Caroline Burke | Burkatron

yikes my nails have been so neglected!

I love to give my paws a manicure every week but since I started decorating my new house I've not had much time for pampering! just keeping them from breaking as I'm sanding down floors is an achievement ...having a few hours free to file and paint them is a bit of a treat!

this is quite a quick nail art so thought I'd share it with you guys!

start off with a white base coat, I've used topshop spilled milk polish here... 

take a pink and yellow polish and draw on alternate circles using the brush, space them evenly I have 3-4 circles on each nail. 

once dry take a black nail art pen (mine is from models own and I really recommend theirs) roughly outline around the circles and add a small flick in the center to suggest the petals.

use a dotting tool dab on green polish to add the leaves, seal with topcoat and you're all done!

I did these fairly quickly so I'm sure they would look neater if you try them yourself! 

now all I have to do is try not to chip them whilst I'm decorating... fingers crossed!

caroline x

hello guys! 

today I have some geometric nail art that I've created using some polishes from nailgirls! I also have a little giveaway for you hurrah!

nailgirls kindly asked if I'd like to be their nail art blogger of the month and create a nail art for them, they've also offered some polishes for you guys to win too... (pop down to the end of the post if you want to enter!)

the formula of the polishes is really good, I've always found yellow a difficult polish and this is the best one I've tried to date, the coral formula is fantastic needing practically 1 coat for full coverage (wowza!)

I added some studs and a slick of topcoat to finish off the design!

so onto the fun part the GIVEAWAY!!

we have two nail polishes and a nailgirls top coat up for grabs and the winner gets to choose which colours they receive!

this giveaway is for burkatron followers in the UK only due to new postal restrictions on sending polishes overseas!

simply enter through the rafflecopter box below and follow the entry requirements... good luck ladies!!

I saw a tutorial for these nails in company magazine and just had to try them (thanks for the inspo you wonderful bunch!)

the tutorial is a simple one but if you drink a gallon of tea a day like me I'd recommend you do these before the caffeine shakes kick in! 

(if you want these to be really perfect you can always paint a set of false nails and stick them on once dry!)

start with a blue base coat (I used illamasqua nobel) use a white nail art pen to draw on cloud shapes.

next draw in a white rainbow shape emerging from the cloud.

use yellow, pink and green stripes for  the rainbow and leave to dry.

finish off by outlining it all with a fine brush or black nail art pen!

I did these quite quickly so I'm not 100% happy with them but I love the design, definitely one I'd do for a festival or day out at the seaside! 

have you seen the nail art tutorials in company? tempted to try out any of the others? 

back soon!

caroline x

want to follow my nail art posts? 

check out my bloglovin' | twitter | facebook | pinterest

yikes my iPhone has been snap happy of late, here's a look at some of it's latest adventures.. 

working on some nail art for laura ashley | little pretties seaside charm bracelet | fragrance direct goodies | sunny afternoon in the garden | rosie fox delivery | grazia fashion blog love feature yipeeee! | issue 4 of crafty magazine with my animal head coat hook feature- a brilliant mag for anyone who loves DIY | punktured jewellery bracelets | pink daisy nails

boss jour perfume | holy moly, refinery 29 gave my nails wraps a great review *happy dance* | superdrug nail art supplies for a feature I'm working on | liquid gold- finally mine! | fish & chips after a stressful day! | bright nails courtesty of essie fear & desire | black daisy nails, my go to easy nail art when I'm busy! | flower crown day | my bow nail art tutorial is most pinned in company mag this week hurrah! thank you lovely people of pinterest!!

surprise delivery from scratch, my nails wraps are nearly sold out so grab them before they go! | love cleo antique key bracelet | first bbq of the year, fingers crossed not the last! | button hoarding | new gladiator boots | grazia manicure monday with my great gatsby nails | giving my dry skin some lovin' | laura ashley wallpapers | barry m impulse buys

easy peasy nail art coming up!

I've been playing with some items that I've received from superdrug- one of which happens to be these bourjois manicure toppings. I'm so late to the party on this one (call myself a nail art blogger huh?)

I love painting my nails but not everyone has the time or inclination for fancy pants nail art so this is a great one which takes no skill at all (seriously even my boyfriend could master this one!) 

start off with a base colour, I've was given this lovely peppermint rimmel polish for some recent nail features so I decided to give it a whirl!

I'm not sure why but I barely own ANY rimmel polishes, I have my favourites and I tend to stick with them so poor old rimmel hasn't had a look in for a while now. 

I've seen quite a few glowing reviews on them lately especially these salon pro offerings; now I've tried one I would totally purchase these in future as they're under a fiver and it hasn't chipped once (watch out models own!)

bourjois manicure toppings*

next sprinkle the micro pearls over wet polish (with a piece of paper underneath to catch any excess beads!) if your base coat has dried add a lick more paint before you shake! that's it, easy peasy.

seal with topcoat as these rascals would probably rather explore than stay on your nails without it.

it's a pretty effect, not one I'd want to wear everyday as I find anything that's raised on my nails gets caught in my hair! definitely one for a night out or special occasion for me.

the topping are just shy of £7 which I think is quite reasonable? this manicure barely affected the contents of mine so I think they would last quite long if I'm careful....

I hope you like them! have any of you tried them.. what did you think?

back soon!

caroline x

I painted some simple 1920's inspired nail art that I'd I thought I'd share with you today!

nails inc grosvenor gardens & queen victoria street*

I immediately thought of the great gatsby movie when I opened these polishes! they're quite an opulent pair so I decided an art deco design would be appropriate to show off the jewel tones and rich glitters.

queen victoria street is a beautiful polish, it's also an absolute nightmare to photograph! I've tried three cameras and it always photographs slightly blue, it in fact a stunning emerald green in the flesh! 

I used the second polish grosvenor gardens to fill in the triangles, this glitter polish is a beauty! it's a chunky 3D pink and lilac pastel glitter with smaller green flecks throughout to create texture; it has really good coverage and would look lovely over nude or pale nails this summer.

I finished off by outlining the triangles with my white nail art pen then sealed with topcoat! 

the polishes themselves are great, I've tried quite a few nails inc polishes over the last year and find the colours and formula good across the board. 

the glitter polish is my favourite but it's hard to capture the full spectrum of it's colours here so I'll post some other snaps on instagram of it for you too!

I hope you like them! 

back soon 

caroline x

if you're a neon fan or channelling the 90's vibe these nails may be for you...

inspired by a WAH version I saw on instagram I decided to give them a whirl! I have to say probably best avoid this look if you're off to a wedding but I think they're perfect for casual days... and what the hell, it's good to mix it up a little sometimes! 

here's how I painted mine:

as you can see it's really just a simple technique of dabbing colour and adding a few lines with my  models own nail art pens to suggest running drips.. easy peasy!

don't forget to seal with a good top coat and you're ready to rave....

back soon

caroline x

if you're anything like me you may be partial to pimping out your nails with a little bit of glitter! 

glitter polishes remain my nemesis when it comes to removal ! this type of glitter mani however is a zillion times easier to take off than a full glitter varnish.. hurrah!

I have quite a few glitter top coats but sometimes I like to create my own. I was recently introduced to a new type of glitter called 'flitter' when I was sent some assorted glittler pots by viva la nails (their website is a must see for nail art supplies!)

flitter isnt in many top coats on the market and it's gorgous!! that was all the inspiration I needed to whip up a new glitter combination for my nails! 

the glitters I tried were brilliant! I've used standard glitters before but these are much better due to the assorted sizes and textures! I used a combination of shapes and types on my nails including:

flitter (glitter strips)

neon glitter (really vibrant and a mixture of sizes)

super glitter 

I think this manicure works best with an assortment of types, you can put the glitter into a bottle of clear polish and make a bottle of glitter topcoat but you'll probably find the glitter will begin to discolour and bleed into the varnish! 

I think it's best to apply the glitter straight to wet nails and seal it afterwards! here's how I did mine:

I can't express how excited I am about these colours!

sent from the lovely folk at look fantastic I nearly took down my postman in my eagerness to get my hands on them. I wasn't disappointed when I saw them either; bright rich jewel tones that just scream summer!

so they're are six shades to choose from, I'm not sure I can pick a favourite as I pretty much adore them all! 

belgravia gardens: a lovely nude/mushroom shade for a classic look.

chelsea physic gardens: a beautiful pale pastel blue.

royal botanical gardens: a cool turquoise blue green that would look amazing against tanned skin!

kensington palace gardens: a pretty peach toned classic pink 

primrose hill gardens: a gorgeous hot neon pink (less glossy than the others) perfect for hot summer nights!

hampton court palace gardens: a deep rich glossy orange

here's a little taster of them on (apoligies for leaving out the nude, I ran out of fingers aha)

beautiful aren't they! here's a another half & half view

my only issue is that I want the full size bottles of all of them now haha! this mini's set is brilliant though; perfect for travelling and keeping in your handbag. I'll probably opt for the full size bottles when these run out, it's fun to have a choice of colours to play with until then!

the spring/summer collection is available here! (warning you may not be able to resist!) 

what do you think? I have a feeling you'll love them too..?

caroline x

hello rascals!

today I'd thought I'd share a nail art tutorial with you guys!

I was really excited recently when company magazine asked me to come up with a nail art feature for their weekly edit; once the initial panic over what to paint receded I came up with this tutorial (I have done this once before but I think a few of you may have missed it as it was some time back!) if you're curious you can find out more about the weekly edit here!

you'll need a base colour, a nail art pen/fine brush and an alternate colour for the bows! you don't need to use the same colours as me; this looks good in dozens of colourways! 

so here are the main steps:

so this was one of those crazy experiments, a moment of madness perhaps? I have a feeling these are nail art marmite...but they've really grown on me! 

my brother described them as 'keith haring meets 80's shell suit' ...which put a big smile on my face.

there's a few art influences here from patrick heron to kandinsky but don't fall asleep on me just yet I promise not to bore you with history; the basic idea is really to play around with colour and have a little fun!

I just painted a white base coat and then added dashes of colours over the top. be random, experiment and let the paint do the talking! I added a few zig zags, dots and lines with a black nail art pen and voila.. finished!

hope you like them! 

back soon!

caroline x

the snow has melted, spring is in the air (I just purchased my first bunch of daffodils so it's official!) I feel like  painting daisies is the sensible option ..plus I'm getting bored of darker winter shades!

so if you want to have a little spring fling with your fingers here's the steps to creating your own! it's not hard it just takes a little patience so grab a cup of tea and some cake and check yourself in the DIY nail salon..

what do you think? it's not to difficult when you break it down (plus they look so cute so it's worth the effort!)

hope you like them... back soon!

caroline xx