Blue with gold tips

Ohhh what is going on with this weather?! Last night I actually considered putting the winter duvet on, then woke up this morning to sunshine! It's thrown me into total disarray, and made me realise how much I'm going to miss the summer - especially pastel ice cream nails:) I did consider doing ice cream nails again, but was worried I'd jinx the weather totally. So instead, I wasted productively spent a couple of hours on the internet looking for inspiration. And I stumbled across this... http://thesneakerette.tumblr.com/post/28270353147/gold-leaf-chevron-nails and then lost another hour or so drooling over such pretty designs! I loved the green she's used and am now spreading my gaze far and wide in and effort to find such a gem. But in the meantime decided to use my ge-or-gous cyan blue by Barry M. 

Errrrr - Jamaican flag nails, apparently.

So, there I was, delving into my box of polishes, thinking of what to add onto my lovely teal nails. I discovered my tape, so decided, ok, tape mani it is. Then I found my gold (what a shock!) and a green I haven't used in ages! So, stick, stick, paint, paint, top coat.....et voila; the Jamaican flag??!! Well, not what I was hoping for, but......I like. I've really struggled to do a green nail design, even though I love the colour. Maybe it's a subconscious yearning for a holiday? 

Swatch - Barry M Teal

So, have been AWOL this week after my lovely bf took me to Italy, for a fun filled week of art, pasta and gelato! In fact, I think there was only one day when I didn't eat gelato, and there were several days when I ate many gelatos.  Practically had to be rolled through the airport home:) So anyway, I had to resist painting my nails for almost 10 days! Arggggggh. Oddly, since I've got back I've been struggling for inspiration, so until I come up with something better I thought I'd do a swatch of a colour I've had in my collection for months but haven't got around to using. And, I have to say, I LOVE it. I've been staring at my nails all day. Below is 3 coats with no top coat. It's very thin, and you need to be fairly careful with the application, but it's worth it for the beYOOTiful colour. 

P.s. Please excuse the state of my nails, I've been so busy unpacking/catching up/trying to work off the gelato that I haven't given them a proper shape/hydration session. They are very unhappy  little cuticles:( 

Red and pink candy stripes

Soooooooo shiny! Well, I finally managed to take remover to my nails, and got rid of my leopard/gradient nails (sob). But I cheered myself up with this shiny delicious concoction. I saw the red and pink combo on the Nailside a while ago and have been looking forward to trying it. So, this morning, when my striping tape arrived, I knew what I wanted to do.......

I used Barry M Bright Pink and Bright Red, then covered with Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. Shiny enough to appeal to my inner magpie:)

Gratuitous kitty photo Part 2

I cannot actually bring myself to take of my gradient/leopard print nails, so I thought I'd post another gratuitous kitty photo. But this time, there are two of the cuties! Whoop whoop. My poor boyfriend wasn't allowed to move last night, as he was the new 'best place to sit' :) 

Gradient/Leopard

May I present.....(drum roll please)......my first gradients!!!!! I'm so pleased:) I've been putting it off for ages due to the mess/worry about getting it wrong etc. But, I managed it and I'm so happy with the results. I couldn't decide which colours I wanted to use, so I did different colours on each hand. I decided to pull it together by adding gold and black leopard print (because I'm a magpie, and I live shiny, sparkly gold). 

I used Barry M Mint Green, Berry Ice Cream, Peach Melba, Blueberry Ice Cream, Gold Foil Effects, and my beloved black Nail Art pen. 

Neon stripes

Well, I'm just not sure about this. I started with a grey base.....fail. Switched to white (Barry M matt white, of course!) and used my nail art pens to draw on the lines. The fact that there was not a regular colour scheme actually hurt - I struggle with abstract, I'm all about the order! I got a few compliments, but I just don't know.......hmmmmm. We'll see how long it stays on. 

Leopard Print

Now, given that I have leopard print shoes, scarves, tops, dresses, bags, socks, pants, etc, it is faintly ridiculous that I have NEVER done leopard print nails. So, I needed to remedy that. Then I saw the dress to the left in a magazine and I knew what my colour scheme had to be. Et voila! Pastel leopard print. Enjoy!

I used Barry M Mint Green and Bright Pink for the design, and my black nail art pen (fairly sure that bad boy is going to run out soon, I've used him in sooooooooooooo many designs now). 

Barry M Mint Green swatch

A quick swatch....painting my nails whilst watching the Olympic Closing Ceremony, so they're not perfect as I had to have a little boogie along to Madness! This is one of my favourite Barry M colours, partly because it makes me think of mint ice cream...hmmmmmmmmm:) Anyway, a great colour, but not the best of applications. A bit chalky with a tendency to show lines or show bald spots. However, with 3 coats I pretty much managed to get it how I wanted it.

Tribal nails (pastels)

I've been looking for a design to use my mint green and lilac together for aaaaaaaaaaages. Then, flicking through this months Company magazine, I came across a brilliant purple and green Aztec design. Woohoo! I used my own designs, and found a way of incorporating some gold into it, as I LOVE gold; I am a total magpie. So, what do you reckon? 

Barry M Mint Green, Bright Purple, Berry Ice Cream, Gold

Tribal nails (about blooming time!)

Argh - you know those days when whatever you start on your nails fails; looks odd, wrong colour mix, smudges etc. Today has been TORTURE! 3 fresh starts.....but eventually, I arrived at this. I haven't done tribal nails before and I'm quite pleased with the results. It's certainly true what other nail addicts say; you cam make mistakes and they look like part of the design:)

I used my Barry M Gold Foil Effect, Bold Orange and Cyan Blue for the colours, and my nail art pen for the design. Am already thinking about new colour schemes I could try:) 

Swatch - Barry M Block Orange

Hmmm, didn't intend to do a swatch, but this was so pretty on I had to show it off. It's a really lovely colour, very summery (you know, that time of year when it's hot and sunny, think it's skipped England this year!) It's very sheer, so not a great one for layering over anything, but a great base colour. This is two coats with no top coat.  

Peacock feathers

Ahhhhhhh.......you know that feeling when you push yourself, and you manage to do something you weren't sure you could do. It's awesome. I've looked at Kayla's peacock feather tutorial so many times, and really thought it was far out of my league. But, I screwed up my courage, had a go and.......am fairly happy with the results. There are lots of things I'd like to improve, mainly the mess down the sides of my nails, but overall, I'm chuffed. 

I used Barry M Gold Foil Effects for the base, then drew the black lines with my nail pen. I then used Barry M Emerald (finally managed to get it into a design:), Accessorize Sapphire and Art Deco 275 for the stripes. I used Barry M Teal for the large dots on the tips. I'm grinning as I'm so happy with it. 

Swatch - Barry M Emerald Green

Ooooooh I've been waiting to use this for ages, but haven't been able to think of a design I could use it in. So I decided to swatch it. And I was impressed. The first coat was very streaky and transparent, and I was a bit sceptical. But then I applied a second coat.....et voila! The below is without a topcoat, as you can see very shiny and not streaky. It's not very clear in the photos but it also has a gorgeous golden shimmer. Me likey:) Now to use it in a design........

Without flash.

Gratuitous kitty photo

This is my cat Monty. He is AWESOME. Some people don't believe me, but then they meet him and after 2 or 3 minutes they agree. This is because he is a bit magic (or maybe just ridiculously cute and adept at manipulating humans). He was a rescue cat, found looking after two other homeless kittens, even though they were not his. Despite the fact that, in the picture below, he is staring at me in disgust because I have arrived home tipsy and am trying to sleep on his sofa, he is still stupidly cool. Cooler than I will ever be. Enjoy.

Pastel/gold chevrons

I was really struggling to decide what nails to do last night, so I let my bf decide on a starting colour. He chose the gold and it came around from that...my scotch tape was in front of me, and a few snips later the following appeared. I'm really pleased with it, I especially like the gold and mint on my thumb, I'll be using it again.

I used the following; Mint Green (304), Bright Pink (279), Blueberry Ice Cream (208), Berry Ice Cream (308), Peach Melba (318) and Gold Foil Effects (320), all by Barry M.  

Nom nom nom

Yep....stared at my nails for so long that they made me hungry. So I went to the shops. I really did intend to share them with my bf......

Cheery Cherries! 

With flash

Hmmm, I'm not sure that these turned out as cherry-like as I thought they would, but I really like them. My love of cherries is relatively new, but it turns out they are the most amazing fruit - each one is a little flavour bomb! Fresh, glace, maraschino.....oooops, drooling:)

Anyway, the base here is by Maybelline, called Rose Poudre. It's a great shade on me, and covers that fact that my real nails are vile. However, it needs at least 2 coats and doesn't dry as quickly as I'd like. The cherries are Barry M Red Black. Now, I cannot really explain how much I love Barry M varnishes (great shades, cheap, good application), however this one fell short of my expectations. It takes at least 3 coats and even then I still find it doesn't cover brilliantly. Oh well, I'm fairly sure that it won't stop me buying more from their range (hope my bf doesn't read this part:) 

Without flash

Kitty claws!

Inspired by...well, cats. Specifically, my cat, Boo. I used Barry M Berry Ice Cream for the base, and Maybelline Onyx Black for the paw prints and face. I think I need to invest in some striper brushes, would have helped to have a teeny brush to draw the whiskers on with. Hope you like!

These are some of my older designs - not really original stuff, mainly inspired by the brilliant bloggers that I follow (I'll get round to listing them asap), and photographed on my camera phone (gasp - a total no-no, I know). I hope you enjoy them, try not to focus too much on the irregularly shaped nails, sad and thirsty cuticles and lack of post paint tidy up! 

My first foray into dotting - rainbow dots!

P-p-p-p-pick up some penguins! 

Gah - blurry! I loved this design, my first attempt at some freehand art
on the focus nail. Wobbly, but it was a start.     

A (slightly garish) fishtail braid, successfully
completed thanks to the excellent tutorial at
Lucy's Stash

This was a tape mani inspired by
the Nailside zigzag mani.

The only way I can describe these is 90's MTV background/fruit salad. I honestly can't think of a suitable name, but I was so happy with how these turned out. 

My nails for Kendal festival. 

My other hand for Kendal festival - bonkers!

Eeeep - my first post! This isn't my first nail art design, but it's the first design that I feel happy to share. It was inspired by one of my fave foods (after cheese) and by the amazing pastel shades that Barry M have been releasing. It was also influenced by Kayla Shevonne's ice-cream nail art; I adjusted it slightly, as my nails are not as lovely and long as hers, and I felt my design suited my shorter nails.