Days 7 & 8 of Nail Art Challenge

OK, I cheated a bit, back at work and training on Monday evening has made me fall behind a day so I painted both hands with Models Own Hyper Gel 'Naked Glow'. Did Day 6's Half and Half on the left hand and this on the right. The theme was Pink and Aqua, so I did some pretty stamping in those colours using my first and December purchased MoYou stamping set. 

Been after some of these bad ass stamping plates for a while, but their range is so vast and so gorgeous I really didn't know what plates to pick first.

This was solved just before Xmas, when I was alerted to the fact that Boots were selling MoYou sets. These sets include two plates, a stamper and scraper, and three stamping polishes for £22.99. SOLD!

There is three to choose from and I got the Mother Nature set pictured below.

I used the pink stamping polish from the set, and because the blue wasn't quite aqua enough, I used Sephora by OPI in "Mermaid to Order', which stamped surprising well.

You can use normal polish to stamp with, providing the colour and pigmentation of the polish is bright and opaque enough. It's just a process for trying them out to see which ones work and which ones don't. General consensus is that Barry M Gelly polishes work really well and the MUA polishes you can get a Superdrug for a £1 do too.

My understanding of Day 8's theme was a little off. The theme was 'Monochromatic' rather than 'Monchrome'. So I could have gone with different hues of one colour rather than just Black & White. But here's what I did anyway, using a bit of striping tape, no cheating here and both hands were painted the same.

Again I can't take the credit for this design and copied this this from Polly Polish. I used Butter London's 'Cotton Buds' as the white base and Revlon 'Espresso' from their Parfumerie range for the black. I smudged the lines by applying my top coat before the black was dry, but overall fairly happy with my attempt!

Day 5 & 6 of 2015 Nail Art Challenge

Time to get the old dotting tools out! 

And this is what I cooked up. I nicked the idea from Pinterest and Paula Passions. Boy is this a gorgeous manicure, colours just pop and I did not want to take this manicure off. I think this is my favourite manicure of this years challenge so far, I will DEFINITELY be doing this again. Polishes used are....

Dark Blue Base - Revlon Top Speed in Royal

Gold - China Glaze in Mingle with Kringle

Aqua/Teal - Sephora for OPI - Mermaid to Order

Purple - Revlon ColorStay in Amethyst

Copper - No17 in Copper

Day 6's theme was Half and Half, wasn't sure how to interpret this, but good old Google and Pinterest gave me this idea. By the way I'm still trying to go through my untried polishes so trying to incorporate these polishes into designs. Two., no THREE untrieds used below!

Base is Models Own Hyper Gel in 'Naked Glow, dark blue creme is 'Stormy Blue by Make Up Academy, a new line that Pound World seem to be stocking not the MUA sold in Superdrug. The Glitter in the picture is Essie, 'Stoke of Brilliance'. Kinda worked, kinda didn't, wasn't too bothered about taking it off, apart from the usual Glitter removal struggle. Meh! I NEED a peal off base coat that works or a glue that I can use which will be quarter of the price. 

Untrieds cont... and Xmas Nails

My birthday is in the first week of December so I took myself off to Manchester on a little shopping spree and in search for a MoYou stamping set that Boots were selling. I'd already scoured my local Boots to no avail and my mission was to find one in Manchester. 

I finally tracked the sets down and picked up the Mother Nature set for £26.99. This includes two stamping plates, three stamping polishes and a scraper and stamper.

This is my first go over Sephora by OPI in 'Mermaid to Order'. Overall very happy with the results and I had no issue picking up the image and transferring it onto my nail. Much better than the Konad stamper I have which tends to stretch the image, or that may be my application. But the worked much better for me. A few more practises and consideration on placement and these will look the business.

Next I wanted something a little more Christmassy and tried one of Primarks PS textured polishes. This was three coats to ensure the nail line was completely covered and the finish was so pretty and sparkly, perfect for Christmas. One thing I did notice with this polish is that it didn't want to dry quickly. Maybe it was the three coats applied without ample time for drying fully inbetween. However with my experience in polish it was taking much longer to dry that expected. I decided to top with HK Girl for a quick finish which didn't spoil the finish at all as it's not an overly textured polish. 

The Nail Group I'm a member of have some really talented people who post some beautiful manicures, not only is the nail work great but also their execution and skill at capturing the polish on camera. Puts my dingy photo's to shame. This manicure is inspired by a lady called Anna Wheeler who posts some gorgeous pictures. Her version is flawless and she has managed to make the crackle much finer than mine.