Monday 31 October 2011

Happy Halloween!

This will actually be my third Halloween manicure, which is pretty good going for someone who doesn't really care either way for the holiday.

My first was well over a month ago, and it wasn't intended to be Halloween inspired, the colours just happened to come out that way.

The second, I attempted at the weekend, and it was a disaster. The colours were great and the concept was cute, it just did not work out at all. So, I thought I'd try again today.


I used a lime green from Claire's Accessories (it really annoys me that they don't have names), a Model's Own nail art pen in black and a cheap white nail polish. And here's what I came up with:



I originally intended for it to be a take on Frankenstein's monster, but I think he ended up looking more like a ghoul or zombie. Either way, I actually really like this manicure. It's the first time I've used the nail art pen, I've only ever used a dotting tool to do really basic designs before, so I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Have you done a special manicure for Halloween?


Wednesday 26 October 2011

First attempt at a tape manicure



It’s by no means perfect, but not bad for a first try. IIf nothing else, I certainly worked out what I need to do differently when I try it again.
Next time I’ll definitely have a colour for the base coat, rather than a neutral.
Used:
Boots Natural Collection - Peach Manicure
Accessorize - Goddess
Claire’s sparkly top coat
Sally Hansen Double Duty top coat

Sunday 23 October 2011

Note to self: Impatience ruins cute nails




I wanted something quite neutral but fun at the same time, so I decided to use Barry M's black and Peach Melba to create dots of opposing colours on each hand, then added a matte top coat.

I would have really loved this manicure if I'd have had more patience. I didn't let the dots dry completely before applying the top coat, and some of them streaked a bit.

17 - Fury & Barry M - Black




In the bottle, Fury looks like it could be a cheap dupe for Chanel’s Peridot. In reality, it’s a much richer gold with no hint of green.
It’s a beautiful colour, but a terrible, thick formulation which I found gathered at the end of my nails. So I got a dotting tool and painted a row of dots along the edge.
It didn’t turn out like I’d hoped. Mainly because for reasons unknown, I was shaking like a leaf. But it’s a half decent manicure that I’ll probably keep on for a few days.


Edit:


I took this photo the following day, and as you can see, it has this weird grainy finish that I’ve never seen before. I emailed Boots, who make 17 products, and they assured me this isn’t a problem in general, I must have been unlucky enough to pick up a dud bottle.
Has anyone else had, or heard of this problem?