicures since using nail polish remover and other chemicals and they've been unaffected. So very impressed.

The only downside is that my nails grow really quickly so I have perhaps about as much as 1millimetre re-growth that is showing, but I have some ideas to use black polish and do a backwards french mani to help cover the re-growth so I can keep it on for a little longer.

You can remove your own Shellac by soaking your nails in nail polish remover and then gently scraping away the Shellac with a cuticle pusher. But as its my first time using Shellac I want to get it removed by a professional just so I can see it be done exactly, and will be able to then know exactly the technique to use - as I wouldn't want to go ahead and remove it myself to then do it incorrectly and ruin my nails!

I have attached some photos for you - one taken day of my manicure, and the second two weeks later so you can see how its lasted.

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Become A Nail Art Artist

By no means do I consider myself a nail art artist, just simply someone who enjoys painting nails and experimenting with nail art. Its all about having fun with me. Its never been so easily accessible and affordable to be experimenting yourself.

Ebay is crammed full of super cheap options for you to get your hands on. Nail Art wheels are a must for anyone, as it allows you to practice design on a wheel of false nails, that way you save your nails from a lot of unnecessary potential damage from applying nail polish on and off again. Wheels allow you to display all your best designs in one place so when impressing friends with what you've learnt, you can show them options before painting their nails! Its a cost effective way of designing too, as it saves you all those cotton pads and nail polish remover. You can get hundreds for a couple of quid. They do often come from Hong Kong though so you will have to be patient in waiting for your delivery. But for all the pennies you save, it really is worth while.

For any budding nail art artist, dotting tools are the way forward. They are easy to use and allows you to do many simple but impressive looking designs. You can pick them up from eBay or do as I did and go to your local arts and crafts shop, and pick up some embossing tools. You can pick them up relatively cheaply and you will probably get better quality than the cheapest found online. Basically just a wooden handled tool with a metal ball on the end, allows you to dot the polish onto the nail to create design. Either leave the dots alone, and let them stand by themselves or use multiple dots connected together to create lines and designs. Its a good place to start and nothing looks cuter than perfectly executed than a spotted mani!

Design made with dotting tools! 

Nail art pens are the next step if you're feeling adventurous. Again pick them up from eBay for pennies each. I would reccommend to save money if you already have a relatively varied collection of colours in your nail polish collection, start off with just a black and white nail art pen. You wont be spending alot and also they go with every colour in your collection so you know any design you do will go with the base colour! Go for a pen that has a striper brush - basically a very narrow long brush that allows for thin stripe like strokes, and also a metal nibbed needle point pen, it will be like writing with a needle point pen but with polish! You can't go wrong with these pens, but just be wary to wipe down the edge of the bottle when using the brush as I have found that you can get dried polish there that makes it near impossible to then open your bottle, not what you want when in the middle of a mani!

For those of you who are daring and excited by sparkles. You can accessorize any mani with little gems and crystals to accentuate your design. Find bags and tubs full of various pearls, crystals, and acrylic shapes on eBay to add to your nail art design. From butterflies to pieces of fruit, you can find any 3D shape you desire to brighten up your look. Some are harder to apply. For simple flat backed crystals and pearls a quick bit of clear polish on the back will seal the gem onto the nail, but for acrylic shapes of fruit for example you'll need some nail glue. You can pick up some decent stuff cheaply from Body Care and other beauty outlets. Make sure you have some pretty heavy duty nail polish remover as if you want to remove the gems at all you'll need to fill the lid of your nail polish remover bottle with liquid and dunk your nail in, let it soak for about 20 seconds and you can peel off the gem. Make sure you wash your hands well after removing all the desired polish as you don't want all that alcohol and chemicals to sit upon your skin.

So there you have a few tips to getting started. Have fun shopping, make sure if you're buying any glue or polish remover that you are purchasing it from a store you recognise, I wouldnt reccommend getting brands you've never heard of from eBay as its going on your skin and nails you want it to be from somewhere you trust.

Show me your designs on Instagram by using the hashtag #nailsatnoon

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Purple Passion

So purple and I have had a long standing love affair. Its so beautiful and its been my favourite colour since I can remember!

So as and ode to this love, I decided to pull out my Purple Polishes and play around.

Using a mixture of Barry M and L'Oreal shades, I layered Purples, Fushcias and Blues to create this look.

Here's how :

Simply grab the darkest shade, here I use Barry M Nail Paint in Indigo, apply two coats as your base. Wait till completely dry. For the design on the top you'll need a scrap piece of paper to hand. Grab the next lightest tone - we're working from dark to light with our colours. Take out the brush, brush off the majority of the polish onto the scrap piece of paper, and then brush what little is left onto the nail, being artistic in your placement.

Continue this process until you have used all the colours you wish, and apply a protective top coat to seal it all in.

The colours I used are:
Barry M Nail Paint in - Indigo 312, Fuchsia 302, Pure Turquoise 295, and Gelly Hi Shine in Prickly Pear 311
L'Oreal in Nouvelle / Vague 851

This design would look awesome in O.P.I's new Brazilian collection which is perfect for Summer!

Hope you have fun re-creating this look, and re-creating it in different colour schemes.

Mermaid Magic

Inspired by the new Aquatics range by Barry M I decided to have a go at creating a mermaid look nail art design myself.

Simply grab a mid blue colour as a base - here I use Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Blueberry add a triangle of minty teal green from the cuticle with the end of the triangle stopping mid nail. Here I used Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Greenberry then add a golden shimmer preferably with iridescent glitter chunks in the polish like my Maybelline Colour Show Brocades in Knitted Gold.

Add the glitter polish until the blue and green look faded together and the design looks cohesive. And enjoy your Mermaid style nails!

LaBelleAffaire

For all you followers of my blog who love a little bling and sparkle in their life, this post will be right up your alley!

I'm now on ETSY :) For those of you who are unfamiliar with Etsy, it is an online marketplace for handmade crafts, gifts and anything else you can hand create! Consider it like a completely handcrafted goods eBay if you will. You can create little shops by setting up an account with them and list your goods as you would on eBay customising your shop as you go along!

I get bored easily and like to make things sparkly, so this is a perfect place for my crafts to be. I particularly enjoy blinging out phone cases in various patterns and designs, so if you like Kawaii style or just a one of a kind case to brighten up your phone my little Etsy shop 'LaBelleAffaire' is the place for you!

I currently have two listings but am planning to post a third soon.

So please support me there as well, as here on my nail art blog. I am hoping to make a nail themed phone case soon!

If you like the designs but don't own the phone for that particular case, simply leave me a comment here for suggestions of certain models of phone to make for, and I will get creating. So go follow the link below and have a good nose!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LaBelleAffaire?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Oddballz and Watermelons.

So for Christmas, I was a very fortunate young lady and received a box of SIX O.P.I Shatter Nail Paints. Two of which were Nicki Minaj special edition ones, 'Super Bass Shatter'. So I decided to finally start experimenting with various colours from my little treasure box of O.P.I - my first bottles of O.P.I I have ever owned, which in itself is very exciting to me.

Incidentally these beautiful creations were made. My sister and I deciding that they looked like Watermelon design and Oddballz - a 90s computer game where you hatched your own little dinosaurs from this eggs (Oddballz) which had these crackle effects in funky colours on them... for those of you who do not know this game but loved Tamagochi's and Catz and similar programmes you deffo need to get a copy of Oddballz - you may get addicted but you won't regret it!

Anyhoo, back to the nails....

For watermelon nails, the polish used was Elf's 'Mint Choc Chip' and O.P.I Shatter in dark green. For Oddballz nails Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Prickly Pear' and Nicki Minaj for O.P.I 'Super Bass Shatter' in Purple.

Simply protect your nails with a base coat, apply two coats of the base colour. A lighter colour works best for dark shatter colour - and reverse for dark base light shatter colour works best. Once dry apply a top coat to smooth out the base colour ready for the shatter. I find that putting the top coat on now works best, as applying it after the shatter can shrink the polish underneath. Then apply a thin layer of shatter for the Watermelon style to get that thin stroke shatter look. For the Oddballz look apply a thick layer of shatter on top, to create the bigger shaped shatter effect.

Have fun playing around with colour combinations, this look is very simple yes, but get the colours right and you can have a great look on your hands!

For more Nail looks follow me on Instagram - http://instagram.com/itsher92

Raindrops Keep Falling On My....Nails.

This is a quick and extremely simple way to create an awesome look. 

Simply need your favourite colour - a matte top coat and a normal top coat. 

Apply a base coat, following that two coats of your chosen colour. Then matte it up by applying a matte top coat - mine is Essie 'Matte About You'. Then to create the water droplets apply a top coat and literally drop it on in raindrop shape on top. Et VOILA. You are done!

Pretty Wild

I'm not going to lie, I'm not really the biggest fan of leopard print, but when it is bright and fun like the following design I am in love. 

Break up the pattern with a little glitter on one of the nails and it'll break up the continuity of the design, adding a little dimension. 

For this you'll need a bright base colour. I am using this Sinful Colours one in hot pink and it happens to be matte, which I adore! Then you'll need a mint kind of colour - mine is Elf mint chic chip. Then lastly you'll need a black nail art pen, and you're fav top coat to seal it all in!

Simply apply a protective base coat, then two coats of the pink, wait till dry. Add random sized splodges of mint to the nail leaving enough room around the colour to add the black and still have gaps between. 

Then once dry add black in a squiggly line breaking the line occasionally to get that leopard print look. If you want to add a glitter nail, use a base coat then apply as many coats of your favourite glitter polish that you wish, using a top coat to smooth out any lumps. 

ENJOY! 

Pretty in Paisley

I love a good paisley print. It can be transferred well to soooo many different colour palettes.

This is probably my favourite combination, a nude base colour and black print.

Simply apply a protective base coat, and two coats of a nude colour. I only used one here as I was using a particularly thick formation.

Then for the paisley print, make a tear drop shape where the end continues round, and plonk a little dot at the end, make half moon shapes around the edge, and add more dots for decoration. If like me you like each nail to be an individual, then move the print around the nail slightly cutting off some of the design to create a little dimension.

Add a protective top coat, and voila you are finished.

Nail Polishes used:

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Nude.
Black nail art pen.

Flirty Fade

I love this design. Its a great pop of colour and using the same colour to fade ties in the two different base coat colours. Feel free to change out the colours in this look to suit your tastes and colour coordinating needs!

Using a teal and purple base colour apply two coats carefully. Wait to dry then choosing a colour for your fade using either a nail art pen or brush, apply from tip to middle on two fingers in a quick sweeping motion to create an uneven fade look. On the other fingers apply from cuticle to the middle of the nail in the same sweeping motion.

Wait to dry and seal with your top coat!

Enjoy playing around with this design.

Nail Polish:

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint - Greenberry
Barry M Nail Paint - Fuchsia
Generic Nail Art Pen - Glitter Blue.

Baby Lips

Anyone else as excited as me that Maybelline Baby Lips are finally in stores in the UK? I have seen bloggers and youtubers alike in the U.S raving about them for ages, and finally I can sing their praises too. I am now proud owner of each variety available at my local Superdrug; available in various scents and tints, they provide a wonderful smell and gentle tint of colour as well as providing a great lip balm. With some designated purely for its lip healing and moisturising abilities the range provides something for all. My favourite is Peach Kisses, it has a light beige tint to it, so is a great light winter alternative to nude lipstick, to help protect your lips against the cold weather we've been having.

Plus the packaging is super cute and delightful! Baby lips are a steal at £2.99 and upon purchasing them, Superdrug had 'Buy one get one Half Price' on Maybelline products.

Great for a stocking filler or for your daughters highschool friends christmas presents!

Holographic Wonder

I am always amazed at the new polish you can find simply by accident. I came across holographic nail polish accidentally whilst searching for something on eBay (of course). The price and the package was too good to miss so I bought a pack of 12. I have Perfect Polish brand and they are not quite perfect but the holographic effect will blow your minds.

The consistency is a little weak and you do need to apply one thin base coat and then one or too liberal coats on top to create  the effect. I also found that it was essential that each coat were distributed evenly or else the effect was somewhat lost in the gentle uneven surface. I also found that my clear top coat somewhat dulled the shine, and a holographic print with no shine is pretty useless!

The colour range was somewhat limiting I was supposed to have a light and dark shade of each colour, blue, pink, purple, red and orange. But the differences were slim to none and could not really tell the difference.

One final tip, shake well to make sure you have perfect balance between shimmer and colour, and just have fun. These holographic nails will look great on their own or as a statement nail as part of a mix for the holidays as we now lead up to Christmas!

So search eBay if your interest has been peaked. There are plenty of reputable sellers selling holographic nail polish for decent prices. Most ship from the far east though so expect long wait from dispatch to receiving the item!

Happy shopping, Happy nails and Happy Halloween. (Belatedly)

Winter Wonderland

With Autumn nearly behind us and Halloween out the way, whispers of Christmas are echoing in the air. It saddened me that I heard my first Christmas song on the radio on the 1st of November. Bonfire night has barely had time to be planned, and already Christmas songs are playing and stores are piling in the tinsel and baubles!
Having said that, there is something lovely about snuggling up in blankets and jumpers around the fire to keep warm, the dark cold nights bringing families and friends together. Which will mean plenty of time to do your nails, and your friends nails, in the name of the holiday spirit!
In this post I will be sharing a much loved nail design of last winter, all my friends wanted me to do their nails like this and it is super easy with a steady hand!
Snowflakes can be transferred onto a range of different background and can be jazzied up with a few sprinkles and sparkles here and there. Once you have mastered drawing the snowflake you can then run with it and really become creative in how you deliver that snowflake.

Simply follow the link to my instagram account to see my monochrome snowflake nails that I did for a friend last winter!

Bronzed Winged Eye

Want something a little different this Halloween for makeup?

Try this super easy super quick bronzed eye look. Just grab a bronzed shimmery cream eyeshadow apply liberally to the eye area dragging out toward the hair line. Set with a brown shimmery eyeshadow, and contour the cheek bones well with a similar toned bronzer. Add a subtle brown lip and voila the look is complete!

This look was inspired by a Phoenix. But could be considered a masked look or just something cool to add to an outfit.

Super quick, and super easy.

Glitterati

Looking at all my glitter polishes I thought about what you could do. Diamonds came to mind so had a play with design.

Using glitter top coats, to cover colour or a polish with shimmer built in, or simply just using a glitter top coat like the Opal Top Coat from Avon as a polish.

Have fun playing with polish and colour.

Haunted Halloween

Halloween is right around the corner, and parties are being planned, outfits bough and candy stocked up. I was bored the other night and played around with basic designs that could easily be worn and re-created for Halloween.

So Happy Halloween and have fun re-creating these simple designs.

Nail Stamps

Want the appearance of nail art, without having to have the patience and furness for it?

Try nail stamps instead! Designed to stamp a pre-cut pattern or image onto your nail quite easily without all the hassle of hand drawing everything on with nail art pens or brushes.

Purchasable from eBay you can get a starter kit with 5 image plates starting with bids of 1p!
Simply purchase some image plates and a nail stamp made from silicon or rubber, choose the image or pattern you wish to stamp, apply nail polish of your choice over the top of that image, using your applicator, lift the pattern or image off the image plate and stamp it onto your nail.

I hear that it does take a while to really get a good quality transfer. Make sure that you wipe clean excess nail polish off of your image plate, and re-use and re-use to your hearts content.

If you want to see some very good examples of nail stamp-ing, check out @nailstampfanatic on Instagram. (link below) She is really good, and creates some beautiful colour and pattern combinations using nail stamps and manipulation of nail polish like colour fades. She also divulges the details on where she gets each stamp used. So go say hello to her over on Instagram and follow her also for plenty of nail stamp and nail art ideas and inspiration!

Enjoy exploring another way to be creative!

http://instagram.com/nailstampfanatic

photo credit goes to @nailstampfanatic

Clearing the Cobwebs

A very quick and simple makeup look for those up and coming Halloween parties!

Grab a bold red lipstick and a liquid black eyeliner.

Cover the eye lid right up to the brow in the red lipstick.

Using the liquid liner, create a spiderweb shade on the outer third of the eyelid.

Apply normal foundation add some over the top eyelashes, and a matching red lip and you're ready to go!

I used MUA Liquid Black Eyeliner 

Rimmel London red lipstick 

MAC 231 lip brush

 

Flower Power

Be daring, don't be afraid once your nails have started to chip to whip out that nail art pen and have a go, if the worse comes to the worse then you have the excuse they were chipping anyways to wipe the board clean.

I often use the opportunity of 'better days' nails to try new nail art on myself, rather than whipping out a nail art wheel. This time around I tried florals, usually I use my dotting tool to draw out rose style flower patterns but this time I tried drawing more detailed florals.

Polish is Stargazer - Silver I believer number 242
and a generic black nail art pen.

Finding Nemo

Guess there was no need for the film as I found him on my nail art wheel!

Using a grey background (mine is from Rimmel London 60 second dry) I then carefully placed an orange background using Barry M Gelly Paint and then carefully added detail with white and black nail art pens!