Neon Jelly Pond Mani

Hi everyone!

I've got a picture-heavy post for you all today!

Whilst browsing Instagram (my favourite pastime), I stumbled upon an indie brand called Kandy Colors, and was instantly drawn in by their neon jelly collection. I love jelly polishes/tints but unfortunately found that my OPI Sheer Tints are really difficult to use due to their formula, so I've been on the lookout for an upgrade. I headed over to the Kandy Colors site and was super pleased to find that you can buy the whole collection for under £20! You get six amazingly bright neon shades which are available in both jelly and creme formulas (choices, choices!)

Let's take a look at the polishes:

 Obviously, I couldn't wait to try these beauties out, and instead of having to choose which colours to use I decided to use them all!

Here is my finished manicure (apologies in advance for the atrocity that is my Cinderella hand!):

I went for a picnic with my boyfriend last night and my nails were GLOWING in the sunlight, it is truly magical! My favourites from this collection are Carnival (green) and Hey Girl (pink). They are definitely some of the brightest neon shades I have seen around.

Hope you like it :) thanks for reading!

Helen x

High Heels and Suspenders!

Hi everyone!

Last night I decided to make my own sheer tints in order to create a look I've been wanting to try for ages:

 'High Heels and Suspenders'

To create my own tints, I simply used a cheap clear polish (this one from Poundland), poured a little out to make room, and added drops of Barry M 'Black' testing after every few drops to check the opacity. For the tint shown in this manicure, there are around 8 drops in the bottle and I used two coats on the nail. I also repeated this with a red polish (using Collection 'Lady In Red'), however I required quite a large number of drops added to the clear base in order to make it red-tones and not pink.

I decided to name my new tints 'High Heels' and 'Suspender'! In keeping with the theme, I chose Essence 'The Black Cat' polish to add detail - this has a wonderful latex look about it, drying not-quite-shiny and not-quite-matte. You can pick it up in Wilko for £2! 

L-R: DIY black tint / The Black Cat / DIY red tint

I layered two coats of my black tint to my thumb, index and pinkie finger, then two layers of my red tint to my middle and ring fingers. I added Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Topcoat at this stage to dry the tints, and to give some longevity to the polish. I didn't use topcoat again in this manicure as I wanted the latex effect to be apparent.

Using a dotting tool and a striping brush, I created polka dots and stripes which remind me of saucy stockings! My ring finger is inspired by a corset, and I love how it all turned out! 

Using silver caviar beads, silver striping tape, and a couple of studs I added some much needed bling to this manicure. I found the caviar beads and studs in Poundland (seriously, get yourself over to your nearest Poundland!), and my striping tape is from Amazon.

I lost a caviar bead! Noooo!

What do you guys think of this? Have you tried making your own tints before? I have a feeling that I will be franking a lot of my own shades now - it's so easy, so fun and totally unique! There's a great overview on Girly Bits Cosmetics which outlines the do's and dont's of mixing your own polish.

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Pond Manicure using OPI Sheer Tints

Hello my lovelies!

Today I have a pond mani for you all! A pond mani is essentially a jelly sandwich (a layer of glitter between two layers of sheer polish), only instead of using glitter you create a simple design using polish - for example dots, flowers, hearts, etc.  Adventures In Acetone has a great description and tutorial that you can find here if you're looking to create your own pond manicure. I have seen some lovely pond mani designs using various sheer polishes, however since my collection is somewhat lacking in the sheer jelly department, I chose to use my OPI Sheer Tints.

OPI Sheer Tints
L-R: I'm Never I’m Never Amberrassed / Be Magentale With Me /
I Can Teal You Like Me / Don't Violet Me Down

I haven't properly explored the possibilities of OPI Sheer Tints, which is a shame because they are so versatile. The tints come in four different colours, but the beauty of these is that they can be layered to create many more colours and effects. When I first got my hands on the collection I layered them over a plain white base and blended the colours on my accent finger to create the effect below. The tints can be layered as many times as you wish in order to reach the opacity/colour that you're after. The downside to this, however, is that more layers = more bulge on the nailbed, and it can be difficult with regards to drying time. The consistency is also very gloopy (almost syrup-like), so I find that applying a few thinner layers works much better than one or two thick layers.

OPI Sheer Tints (please ignore all bad things about this photo!)

For this manicure I built up the colour of the tints without any base, which gives them more of a jelly appearance. Between each layer I stamped flowers randomly using the image from the circled area on the below stamping plate made by Essence, a brand that can be found in most Wilkinson stores in the UK (and online). These stamping plates retail for around £1.50, which is pretty good value! Obviously the quality isn't as good as other brands such as Konad or MoYou, but you get what you pay for!

Essence Stampy Designs - found here.
Can also be bought at Wilko in the UK!

Here is the finished look:

Stamped Pond Manicure

I started by stamping onto bare nails, then applied a layer of tint. After it had completely dried, I stamped again, then another layer of tint (etc., etc.) After four layers of tints I added one final stamp on each nail to make the pattern pop. Finally, I finished it off with a coat of Barry M's Plumpy Topcoat, which makes it super shiny and, well, plumpy!

Step One - one stamped image plus one layer of tint per nail

Step two - repeat as many times as you like!

Here are the bottles of tints as a comparison:

Index finger - "Don't Violet Me Down" / Middle finger - "I'm So Ambarresed" /
Ring finger - "I Can Teal You Like Me" / Pinkie finger - "Be Magentale With Me"

Macro shot of ring finger

It almost looks 3D - so much depth!

Pond manis have a subtleness about them that I love

What do you think of this look? 

Thanks for reading!

Helen x