Posts about: nail art tutorial
30/06/2015
this nail art is perfect for disguising chipped nails! when my polish starts to wear at the tips I reach for some tape and do a simple colour block design to hide any damage...
16/01/2014
when it comes to nail care I'm a little bit of a geek.
I try to take good care of my mitts so I put aside a hour or so each week to indulge in a pampering session (yep it gets pretty darn girlie up in here..)
I had some new products to try from fragrance direct including this cute cowshed manicure set so I was looking forward to putting this through it's paces.
- first up file your nails and get rid of any sharp edges.
- you'll need to soak your nails next, add a few drops of the cowshed manicure oil to the warm water and dip your hands in for a few minutes.
- dry off your hands, apply the cuticle oil and leave to soak in. take the orange stick and gently push back your cuticles (if you have cuticle scissors now is the perfect time to trim them but don't go overboard and chop off half a finger, those scissors have a mind of their own sometimes)
- apply a liberal amount of hand cream and pop your hands into the moisturising gloves (ideally overnight) but an hour or two will do the trick.
- follow up with nail strengthener and polish if required!
I also doused my hands in this burts bees beeswax and banana hand cream, this stuff smells AMAZING. I've used quite a few burts bees hand products including their cuticle balm but this hand cream has topped them all as it's so scrumptious, seriously I could eat it. it's thick, creamy and perfect for overnight soaking! delicious aroma aside it leaves my hands nice and soft (currently residing on my bedside table so I can pop it on before I hit the pillow)
the cowshed set includes the cow pat hand cream, cuticle oil, orange stick, nail file and most excitingly a pair of white moisturising gloves (yep, I've wanted some of these bad boys for AGES!)
the cuticle oil is really good, as it the hand cream which is very quickly absorbed (I hate greasy feeling hands so this is a huge plus for me) I really recommend this set especially if you don't have many nail care products as it has all the basics you'll need for a quality pampering session and my hands felt princess smooth afterwards.
I love the moisturising gloves but I have been warned by the boy that if I sport them to bed I will be forcibly removed and forced to sleep on the sofa (I'm going to have to resort to sneaky late night moisturising tactics..)
it's compulsory to finish off any manicure session with a large helping of hot chocolate, lashings of cream and a sprinkle of marshmallows.
because all that urmmm calcium is good for your nails right??
caroline x
24/07/2013
my inner child loves fruity fingers so I decided to paint some strawberry nails at the weekend!
I thought I'd share the tutorial with you as it's quite easy and a fun option for summer (I hope you'll try them too!)
start off with a red base coat, I've used my go-to va va voom red, the gorgeous models own red alert, this polish has a great formula and only requires 1-2 coats (if you're looking for a classic red this is the one!)
once dry you'll need to paint on the strawberry leaves, I've just used the corner of nail polish brush but you can also use a nail art pen/brush to do this.
lastly you'll need to add some white dots to suggest the strawberry seed pattern! I used my white models own nail art pen but you can use a small dotting tool! slightly drag down the circles of white polish so the shape becomes more like a teardrop.
seal with polish and you're good to go!
I hope you like them!
back soon
caroline x
06/07/2013
wowza it's been a while since I first painted this nail art... an oldie but a goodie!
I figured that some of you wouldn't have seen these (I first painted them just over a year ago here) I never posted a full tutorial and I wanted to show you how I did them!
I've used one of my all time favourite colours models own beth's blue as the base. the formula of this colour is crazy good- I'm wearing just one coat in the photos below.
so here's the steps I've used! first start off with the base colour and leave to dry
next use a white nail art pen to draw a white circle, dab small dots around the edges to create these 'cloud' shapes above.
next use a dotting tool to add a small dot of a light and dark pink to suggest flowers, then dot on greens to suggest leaves.
finish off the design by adding tiny white dots in a circle shape around each flower centerpiece (it's important to space out your design so you have enough room to do this!)
seal with topcoat and enjoy....
I hope you like them! back soon!
caroline x
10/03/2013
hello OTT nails!
forgive me. sometimes I just can't resist sticking on some shiny bling.. call it magpie syndrome! I felt like trying a darker colour with some stones as I usually opt for pastels and ice cream colours!
a lot of people ask me where I get my decorations from; the truth is I pick them up randomly when I see them on these eBay and amazon shops! a few pound here and there and all of a sudden you have yourself a sparkly collection just asking to be played with!
once I've painted my nails I get my stones out ready and apply a coat on cleat polish to one nail and attach the stones into the wet surface (top tip; pop a tiny piece of blue-tac onto the end of a cocktail stick to pick up the tiny stones) repeat one finger at a time and seal everything with at least 2 coats of top coat to seal!
there's a million and one ways to use these stones so this is just an idea for you guys!
hope you like them!
caroline x
10/01/2013
I've been having a pre spring love affair with pastels but today I decided to va va voom my nails with a bright splash of colour!
firstly can I say it's godammn hard to find a primary yellow nail polish! after raiding a few shops I finally found a maybelline yellow that was a close match to what I wanted, I'm not crazy about the formula it took 4 coats for full coverage but beggars can't be choosers!
once I had the yellow base I dabbed on red alert and feeling blue from models own and drew on the rough outline with my black nail art pen to finish.
this is quite a simple nail art and doesn't have to be perfect (especially on your tricky other hand aha!) plus it's a favourite of mine as there's so many variations depending on the colours you pick (this one is definitely my andy warhol inspired choice!)
ps. don't forget to seal your efforts with a good top coat but be gentle with your strokes or you'll risk blurring the pattern.. grrrrr!
anyhow I hope you like them, I'll be back with another nail art next week!
back soon kitty kats
caroline x
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