31 Day Challenge - Day 14 - Flowers

Hi guys!

I'm almost caught up on all of the prompts for the 31 Day Challenge now, which is good as the prompts are going to be getting tougher from here on out! Day 14 is flowers, so I did some freehand petals for this design:

I started with a base of my favourite nude - OPI 'My Vampire Is Buff' <3 I seriously cannot get enough of this polish. For the petals I used a small detail brush and Barry M 'Sugar Plum' and Barry M 'Kiss Me Quick' (pink flowers), and Seche 'Takes Chances' and Barry M 'Lap Of Honour' (purple flowers). I added leaves using Barry M 'Cardamom' and Nails Inc. 'Marylebone Road'.

I added a satin matte topcoat from Claire's to this design, which I think gives it more of a 'vintage' feel. What do you think?

With Matte Topcoat 

With Matte Topcoat

I really love this mani, and hope you do too!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

31 Day Challenge - Day 6 - Violet

I told you I was on a roll today! Blog post number three!

Here are my violet nails for the 31 Day Challenge on Instagram (prompt number six)

As I'm still not feeling 100% (and the doctors can't figure out why...), so I've been opting for simpler designs but I still think that this one is super effective. I used the oldest polish in my collection for the base - 'Vivid Violet' by No7, which is still available to purchase (even though I got mine years ago). It's a truly beautiful polish with a great glossy finish and a perfect slight pink shimmer running through it. So pretty! I then used a dotting tool and OPI 'Unfrost My Heart' to make the flowers, filling in the centre with more Vivid Violet before a final dot of silver. On my pinkie I wanted bling, so I used my new mini Swarovski crystals from She Sells Seashells and they are sooooo sparkly! <3 My camera and lighting setup really doesn't capture the true beauty of this mani at all.

After taking my photos I started thinking I shouldn't have bothered with the individual flowers on each nail and wish I'd stuck to just one accent nail. Oh well! What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

31 Day Challenge - Day 4 - Green

Hi guys!

I have been trying to keep up with the 31 Day Challenge over on Instagram, and so here are my nails for prompt number four - green. I chose a cherry blossom design as it's something I've been meaning to do for a while and it seemed quite straightforward. I'm not 100% happy with them, but it's not bad for a first attempt!

My base here is Make Up Gallery (Poundland) 'Spearmint', topped with China Glaze 'Fairy Dust'. I then used a striping brush and Barry M 'Cocoa' to draw the branches, and finished with Barry M 'Kiss Me Quick' and Seche 'Audacious' for the blossoms. On my pinkie I reverse stamped an image from Bundle Monster CYO 2014 plate #617. I topped the whole design off with Posche Topcoat, which left loads of bubbles in the design :( I definitely need to get myself some more HK Girl, as I'm just not getting on well with any other topcoats!

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

PS Check out all of the other submissions for the 31 Day Challenge on Instagram - just search the hashtag #31dc2015

Splash Floral Nail Art

Hi everyone!

This week's prompt for the Weekly Nail Art Challenge over on Instagram is 'mint and lilac' with a summer theme. I decided to create an abstract flower design for this one :)

I started off with a base of Essence 'Wild White Ways', then using a torn sponge, I dabbed on Ciate 'Sugar Plum' and Essie 'Mint Candy Apple'. Finally, I added the flower outlines using a striping brush and two polishes from Claire's Liquid Metal collection - 'Teal' and 'Purple' (very imaginatively named, Essence!) 

I kind of wish I hadn't put two flowers on my middle and ring fingers, as it makes the mani seem a bit cluttered, but overall I'm really pleased with this one. It's a refreshing change as it's much more delicate than the neon designs I've been wearing recently! 

As always, head over to Instagram to see all of the entries into the Weekly Nail Art Challenge - just search #wnac2015 :)

Thanks for reading!

Helen x

Cute Checkered Floral Mani

Hi everyone!

Today I have a checkered design with floral accents to show you. I have been wanting to do something like this for a while, and the finished look reminds me of curtains or towels that you might have in your kitchen! Very summery and cute!

For this manicure I started with a base of Barry M 'Coconut' which is the most perfect milky off-white colour <3. Once dry, I placed striping tape in a checkered pattern on my nails and topped with Barry M 'Sky Blue' on my thumb, index and pinkie fingers, then Collection 'Peach Blossom' on my middle and ring fingers. For the floral design, I blended 'Sky Blue' and 'Damson' (by Barry M) on the nail, and finished with Ciate 'Mojito' for the leaves.

I'm pretty pleased with how these came out and want to try a similar design with more of a yellow theme as I have a very particular set of kitchen curtains in mind which this doesn't quite capture!

Hope you like them :)

Thanks for reading!

Helen