Nail Art #46 | Christmas Nails

Well helloooo! I haven't posted in just under a month! And it's because I work in retail, and from November onwards it's work nearly every day so I haven't had a chance to write, or take photos of my nails with good lighting.

I was hoping to be able to have a new post up every week in December, all with different Christmas nail art designs. But that didn't happen...I'm just gonna blame working in retail. It just gets busier and busier the closer it gets to Christmas.

I've used Barry M's Gelly paint in Cotton and Sugar Apple. They're really good quality polishes that are nearly opaque, meaning I can get on with my nail art faster as I don't have to apply more than two layers of polish. I still have blocked nail art pens (still can't find a needle or pin thin enough!) so I've been using brushes to create my designs.

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas!

Lots of love, Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #45 | Dry Brush Nails

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Nail Art #44 | Broken Glass Nails

Hello everyone! This week I've created some broken glass nails! I've seen this look all over Instagram so I had to do my own version.

I'm using holographic tape, cut up into tiny pieces and stuck them on the nails, my only issue is that the tape wouldn't lay flat and would curl up at the ends. I am not sure how to fix that issue so if anyone has any suggestions please comment below! I think the holographic tape would work perfect with or without polish.

The holographic nail polish used is by GOSH cosmetics; it doesn't have a name but it's the only holographic nail polish they sell so it's an easy find.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #43 | Ghostbusters Nails

Who you gonna call?! GHOSTBUSTERS! I'm not a fan of Halloween, I hate horror films and anything scary. I do love a good supernatural film every now and then, and Ghostbusters is an all time classic around this time of year.

I didn't really know what to paint on my nails for Halloween this year. I was torn between Back to the Future and Ghostbusters. I wasn't sure how to execute Back to the Future on my nails, so I went for Ghostbusters and their monsters, as well as the iconic logo, "Who you gonna call?" line, and some laser beams.

It was hard to do these nails with my blocked nail art pens, (still can't unblock them!) I had to use the striper end which was a little tricky to do. I used a mix of striper brushes and dotting tools to create these nails.

What are you up to this Halloween?

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #42 | Pink Camouflage Nails

Hello everyone! How fast is October flying by? I don't know where the times gone but soon all the Christmas markets will be out, the lights and decorations, all of the festive hot chocolates.... It's my favourite time of the year! Anyway, it's still October, and it's Breast Cancer Awareness month.

It's a worldwide campaign, highlighting the importance of breast awareness, education and research. So many brands are on board in creating products for the month, and donating the profits to charity. You should be regularly checking your breasts and surrounding areas for any lumps, But it's not just lumps you should be looking for, CoppaFeel have a list of things to look out for, which you can read here!

I wasn't too sure what I wanted to paint, and I wasn't sure what shade of pink to use, so I thought I'd use them all in a camouflage print and hoped it'd look okay! And I think it does. I used six shades of pinks and they are: Crabtree & Evelyn in Petal Pink, Barry M Gelly Paints in Grapefruit and Pink Punch, Model's Own in Soda Pop Pink and Sophie's Pink, and Nails Inc in Picadilly Circus.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #41 | #GBBO Final Nails

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Nail Art #40 | Chrome Stripe Nails

Hey guys! Today I've created some simple nail art that anyone can do. There are no tools needed for this, all you need is a steady hand and two polishes! You can easily recreate this look using two different colours depending on the look you are going for. I've chosen white (Barry M Jelly polish in Cotton) as the base colour, and a chrome-y colour (Model's Own polish in Champagne). I've opted for these two shades as it's not too bright or garish, so you can wear it to work.

I have a love/hate thing for white nails. They remind me of times in school when girls would paint their nails with Tip-Ex and it was a half done job. I think white nails look perfect on well manicured hands!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #39 | Purple Leopard Nails

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Nail Art #38 | Varsity Nails

Hey everyone! Seeing as everyone is in back to school mode, I thought I'd do these varsity jacket inspired nails. I love varsity jackets and I wish my university had made them but it's not really a thing here. University branded products are more of an American thing. And we don't have cool logos for our universities... At least my university didn't.

This time of year screams Harry Potter, Autumn, cuddling up to the heater, candles... and the lead up to Christmas. I love it.

I'm using Model's Own Betty Blue, and WAH London's nail art striper to create the letters and stripes. Unfortunately the nib on the pen is blocked and I can't unblock it... Soaking it into nail polish remover didn't help either. I've lost the tiny pin from my other nail art pens too... So if you know how to fix this, please help!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #37 | Interstellar Nails

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Nail Art #36 | Holographic Tape Nails

Hey everyone! This week I'm loving holographic nail art! I love the holographic tape trend that's floating around the nail art world. I've been after this holographic tape for ages, and I finally got my hands on it! 

I decided to pair the tape with two glitter polishes, layered on top of each other to create a custom colour. I applied Barry M's Socialite over Fashion Icon to create a light pink purple shade. I love the different shades of glitter there are in the polishes. 

I then cut out squares and rectangles from the tape, and applied it onto the nail while the polish was still drying. I found that this technique works better than applying the tape onto dried polish, as the glue on the tape isn't as strong as I thought it would be.

I applied my favourite top coat, Seche Vite, to seal the design in and add extra gloss.

This will be my last post for a few weeks as I jet off to China! I didn't have time to schedule posts and I won't be writing any while on holiday as I won't be taking my laptop with me. 

Speak to you all soon!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #35 | Flower Decal Nails

Hello everyone! This week I've been playing around with water nail decals! I haven't had much experience with water decals before, but I found these cuties on eBay and bought them for a £1 from China. This is probably where I went wrong...

Though they applied perfectly... they really didn't like the Seche Vite topcoat I used.... I applied the top coat and the decal just fell apart. There was no way of fixing it either, it just smudged and ripped into tiny pieces under the top coat. I should probably just pay more for better quality decals...

The pictures above are without a top coat after redoing them all over again. I really wish I could add a top coat, they'd look so much better! I added a gold glitter outline to make the flowers stand out a little.

Have you had any issues with cheap decals before? Let me know in the comments below!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Review | Revlon's Fast Drying Top Coat

I wanted to try a new top coat as my beloved Seche Vite was going gloopy and I'm slowly running out of it. I looked at many online reviews and some people compared Revlon's Fast Drying Top Coat to Seche Vite. Some said it was better than Seche Vite, so I trusted them and bought myself a bottle from Boots.

Last week I painted 4th of July nails, and decided, stupidly, to try out this new top coat onto the nails. Seche Vite penetrates through all of the layers and doesn't smudge the designs. Revlon's did. I had waited awhile before adding top coat to seal in some stripes on one nail, but it had failed miserably. The white polish began spreading around as I dragged the brush down the nail.

The polish has a very thin consistency, kind of like fast drying drops. But it doesn't even dry fast. I gave the top coat another go on just plain nail polish. After tapping it after a minute or so, it still wasn't dry enough for me to be able to get dressed. After 5 minutes I gave up waiting and put on clothes. Simple tasks like buttoning up a shirt left my nail polish completely destroyed.

The brush itself is slim and doesn't spread, unlike Seche Vite which is the complete opposite. Seche Vite has a thicker brush that fans out for easier coverage. Revlon's thin brush meant I had to go over areas where I thought there was no top coat.

Have you ever fell for really good reviews only to be really disappointed? Let me know in the comments what products I should stay away from!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #34 | 4th July Nails

Hey everyone! This weekend it's America's Independence Day! 4th July is a much loved day for Americans, who love celebrating just about any special occasion. I've never been to America but I'd love to go and see what it's like there. 

I love all the things America has to offer. From great TV series like Breaking Bad, to companies like Netflix who are revolutionising the way we watch programmes. I like the American diners that are slowly making their way over to the UK, like Shake Shack and Five Guys. I love so many American beauty brands that I see on YouTube hauls, I just wish they were sold in our department stores.

I had some issues creating this nail art as my nail art pens had clogged up. I couldn't find a thin enough pin to poke the nib with, so I used a mixture of dotting tools, tooth picks and brushes for this nail art. I did soak the nibs in nail polish remover but it just never seemed to do anything...

I used Rimmel Ruby Red, Ciate's Pool Party and Snow Virgin to create this look.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Swatch #3 | Ciate's Hopscotch

Hello everyone! For today's post, I'm swatching this lovely shade of orange by Ciate, called Hopscotch. Did you guys ever play that in the school playgrounds? I used to love playing it!

It's a deep orange, kind of like the rind of a blood orange.

I am really surprised with the application of this shade. Some Ciate polishes apply quite weak, and often need several coats before the colour is opaque. However, this shade only needed two coats. It's got a really glossy shine, the above photos are my nails without top coat.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #33 | Beach Nails

Hey everyone, this week I decided to do beach themed nails, inspired by Janelle. I've wanted to recreate this look for awhile, but I was trying to figure out how to do the water effect without putting polish into water. I think I've got the hang of it now!

I used three Model's Own polishes and used the good ol' sponge ombre technique to apply it to my nails. I used the cling film technique for the water effect. I used Seche Vite's top coat to seal it all in, before adding the pearls and gems on top. I don't tend to add top coat on top of the gems as it can make gems and stones look matte, which is not very cute!

The polishes I used are Peach Sorbet, Blooboo and Feeling Blue.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #32 | Yayoi Kusama Nails

The first time I heard about this artist, I was living in London and my sister took me to the Tate gallery and got us tickets to see Yayoi's work. It was here where I saw her amazing gallery of work, and the magic of the mirror room, full of shiny discs and lights.

I love how she turns simple polka dots into spectacular pieces of art, "a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing".

Here I'm using Model's Own Coral Reef, and a dotting tool dipped into white polish to create this design.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #31 | Flower Power

Hey everyone! This week's manicure is inspired by Cath Kidston style flower prints. I love that the polishes I chose all work so well together. The pinks and white were used for the flowers and petals, and the two greens were used for the leaves. I used a navy polish to let the flowers stand out.

I used a mix of dotting tools and a tiny nail art brush to create this design. It was so fun and easy to do I think these floral nails will be making a come back every so often.

I used Model's Own in Sophie's Pink, Soda Pop Pink, Edamame & Green Tea; Ciate in Snow Virgin and Nails Inc in Motcomb Street.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #30 | Nude Stripes

I have little inspiration lately as I've been at work a lot more, and when I come home I'm too tired to think about painting cute nail art. This is where basic nail art comes handy. A simple stripe design can instantly transform plain nail polish.

This is a Model's Own polish in Nyla Nude, the perfect nude shade. This polish only needs one coat as it's really opaque. I added some thick white stripes to some of the nails. I love the contrast between the white and nude.

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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Nail Art #29 | Gingham Nails

Hello everyone! The April showers have come really late but hey, rain was expected at some point. We had so much sun so I was literally carrying an umbrella in my bag everyday, expecting it to rain. I love spring, I love patterns, I love pastels, I love everything about the season. I am seriously not going to stop doing spring themed nails any time soon. Even when it's 25 degrees outside, i'll still be thinking of spring themed nails...

I used Model's Own Utopia & Lilac Dreams for the plaid design. These two shades of purple compliment each other so well! I honestly thought one polish would look too dark/too light for the other, but I'm glad I tried it out.

I hope you like it!

Jenny xo - Follow me on: Twitter / Instagram / Bloglovin

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