GOT Polish Challenge - Coral

Hello everyone! Just putting this out there at the start - I hate coral! Not the colour itself, but the horrible way it sits next to my pasty skin, making it look even more pasty! Now that's out of the way, I've been stamping again! Still loving it but glad to have got back to some freehand nail art this week too. I may actually have found a good balance between the two :)

I painted my nails with LA Colors Hottie, but my bottle of this is super old that its hard to get a good finish (mental note to buy new bottle!), so I topped it with the very similar Nails Inc East Austin and then stamped using an image from MoYou Pro XL 03 using Konad White stamping polish before finishing with Seche Vite.

Its simple but it was the quickest way for me to do something pretty and then to get that coral off my nails! I am still loving my MoYou plates (might have to place another order this weekend!)! I'm going to a wedding on HMS Warrior on Saturday and am planning to use one of the stamping images to match my dress (although I'm still deciding whether to go out and buy another dress tomorrow!). Either way, I'm going to be blinging up the nails as much as possible :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri Polish Tuesdays April 2 - A good ol' technicolour abstract

Hello everyone! Today its back to basics for me! I've had a real run of trying new techniques and stamping recently, so today I'm really happy to have gone back to one of my favourite "pick some colours and throw them together in a swirly abstract kind of way" designs using the pink, yellow and blue for this month's challenge :)

I started with two coats of Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer and then freehanded sections of Nails Inc Baker Street and Kleancolor Neon Yellow and Neon Pink before finishing with Seche Vite.

I felt completely back in my comfort zone with these! Who'd have thought it was even possible to have comfort zone issues when it comes to nails? Meh, I'm rambling now. Anyhoo, I'm loving these :D

Be sure to check out all the other Tri Polish manis by following the links below and I will be back soon with some more nail art :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri Polish Tuesdays and NAILS Mag 31DC "Holo"

Hello everyone! I am totally in love with the nail art that I have to show you today. I realized that I always seem to work with plain backgrounds and usually add the glitzy detail over the top, but decided to work it the other way around for today! I've used all three colours in my other March Tri Polish manis si went with just the blue and purple this time round

I started with a base of Nails Inc Motcomb Street and topped it with Cacee Nails Sapphire Dazzle which is a simply stunning holo glitter topcoat (glitter toppers are allowed!). I then added a freehand painted a floral swirly design (technical term for you right there!) using a blend of China Glaze Spontaneous and Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear before finishing with Seche Vite.

I know I may have cheated slightly with the two purples, but hopefully you'll let me off for this one!

We have our new April colours starting next week - yellow, pink and blue, so there will be some new Tri polish looks popping up as of next week. Here are the colours I have chosen for the next three months:

Don't forget to check out everyone else's fab designs via the Inlinkz below!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Mag 31DC Flowers - Zebra or Roses? Can't decide? Have both!

Hello everyone! Today I have a very quick post for you - Scarlett had her first school dance this evening (she's only 7!) and I have had a procession of 7 year olds wanting nails to match their dresses!

Luckily I had done my nails before they descended, so I have these to show you today. I had also applied my first Flexiglaze treatment (there will be a more detailed post about that over the weekend) and wanted to see how polish went over it. I couldn't decide between a floral or an animal print, so I did both.

I started with a French White base and added zebra print with a striping brush and LA Colors Black Velvet. Once dry, I added in the roses with a dotting tool using Jessica Purple Burst, Nails Inc St. Martin's Lane, LA Colors Edgy, and a little more white. The leaves are LA Colors Mint and Sinful Colors Exotic Green.

So I hope you are all set for an awesome weekend! Sorry for the short post today, but I have plenty coming up over the weekend to make it up to you!

Sam xx

NAILS Mag Day 19 - Outline

Hello everyone! Today's prompt in the NAILS Mag 31DC is Outline. I haven't done many of these manis so far as they tend to be a bit understated and my nail-style is pretty much anything but that. Since working on this design I've some up with some ideas for outline manis that fit my personality a little more, so stay tuned for those, but in the meantime, I couldn't resist adding a little bling to this one too :)

I started with three coats of the stunning Nails Inc King's Road and then painted in the outline with LA Colors Black Velvet (and a very steady hand!). I had already planned to do an accent nail to break it up a bit, but decided to use a rainbow of rhinestones (part of a prize I won from the fab nail art forum Nail Artsy!) for the outline on my ring finger, set into carefully applied glue. A coat of Seche Vite finished the look.

This Nails Inc polish is really something else, a really subtle rose gold foil effect. If I went for subtle polishes I would get through sooooo much of this polish! I do like the outline look, although I always have to resist the urge to turn them into cartoon nails. However, like I said earlier, I have some more of this design style on the way that are a little less subtle all round! :)

A GOT polish challenge and NAILS Mag 31DC combo coming your way tomorrow. The GOT prompt is "Ruffle mani" and NAILS Mag is "A New Technique" - yay for fortuitous timing!

Sam xx

NAILS Mag 31DC March Day 10 - French

Hello everyone! Today's prompt in the 31DC is French. I'm not a big fan of French manis in the traditional sense - well, given how much colours I regularly splash all over my nails, somethig as tame and subtle as a traditional nude French mani was never going to work for me, but I understand that they have their place (and do them regularly for other people!).

Having said that, I felt I needed to do a "me" French, so I Started with several coats of Nails Inc Baker Street (a super striking blue), and painted the tip with LA Colors French White (finally using it for its named purpose lol!). I then painted on large pink circles using LA Colors Absolute, filled those in with more French White, and added more circles with LA Colors Mint. Iadded a few smaller dots using all the colours and then finished with Seche Vite.

I love these colours! So bright and bold - this mani really cheered me up in the middle of a pretty rubbish time all in all. I wish I could keep them on for longer, but tomorrow calls for a Purple themed mani as well as my next Tri Polish challenge design for March, featuring green, blue and purple. Lots of painting to do! :)

Sam xx