31 Day Nail Challenge: Week 21 - Inspired by a Colour

Is it just me or does this weeks challenge seem a bit of a cop out? Inspired by a colour? Any colour? I took it to mean that I could do anything at all. So I did.

After several failed attempts at trying to create a blurple that I was happy with, I gave up on that idea. My attentions then turned to turquoise and a 'glitter' top coat I had recently bought so I decided to just go with it.

I used 2 coats of Models Own Top Turquoise. What a lovely colour. I really enjoy a good turquoise lol and this is definitely a good one. The top coat is Nails Inc Brick Lane Grafitti, which is packed with black and white 'glitter' (the inverted commas are because glitter should really be shiny but this isn't). There are teeny tiny black and white dots, larger but still small black and white hexes and black and white bars. This is one coat. It's pretty dense. Also it's hard to put the glitter where you want it because it's so small it's not very moveable. I really like this look but I wish the white was more.. white. lol it's a bit like Nubar White Polka Dot in that the white is sheer and pearlised. I would rather it was opaque like the black. That's my only complaint about this though, I really like the look it gives.

This is Top Turquoise on its own. It's slightly more green irl but I couldn't capture the colour.

Gem chose a really gorgeous colour this week!

"I kind of cheated and picked my favourite nail polish colour which is a mix of red, purple and pink, I'm never sure which describes it better.
This is OPI No Spain No Gain and Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle. I used to have my hair a similar colour and I loved it, but as it got longer it was too much to re-dye every week. I love Razzle Dazzle, it's such a nice glitter and it's opaque enough to wear on it's own as well."

Totally not cheating if you ask me, the challenge was very non-specific and this is such a lovely colour I can see why she picked it! I actually have a mini DL Razzle Dazzle from my December 2011 Glossy Box (back when Glossy Box was actually worth the money..) but I haven't used it yet. It's so cute though in its little bottle lol aww. The pain of hair dye is something I know all too well. I don't dye it any more for the exact same reason. Plus I don't hate my natural colour any more. Yay me.

Anyway I love Gem's nails, they look so classy and red suits everyone =) thanks Gemma and best of luck with your deadlines this week!

That's it for now! Why don't you see what Alli did for her nails this week?

-Leisha.

EDIT: Added Gems picture and comment.. and then rambled a bit afterwards..

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Week 20 - Water Marbled

Wow only 11 weeks to go! Then what am I going to do haha!

My water marbled nails didn't turn out exactly as I expected.. the colours didn't pop as much as I wanted them to, probably because I didn't use a white base (couldn't be bothered). I had fun though! Yes I managed to dribble polish all over my desk.. yes my hands got covered in it.. yes I have just spent the last 10 mins frantically trying to get it out of my dressing gown, but hey it's worth it right? Believe it or not these pics are post-clean up, it just didn't want to come off!

The colours I used were Models Own- Beth's Blue and Prussian Blue, Barry M- Lemon Ice Cream and China Glaze- Traffic Jam.

I did my right hand first (top pics) and my left (dominant) hand second (bottom pics) and as you can see they're pretty different! I got better at making patterns as I went along.. I like both though, I just wish I'd been more careful with it haha!

TIPS FOR WATER MARBLING:

*Tape all of your fingers leaving the nail bare before you start. Trust me you'll be glad of this even though you won't be able to move your fingers properly.
*Choose a mix of both light and dark colours to give your water marble some contrast.

*If you have made a particularly nice pattern, dip more than one finger at a time! I did the 4 fingers on my left  hand in one fell swoop which meant I used a lot less polish/time.

*Don't stab your freshly marbled finger with the cocktail stick when trying to remove excess polish from the water. I did this a lot because I wasn't paying attention and as a result I have blobs all over my nails.

*Make sure there is no cat hair floating in the water BEFORE you drop the polish into it.

Gem's nails are a lovely mix of colours this week!

"Ok...I apologise for the awful picture/nails/disaster. I'm really glad Leisha's nails came out all pretty and lovely, because mine are AWFUL! I was worried that no one could replicate the lovely water marbled nails I've seen on other blogs. Definitely, well done to Leisha, it must have taken you ages! :)

I had a base coat of Illamasqua Raindrops and in my head I was thinking of adding blue and white and imagined myself being left with a pretty bluey/grey water marbled nails in the end. In my head they were awesome...instead I made a lot of mess and was left with ugly, bubbly bleurgh! I tried :P And I apologise for sharing this picture. I think I need to have another go at this at some point, when I've recovered from the experience."

Bless her lol I don't think it's a disaster at all! I love the colours together actually and think that they work really well. It's a shame there are some bubbles but sometimes it's very hard to avoid. I think the disappointment comes from it not turning out as expected but neither did mine. Water marbles have a mind of their own you just have to go with it! Next time I'd suggest a white base and including the Illamasqua (of which I am very jealous lol) in the marbling =) I like the ring finger best, it looks like the crest of a wave! 

Don't forget to check out Alli's pretty pink marbled nails!!

-Leisha.

EDIT: I change the post to include Gem's nails because I accidentally pressed Publish instead of Preview earlier! (Oops).

31 Day Nail Challenge: Week 19 - Galaxy Nails

I have to admit I've been dreading this week. I'm a bit of a perfectionist you see and I was really worried that I would mess this challenge up like the fireworks I did lol but I have to say I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!

I used several colours for these, mainly:
Filthy Gorgeous - Twilight
OPI - DS Magic
Kiko - 337 and 277
Barry M - 161 Vivid Purple

I did a black base using Filthy Gorgeous Twilight a day before I did the actual design which is why there is a little bit of shrinkage on my tips.. I didn't top coat it lol naughty!  Then I sponged on some white from my Rio Nail Art Pen where I wanted the galaxies and nebulae to be to make the colours pop. The rest was more sponging with some dots added for stars =)

I think they came out rather well! I especially like the spiral galaxies. I'm rather "into" astronomy and have been since I was very young. I love picking out constellations in the sky and can recognise quite a few! The recent Stargazing LIVE series on the BBC was really good, if you're at all interested you should check it out on iPlayer before it disappears!

Gemx's nails are super pretty this week =)

"I really enjoyed this weeks nail art! It took me ages though!
I first used a coat of Filthy Gorgeous Twilight (my favourite glossy black and most used polish!). I then sponged the rest of the polishes on. On my left hand (the right-hand picture) I first sponged on some Models Own Snow White to make the other colours stand out and then layered on the other polishes. On my right hand I skipped the white to see how it would differ. I think I prefer the hand which I used the white first, the blue stands out more. 

The many polishes I used were:
Kiko 255 (a multi coloured fine glitter with a purple base)
Orly Space Cadet
Orly Halleys Comet
Technic Mermaid
Models Own Juicy Jules
Make Up Store Britta
OPI Pirouette My Whistle"

I really like the ring finger on her left hand, the blue is gorgeous! And the use of glitter is so pretty too, galaxies should totally be glittery.

That's it for this week! Next week is water marbling which should be hilarious. I'm going to try not to colour my whole hand but I have a feeling it will happen anyway!

Alli hasn't uploaded her galaxy nails yet, but check out her blog anyway because it's awesome.

Oh and thanks for the lovely comments I've been getting it really means a lot to know I'm not talking to myself on here! I really appreciate it <3

-Leisha

Mr Pants came to investigate when I was taking pictures... he's SO PRETTY!

(Full name: Count von Clawdipants Nibblick 3rd the Eviscerator)

31 Day Nail Challenge: Week 18 - Half Moons

Here's another technique that I've never tried! Half moons can look very classy I think, probably because they originated in the 1920's and have a sort of elegant flair to them. Traditionally the half moon (the part nearest the cuticles) was left bare and the rest was painted, though in the 20's the tips were left bare as well. I should imagine this type of mani lasted for ages! It was in the 30's that the half moon manicure that we know today was born =)

I went for a twist with my half moon, of course =)

This is two coats of Orly Miss Conduct with a mattifying topcoat added to the half moons. It doesn't show up as well as I hoped but you can see what I was trying to achieve I hope!

I love Orly. Not only are their polishes amazing and cruelty free but they make me think of this every time.

Miss Conduct is the MOST GORGEOUS nail polish I think that I have ever seen. EVER. It's a raspberry pink holographic fleck polish <3 ahhh I love it! You NEED this polish. I hope my use of capitals has emphasised this point.

It has a luminescence that makes it glow from within and in the light the flecks come alive with every colour you can think of. Yup. ALL THE COLOURS. I could go on but seriously, just go and buy it already.

Here's a better pic of it on its own. (Taken on the train because there is little to no sunlight atm -.-)

Swooooooon <3

Gemx went for a very classy half moon this week!

"This week I used Mac Soiree as a gold base and then Filthy Gorgeous Twilight as the black over the top. I considered taping off the half moons to make them neater, but as I tried to cut the tape to shape I realised that wasn't happening, most of them just got stuck to the scissors! So I attempted to be as neat as possible by hand :)"

I love the rose gold poking out from behind the black, it looks almost like she's left them bare but there's enough shimmer to see that she hasn't. Love it. I think this elongates her nails as well! I might have to try a proper half moon, I'm liking them a lot more than I thought I would! I was very sceptical to start with haha! Now I think there's a timeless glamour to them. =)

Make sure you take a look at Alli's classic glittery half moons too!

-Lei