31DC: Something You Never Tried Before

This was another difficult one for me. Most techniques I like the look of I try!

Eventually I came up with Sugar Spun nail art. I haven't tried it previously and thought I might be able to make it look ok!

I found it quite tricky to create as the polish strings went really  thin, but I think it looks ok.

I used all Barry M polishes for this; Rosehip, Papaya and an old LE pink polish without a name on (#NPP1).

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Blue Base

Just last week I received an order from Born Pretty Store which included plate BP-33.
The plate is nautical themed, so this prompt seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I love it! I like that it is nautical, but more traditionally nautical rather than the red, white and blue patterns you see more often.

I used Make Up Gallery Sky Blue as the base colour and stamped using Rimmel Punk Rock. All the images stamped are from BP plate 33.

Use discount code EHG10 at Born Pretty Store to get 10% off.

Check out more 'blue' nail art:

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Non-Glitter Topper

This was another prompt where I knew exactly which polish I wanted to use.

I have a blue Barry M crackle polish which I bought on a whim about a year ago. I have no idea why as I was never a fan of the crackle look. This was the perfect opportunity to give it a try!

I used Rimmel Punk Rock as my base colour and the Barry M blue crackle over the top, no topcoat.

I actually really like this. It has a very grungy feel to it and was so, so simple.

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Recreate your own mani

I struggled to find something I actually wanted to recreate for this!
A lot of my earlier mani's are horrendous designs, which would look no better for improved skills. They were just bad ideas!

Eventually, I found a lace design, which was my first mani posted on Instagram. I liked them at the time and I still like them now, so why not recreate them!

The first pic is the recreation and the second pic is the original.

I can definitely see huge improvements in my painting, clean-up and photography! Don't get me started on that watermark, so glad I downsized a little!!

I do miss that nail shape in the original photo, but working with kids it is just not practical! I don't want to accidentally stab anyone with my nails!

For the recreation I used Barry M Silk Poppy and white acrylic paint.

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Fishtail Braid

I have only ever painted a fishtail design once before and I wasn't too pleased with the outcome so I wasn't looking forward to this prompt.

However, I was surprisingly pleased with my mani!

I used Maybelline Berry Sweet, Maybelline Vibrant Fuchsia and Ciaté Silhouette.

Here are some of the other amazing mani's for this prompt:

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Complement and Contrast

Day 25's prompt was complement and contrast.
I opted to use complementary colours from the colour wheel. Pink and purple paired with yellow and orange in a colour blocked design.

Sorry about the Instagram photo. I painted and photographed these before I killed my laptop, so the 'proper' photos are still on my old laptop, where I cannot access them. :(

I started with a base of Ciaté Amazing Gracie, then used Sinful Colours Cream Pink, Maybelline Fuchsia Fever , Missguided Missmatch and Ciaté Big Yellow Taxi with striping tape to create the squared pattern.

I really love these!

Check out the other ladies work:

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: Decals

Yay, I'm back!
I spilt a glass of wine on my laptop last week and killed it. But, today I finally have a new laptop and lots of 31DC posts to catch up on! My ancient version of Photoshop won't work on my new laptop, so please excuse any dodgy photos whilst I try to find a decent editing app.

The first of the prompts I missed is decals.
I just want to say, I did keep up with the challenge, I was just unable to blog about it!

On my middle and ring fingers I used full nail decals from the Born Pretty Store. 

Remember, you can get 10% off these and other items using code EHG10.

On my index and pinky fingers I used Barry M Black.

I'm not a huge lover of these full decals but they are quick and easy so ideal if you don't have much time/ struggle with nail art!

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC: White Base

Last weekend I finally invested in some nail polish thinner. I have a growing collection of old colours which I love but are now too thick to use. It arrived yesterday. Yay!

So this prompt was the perfect opportunity to test the thinner out by reviving my favourite ever white polish which I haven't been able to use in around a year!

I'm so happy the thinner worked! :D

Two days ago I also received some exciting new nail mail from Born Pretty Store. Included was this stamping plate (QA96). Of course, I had to try out something new! I love it! I have been looking for a similar pattern for a lonnng time and I finally found it. :)

I used Barry M Matte White as the base for this and stamped with Nails Inc. Hanover Square.
Just wish the stamping on my middle finger was straighter!

Remember, you can get 10% off this stamping plate or any other Born Pretty Store items with the code: EHG10.

31DC: Blobbicure

Before today I didn't know what a blobbicure was!
But I spent a few minutes on Google and soon realised I really didn't like them! Haha!

I needed to find a way to make a blobbicure I actually liked. At least vaguely!

So I made a Girafficure!! :P

I love how my ring and little fingers turned out, but not so much my middle and index fingers! The blobs on those are too far apart.

I used Revlon Buttercup and Revlon Tradewinds.

Check out the other blobbicures:

31DC:Green/Yellow

Today's prompt was three shades of green/yellow.

I sort of made these up as I went. I don't love how they turned out, but they're ok!

I used two shades of green to create a saran wrap background: Ciaté headliner, and Essence That's What I Mint! I then added a green and blue glitter 'Mosaic Nail Varnish' by Pretty and stamped leaves over the top with Revlon Buttercup and Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-19.

Remember, you can get 10% of this stamping plate and many more with the code: EHG10.

Check out the other girls designs':

31DC: Rainbow

Unfortunately, due to work I was unable to paint my nails yesterday so, sorry, this is a day late!

I have known for ages exactly what I wanted to do for this prompt!
I have a stamping plate (MLS301) from Born Pretty Store with a rainbow on which I have been meaning to use for a while.

I created the background by sponging on Ciaté Doll Face, Baby Doll and Poppet in random places on my nails. I then created a stamping decal of a rainbow using the Born Pretty plate and more polishes: Ciaté Unrestricted Glam , Colour Couture Pink and Lilac and Essence Let's Get Lost! Finally, I used the same plate to stamp lots of stars onto the design.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out! My stamping isn't perfect but I love the overall look!
The only thing I would want to change about this would be to add some glitter!!

The other girls did some amazing rainbows:

31DC: Fire

I wasn't very inspired by today's prompt of fire, so I apologise for my uninteresting nails today!!

I simply painted my nails in Ciaté Big Yellow Taxi, added a big blob of Colour Couture Red polish and used a dotting tool to smoosh them around a bit! Very technical!

I don't mind how they turned out, but I can't say I have strong feelings either way for them!

Look at the other ladies more interesting attempts at fire nails:

31DC: Art

For 'Art' I decided to paint Van Gogh's Starry Night.

I very nearly changed my mind after noticing that Tara from Loki's Lacquer also did this painting. I was a little scared about mine being awful in comparison, but I decided to be brave and go for it anyway!

I actually really like how it turned out, although the blue is a little bit brighter than I had intended!

Mine is a little different stylistically to Tara's, which is good as it makes direct comparisons more difficult!

I used an unnamed blue polish from H&M as a base colour, then painted all the details with acrylic paint.

Go check out the other girls' artwork:

31DC: Recreate a Favourite Blogger

I can honestly say I don't have one single favourite blogger. There are a handful of favourites. So I spent some time looking through them all to find a mani that I felt like recreating!

In the end I decided on this vintage rose mani by Gianna @NailStorming.

I was really pleased with how this turned out. It is the sort of style that I always wore when I first got into nail art just over a year ago, though it's not a look I wear very often anymore! In fact, on 20/1/14 I created a very similar mani using two of the same polishes which later became my first blog post. If you are interested you can find that here, though I'll warn you now, the photography is horrendous!

I used Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream as the base colour. The spots and stripes were painted with a white Nail Art Pen from Migi Nail Art. For the roses I used several pinks: Sally Hansen Pinch of Punch, Sally Hansen Fuschia Flare, Ciaté Strawberry Milkshake and white acrylic paint as well as Models Own Emerald Green for the leaves.

Why not have a look at some of the others amazing recreation's below:

31DC: Tranquility

Initially I was a bit stuck for this prompt. I asked my boyfriend and he immediately thought of Buddha, so that's what I went with!

I painted a lotus flower on my middle finger and attempted a Buddha on my ring finger, though he  ended up looking rather like a monkey!!

I used Revlon Trade Winds as my base colour (This is rapidly becoming one of my most used polishes!) and created a Saran Wrap mani with Essence Thats What I Mint!. I thought these were very natural colours which created a calm, tranquil feel. I then painted the details with brown acrylic paint.

Apart from Buddha looking like a monkey, I quite like the overall look of these. 

Check out the other entries:

31DC: Green Base

Tonight, when I looked at this prompt, was one of the rare times I actually know what I want to do with my nails before I start painting them!

I have these Panda water decals from the Born Pretty Store. I have probably had them a good 6 months and have been looking for an excuse to wear them! Here it is!

Aren't they so cute!! 

I used Models Own Diamond Luxe Emerald Green as the base for this mani and simply applied the Panda and Bamboo decals on top. :)

Super quick, super easy and super cute!

You can get 10% off these decals and any other items on Born Pretty Store with the code EHG10.

Day 14: Holo

I don't own many holo polishes. I think this may even be the only one, and I kind of think of it as more of a topcoat than a polish. Hence, this prompt was tricky for me.
Plus with meetings at work this evening, I have been short on time so I apologize for this post being rather boring!

Although simple, I do quite like this. I used a few coats of Ciaté Unrestricted Glam, then painted over it in this grey holo indie topcoat by Wonderful and Strange Nails. On my ring finger I stamped at few simple stars using Ciaté Sand Dune and Plate MLS301 from Born Pretty Store.

Remember, you can get a 10% discount at Born Pretty Store using the code: EHG10.

I took this blurred picture in an attempt to show the real-life sparkly-ness and all the beautiful colours in there!

Everybody else's photos are much more interesting than mine today, so go check them out!

31DC: Inspired by Pinterest

Today I chose this image to recreate from Pinterest, by blogger Alina Pinuccia.

I love the happiness of it! It's summery and pretty without being too much!

I used Essence That's What I Mint!, Ciaté Celestial, George Natural White and Colour Couture Yellow, I'm not sure what the name is!

31DC: Film

Films are one of my favourite sources of inspiration, especially since doing the Movie/Book Challenge last year. However, because I did so many as part of that challenge it was difficult coming up with something new to do.

But then I remembered... Despicable Me!!
I know Minion nails have been done to death, hence why I have avoided them until now! But I love the film so wanted to do them anyway!

I was really pleased with how they turned out. And of course I had to take a picture of my minion nails with my minion toy!!

I used Ciaté Big Yellow Taxi and Sally Hansen Co-Bolt Blue. The details of the minion were all done with acrylic paints.

See which films the other girls based their nails on:

31DC: Reversed Polarities

As soon as I saw this prompt an idea popped to mind.
I have since found out that this was not what the prompt actually meant, but I did it anyway! :)

I'm not crazy on how it turned out. It's kinda messy, and the colours make me think of mud! (I suppose the polish is called Mudslide Tote for a reason!!). It's probably my least favourite mani of this challenge so far. 

I used Maybelline Mudslide Tote and Revlon Trade Winds to create this reverse gradient.

Have a look at the other, much better entries below!