Leopard Print

Today I have a tried a pink Leopard print look. This is something I have seen around a lot but it never really appeals to me. For some reason though, I felt like giving it a go!

I used Sally Hansen Strawberry Icing for the base colour, which is much pinker than it appears here (There is a more colour accurate picture at the bottom of this post). The spots were done with Barry M Silk in Heather, and outlined with Barry M Black.

I actually really like how this mani turned out. I think the colours work really well together.

I liked my Left and Right shots I did on my last post, so here they are again!! This may become a regular thing, although I find it difficult to photograph my right hand, as I shake too much and they end up blurred!

This picture is a little more colour accurate than the rest as it was taken in natural light.

When I was in Kenya, I actually saw a Leopard on Safari, so I am adding this to my Kenya Inspired posts, although I haven't done any of those for a while!

Here he is... Just chilling in a tree!

Africa Inspired: Waterfall Nails

Whilst in Kenya, I visited and climbed a waterfall called Thompson Falls.

As part of my Africa Inspired posts, I wanted to recreate the beauty of this waterfall, on my nails.

I sort of used the waterfall technique, but wanted to make it quite realistic so blended the colours together more than you usually would in the waterfall technique. I started with a base of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, then used stripes of lots of different shades of blue, to try and create the look of the water. I also sponged Barry M Matt White onto the tips of the nails, to create the foam that forms at the bottom of the falls and finished with a layer of glitter, Barry M in Diamond.

All the polishes I used were (From left to right):
Maybelline Dark Denim
H&M unnamed blue polish
Revlon Blue Lagoon
Revlon Chroma Chameleon in Aquamarine
Barry M Matt White
Barry M Glitter Diamond
Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream.

GOT Challenge. Africa Inspired : Gecko Nails

This is the first post in the series of Africa Inspired mani's I plan on doing, based around my time in Kenya.

For the first post I have done Gecko nails in tribute to this little guy, who lived in our hotel room with us in Kenya.

I picked a coral coloured base coat, so it also fits in with todays GOT Challenge. First a basecoat of Sally Hansen Nail Nutrition. I'm hoping this will help repair my nails after the damage caused whilst I was away! 

I used a Barry M Gelly in Papaya, which has been sitting in my stash for a while, but this is the first time I have used it. Then I used a Black marker to draw on the Gecko's. No topcoat as I currently have lots of unused polishes which I would like to try out, so I don't plan on leaving this on much more than a day!

I had high hopes of the Gelly polishes, as I've heard such good reviews of them and I love most Barry M polishes. However, I found this one quite difficult to apply, and a little streaky, even after 2 coats. I did love the colour of this polish though. Coral colours are always winners for me!

Here are some close ups of the Gecko's!

Kenya Nails

Hello!!
I'm back from Kenya, which was the most amazing experience, and hopefully soon back to doing my nails. It's safe to say the heat and dirt, along with chlorine from the pool, climbing up waterfalls and other activities has well and truly ruined my nails!
Had to chop them all short to get rid of the chips and peeling and put lots of Sally Hansen Nail Nutrition on them, hopefully this will sort them out!

Over the next few weeks I plan to do a series of Mani's based around Kenya, some of the experiences I had and the photos I have taken.
These are some of the ideas I already have for these:

• Waterfall nails based on Thomson Falls, a waterfall I climbed down.
• Safari inspired nails.
• Giraffe print nails, inspired by the giraffe sanctuary I visited.
• Nails inspired by some of the beautiful scenery I saw.
• Gecko nails, to pay tribute to the Gecko we shared our hotel room with!
• Plaited hair inspired nails - Because of the hair of all the little girls I was teaching, and they tried to do my hair similar!
• Handpainted flower nails. I did an art lesson with the children, where they were asked to paint flowers.

I have not planned specific times to do each of these mani's but I think I will try to do at least one a week, so I still have chance to do other things with my nails too! If anybody would like to join in with any of these ideas, feel free and if you do I would love to see your mani's, so leave a comment and let me know!

Isn't it beautiful!

This is me with some of the girls I was teaching: Alice, Susan and Falilia.