Rosey Stripes

Hey!
Unfortunately I'm having to rely on false nails this week. I went climbing with my dad yesterday and so I had to cut all my nails short, otherwise they would have been broken anyway.

I really really love how these turned out though and I hope they last and don't all pop off tomorrow!!

I used some striped falsies from Primark to start and a plain white false nail on my index fingers. Then I painted the index fingers pink using George 'Raspberry Forest'. I dug out some old Born Pretty decals I had which matched the pink polish and added a few of these to jazz up the mani a bit! 

Cheerful and Childish

Today's nails are, as the title says, very childish and cutesy. They make me feel cheerful and think of happy times!

I started painting my nails with very little direction or plan. I knew I wanted a gradient, so I picked two polishes at random to start with. I ended up with two Sally Hansen polishes: 'Pinch of Punch' and 'Coastin' By'.

The gradient I ended up with was cute, but felt it needed something else so I opted for some stamping. I used a plate from Born Pretty Store - MLS301, with a cute sweetie design and stamped using Barry M Silver Foil Effect polish.

I like how these turned out. They are very cutesy, remind me of unicorns and magic!! If only I hadn't had to cut all my nails short they would have looked even cuter!

Lilac Chevrons

Sorry I haven't been around much since completing the 31 Day Challenge. After all that I needed a bit of a break! Plus I seem to have been really busy.
I have still been painting my nails regularly (though not every day!), just not blogging, so now I have a few posts to catch up on.

The first is this simple stamped chevron design.

I used Barry M Matte White as my base colour and stamped the chevrons with MUA Frozen Yoghurt and Born Pretty Store plate QA91.

Remember, you can get 10% of anything from Born Pretty Store using discount code: EHG10.

I was pleased with how clean the lines were from the stamping, as I was uncertain whether vinyls would have been a better purchase. Vinyls would have been much more fiddly so I am glad this plate stamps well!

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: 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: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: 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.

31DC: Happiness

Today's prompt is happiness.
However cheesy it is, spending time with my Mr. makes me happy, so I wanted to do a romance inspired mani.

I recycled the base from yesterdays water-spotting mani, stamping flowers over the top (from MoYou Mother Nature plate 01) in Sally Hansen Atomic Alloy, to create a tree-like backdrop. I then used another image from the same plate to stamp the figures with a Black Born Pretty Store stamping polish and freehand painted the word 'love' onto my index finger. 

I love how this mani turned out. Definitely my favourite of 2015 so far!!

Catch-Up: Christmas / New Year Nails

The second post in my catch-up series will show you a few extra Christmas nails I painted, plus some which were not originally intended for New Year, but would work well.

First up, the Christmas nails:

This nail art is based on the film Polar Express, My index finger shows the bell from the movie, my middle finger represents the present Santa leaves for the little boy. My ring finger is supposed to show the train ticket, which has the word 'Believe' punched into it by the conductor.

I used Sinful Colors Blue by You, Sinful Colors Cool Gray, Sinful Colours Nirvana, the gold is an unnamed PS by Primark polish, Rimmel Red, Steady, Go!, La Femme Ultra Green and Barry M Black.

This picture was posted on my Instagram, however I never took any camera pics to add it to my blog, hence why it never made it here. I didn't think it was particularly good, however it ended up being one of my most liked Instagram photos ever! 

I used Sally Hansen Cosmic blue as the background, George Natural White for the moon and painted the details in Black acrylic paint.

Another Instagram pic. These were my Christmas day nails. I didn't have much time for blogging over Christmas, however I did still paint my nails and Instagram is much quicker to use!

I used a red Models Own polish and a Red Models Own Glitter for this, which I don't know the names of as they belonged to my mum! I also used Ciaté Fit for a Queen for my ring finger and I created a stamping decal for the flower.

Now for the New Year Nail inspiration!

I wore this for Christmas eve. I really love it, however that glitter placement took such a long time, And it is pretty messy compared to others I have seen! The black is Ciaté Unrestricted glam and the glitter pieces are from Born Pretty Store.

I painted these ages ago and at the time loved them. I'm not really sure why they were never posted. I used Barry M Black and Rimmel Space Dust in Aurora,

These I painted on my sisters nails. She saw my nails in the above picture and wanted something similar using the Rimmel Space Dust. This is what we came up with! Sorry, I'm not sure what other polishes were used, these are from July so I don't remember! Again, excuse the poor quality phone picture. 

12 Days of Christmas: Ugly Sweater

The prompt for today was 'Ugly Sweater Nails'.
I had what I thought were the perfect water decals for these nails, but unfortunately it didn't go quite to plan!

I have used water decals plenty of times before, I know what I am doing with them, but these just would not work. It seems that the plastic they are printed onto is way too thick for this purpose. Even after soaking in hot water the plastic remained rigid and wouldn't adhere to the nail the way decals usually do. I ended up covering the nail in topcoat and sticking the plastic to that. Even then I had problems getting the image to lay flat as the plastic was too rigid and I could feel them sitting on top of my nail, which isn't usually the case with decals. (The image below shows how bad this was!)

It's a shame as I have never has a 'bad' product from Born Pretty Store before, but these were so disappointing and I was so looking forward to using them!

Urgh, look at how bad those decals are! Not nice!

The base polish I used was Ciaté Cupcake queen, topped with Ciaté Candy Cane glitter. I love these two polishes together!

See the other, more successful entries for this challenge:

An InLinkz Link-up

12 Days of Christmas: The Song

Today the prompt for the 12 days of Christmas challenge was the '12 Days of Christmas' song.

I have kept it quite simple and chosen the line '2 Turtle Doves'.

I started with two coats of Ciaté Mineral Clarity, which is such a gorgeous deep blue glittery texture polish. I then stamped the doves using George Natural White and this cute stamping plate from Born Pretty Store.

The doves don't stand out quite as much as I might have liked. The George white polish is not the best for stamping, but my favourite Barry M Matte White has thickened too much to use. I desperately need some polish thinner!

An InLinkz Link-up

12 Days of Christmas: Blue and White

The promp for today was 'Icy Blue and White'.
I felt a bit lost for what to do with this prompt, I much prefer the more structured prompts!

I went for a simple sponged white to blue gradient using George Natural White, Revlon Blue Lagoon and Make Up Gallery Sky Blue.

On my index finger I used a blue Barry M crackle polish followed by MUA Luna, the pretty glitter.

Finally, I added a little bow stud from Born Pretty Store on my ring finger. I think it finishes off the look nicely.

Overall, I'm not too sure about this. I didn't really have a direction when I started, I just made it up as I went and I think you can tell that.

Check out the other entries:

An InLinkz Link-up

12 Days of Christmas: Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?

Today's prompt for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge is Snowmen.
Of course, being a primary school teacher I had to paint everyone's favourite snowman of the moment... Olaf!!

I used a Primark Blue Glow in the Dark Polish for this. It doesn't actually glow, but the colour is just beautiful. Although the polish is blue, it has a very subtle gold shimmer which appears in certain lights. I also added a coat of Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Royal Icing on my index finger. Olaf is painted using acrylics.

The snowflakes were sent to me to review by Born Pretty Store. 

They arrived in a little plastic pot which was actually a lot bigger than I had expected.

They are very cute and sparkly. Because they bend easily they sat quite flat on the nail, meaning they stayed on around a day... which is longer than I manage to keep most 3D type things on my nails! I would say they are definitely worth the £2.33 they are on the website for!

Get 10% off these here or other items at the Born Pretty Store with voucher code: EHG10.

Check out the other entries to the challenge here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Autumn Days

Today I have an autumnal mani to show you.
 I have been planning this one a while but was awaiting the arrival of the leaves from the Born Pretty Store which took two months to arrive. Hence, this is not really seasonal anymore!

The above photo was taken in natural light and is a lot more colour accurate. The below photo was taken under my new LED lamp, which is a lot better than photographing under my 'normal' lights, but still not great. I am contemplating making another light box.

Anyway, I was going for a 'leaves blowing in the wind' look for this. I quite like how it came out, though it's not quite as I envisioned it would be! My pinky was supposed to be the pile of leaves, then the other fingers showing them blowing away, with the swirly lines representing the wind.

I used Jess polish in Innocence for the background. The swirls were Sinful Colors Nirvana and an unnamed gold PS by Primark polish. The gold leaves were from the Born Pretty Store.

You can get 10% off these leaves and anything else on the Born Pretty Store with my discount code: EHG10.

Pretty Peacocks

I recently received a long awaited order from Born Pretty Store which I have been waiting for since September!
I bought two of their new stamping plates and had to try one out!

This is Born Pretty Plate 04 'Dancing Peacock'. This plate has some lovely images on it. It is well engraved and my stamper had no problems picking up the details of the image.

I started with a base of George Natural White on my middle and ring fingers, with Revlon Aquamarine on my index and pinky fingers. I then stamped the peacock using Sinful Colors Kissy and added a Born Pretty green stud to my index finger. I felt the bottom of my ring finger needed something so I created a glitter gradient with H&M Blue bliss, also adding this on top of my pinky finger. I finished with a coat of Barry M Diamond over my middle, ring and little fingers to give a bit of sparkle. :)

Use code EHG10 to get 10% off these and other items at the Born Pretty Store.

Black Swan

This weeks Llama Nails Challenge prompt is Thriller Movies/Books.

 I found this prompt really really hard! Thriller's are not my thing, at all!! After trawling through IMDB's top 100 Thriller's I finally found a film I had actually seen at number 80!! Black Swan.

Although it took a while to get there, I actually really like this mani. I tried to show the progression of the transformation from white to black swan. Not sure how well I did that, but I still really like it!

I used quite a few polishes in this mani so I'm just going to list them below:

• Sinful Colors Cool Gray
• Barry M Matt White
• Barry M Black
• Rimmel Cupcake Pink
• Rimmel Golden Hour
• Rimmel Red, Steady, Go.

The feathers on my middle finger are water decals from the Born Pretty Store.

I'm really enjoying this challenge, it always makes me think carefully about what to do and I actually spend a lot of time on the mani's for it, rather than just rushing something!

An InLinkz Link-up

Capuccino Roses

Yesterday I didn't have much time to do my nails, yet I wanted them to be pretty. I have used some Born Pretty water decals I've had sitting around for a while as a quick and easy solution!

The base colour is Rimmel Coralicious, with an unnamed Nude Revlon colour on my Index fingers, to match with the roses.

I wasn't sure about these decals. I think it's the colour that put me off. But I actually really like this mani!

They were super easy to put on, however as the roses were rounded on the edges I felt very limited as to where I could place them on my nails.

Here they are with slightly different lighting!

Born Pretty Haul

The postman came this morning with my latest order from the Born Pretty Store. :)

It's so long since I ordered it that I couldn't remember what I had ordered, making it more exciting!!

Looks like Blogger has decided to start rotating my pictures itself again. Annoying!

4 sets of pretty water decals. :) I am excited to use the Panda's! No idea what for, but they are super cute!

Black and White Stamping Polish. 

I used to have no problems using my Barry M Matte White for stamping but recently I haven't been able to get it to work, so I bought these to see if they are any easier to use. Hopefully I'll be testing them out soon! 

And a cuticle pusher. I generally just leave my cuticles alone. Or use my other nails to push them! But I figured I should start doing it properly!

I also ordered a '3 Item Lucky Bag'. I didn't expect much from this! I actually got 4 items though and 2 of them I will definitely use. 1, maybe, the last, no way! Unless it fits in with a fancy dress theme somehow!!

I got this cute stamping plate with little japanese (?!) characters on.

Some Water Decals. On the left are butterflies, on the right are cobwebs. The butterflies will defo get used and the cobwebs will be perfect for Halloween!

These false nails. I can honestly say I will never, ever wear these! Not my thing at all! If anybody would like to swap these for something feel free to get in touch!

Not sure what to call these... Nail Decorations?! I like the Hello Kitty ones, they are cute and will definitely be worn at some point. Although I'm not sure how I would attach them, or how long they would last. The bows would be nice if they didn't have the dangly bits. I might wear them. Or I might try and pull the danglies off first!! Haha!

All in all I'm quite impressed with this lucky bag. For 60p I have got 3 things I will probably use. Not bad! I'm quite impressed  too that they have looked at what else I have ordered. All of my order was for nail things, so they have only sent me nail things in the lucky bag.