Grey Chevron

Hey everyone,

Once again, it's been ages since I've posted, I must have lost my mojo! 

 

I did these nails a few weeks ago after a visit to Dunelm Mill where I found a set of 8 pairs of craft scissors which included a chevron pair. As you can imagine.... the excitement was overwhelming!

I started with Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base and then did 2 coats of Sinful Colors - Snow Me White on each nail.

I then added a coat of Seche Vite to make then dry quickly so that I could move on to the next part.

Once they'd dried, I took some tape and made little chevron strips to mask of the bits I wanted to keep white and painted over each nail with Rimmel London - Man Overboard. I did my nails one by one so that I could remove the tape while they were still wet.    

Once I'd finished I did a coat of Seche Vite to make them nice and shiny.

I've switched from Iphone to Samsung Galaxy S4 so please forgive me if this post looks a bit loppy!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Over and out    
Rach x

Pastel patchwork

Hey everyone,

I'll start with an apology as it's been far too long since I last posted. The weather in the UK has been astonishingly good for a change and I've been making the most of it lately! 

So I did these nails a few weeks ago and never got round to posting them. I can't remember what the colours were now so if you want to know what any of them are, please let me know and I'll check out my collection and try and figure it out!

I know that the white, yellow and pink are Sinful Colors and I'm pretty sure the green and lilac are Model's Own Pro.

I started with Sinful Colors - snow me white as a base on each nail then used a coat of Seche Vite to make them dry nice and quickly. 

I applied striping tape to each nail before painting on each colour with a small paintbrush. I find that with this technique, it's not necessary to peel the tape of straight away so I was able to build up the colours to make them opaque.

 

Once I'd peeled all the tape off, I cleaned up with acetone and a small brush and applied Seche Vite to make them nice and shiny. 

I hope you're all enjoying the summer like I am, especially my fellow UK residents as good summers seem to be a bit like the World Cup now.... Once every 4 years! 

Over and out

Rach x 

Marc Jacobs Daisy

Hey everyone,

I decided to create this mani while I was brushing my teeth! Strange I know but my mum's dark blue dressing gown was hanging on the door and there's a bottle of Daisy on the counter top and hey presto! Here's the pic

I started with a base coat and did 2 coats of Rimmel London - Aye Aye Sailor on each nail.

Then I used Sinful Colors - Snow Me White to do the petals of the daisies, and Barry M's gold foil which I don't know the name of to do the centres. (All with a dotting tool).

I let that dry a little then applied a coat of Seche Vite, followed by a coat of Essie - Matte About You (which you'll be seeing more of because I'm obsessed with it).

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think in the comments

Over and out

Rach x

Cath Kidston Inspired

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry It's been so long since I last posted. I've had mega car trouble which started with a busted head gasket, and ended with £700 disappearing from my hard earned savings :(

Put it this way.... I never want to use public transport again my life! 

So here's a mani which was inspired by the beautiful designs of Cath Kidston.

I started with a base, then did 2 coats of Sinful Colors - Easy Going. I then applied a coat of Seche to make it dry nice and quickly. I used striping tape to mask off horizontal lines and did one coat of Sinful Colors - Snow Me White, before peeling back the tape while the polish was still wet. 

I waited for that to dry then freehanded the roses with the following 3 Barry M polishes.....

Strawberry Ice Cream (pale)

SLE 2013 (fluorescent limited edition)

Grapefruit (Gelly) 

And for the leaves I used Barry M Gelly - Key Lime which is from the new summer range.

On my ring finger I used Models Own -Snowflakes which is a stunning flaky glitter but required a bit of placement!

I applied a single coat of Seche Vite, followed by a coat of Essie - Matte About You.

I've got another post lined up for you in a day or 2 which will also include a review of Butter London - Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator

Let me know what you think in the comments

Over and out

Rach x

Cheeky Cutout

Hey everyone!

Well what a rough couple of days I've had! I'm supposed to be on a hen weekend in Liverpool but unfortunately my car gave up on me about 26 miles into my journey so I had to be towed home by the AA. 

It turns out that its the head gasket (my worst fear) and that it'll cost me £450 to fix! Suffice to say that I'm not a happy bunny!

Anyway, here's the nails I did to match a cut out play suit I'd bought for the weekend. I actually sent it back though because it looked like hospital knickers on me (lol)! 

I'm soooooo pleased with these nails, I'd go as far to say that they're in my top 5.

I started with Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base and did 2 coats of Barry M Gelly - Lychee.

Then I used my Barry M nail art pen in white to freehand the lines, and filled them in with Sinful Colors - Snow Me White. 

I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite

What do you think? Let me know in the comments. 

Over and out

Rach x

Heart strings

Hey everyone, 

So I already did this post but apparently it decided not to publish so apologies to anyone that came through my Instagram link! 

This is a recreation of one of my first nail art attempts, way back probably this time last year. Here's the pic....

Scrappy huh? The base would have been Barry M - Matt White and the red would have been Rimmel London - Double Decker Red. It would all have been done with a toothpick because that's all I had back then!

Here's my new pic...

This time around I used Models Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base followed by 2 coats of Sinful Colors - Snow Me White. I think this is going to be my new go to white because it's cheaper, more opaque and bigger than Barry M - Matt White. 

Once that had dried I used my Barry M nail art pen in pink to draw the hearts. 

I used a coat of Seche Vite to add shine. 

So which do you prefer... Old or new? 
 

Let me know in the comments
 

Over and out

Rach x

Drippy nails

Hey everyone,

I've been seeing variations of this mani everywhere and I wanted to have a go so here it is!

I started with a base coat and did 2 coats of Model's Own Pro - Lavender Blue on each nail. (Not entirely sure why it's called Lavender Blue because there's nothing blue about it!)

Once that had dried I took my largest dotting tool and used Barry M Gelly - Plum to do some dots at different levels on each nail, then I used a small brush to create the drips coming off each dot. 

Then I used a small brush to add a little white highlight with acrylic paint to each drip to make them look 3D. 

I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Let me know what you think in the comments, I hope you like them!

Over and out

Rach x

Flower power!

Hey everyone!

So the sun has finally made an appearance here in the UK (better late than never I suppose) and it's a bank holiday too, hooray!

Has everyone been into their local Boots recently and seen all the new goodies?? Sinful Colors, Butter London and Sally Hansen!!

Today I got fully into the swing of springtime and did this...

 

I started with a base coat and then did 2 coats of Sinful Colors - Unicorn (which has stained my nails horribly by the way even with a base!) Such a shame because it's a lovely creamy yellow which is perfect for summer.

Once that had dried I took various sized dotting tools and did little circles of 5 dots using Rimmel London - Tangy Tangerine, then went over the middle of each circle with a dot of Sinful Colors - Folly

I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite and hey presto!

What do you think?

Over and out
Rach x

Pretty In Pink

Hey everyone,

Today I tried out something I've wanted to do for ages... water spotting.

It was trickier than I thought it might be but as with water marbling, it's easy when you get the technique right.

I started with a base coat and painted all my nails with 2 coats of Barry M - Strawberry Ice Cream. Once that had dried I got my trusty water marbling glass out and filled it with tepid water.

I dripped about 3 blobs of Barry M Gelly - Grapefruit onto the surface of the water and waited for it to spread out. Then I took a fan brush, dipped it into pure acetone and flicked it onto the polish in the glass so that it made little holes in it.

I picked out the part that I wanted on my nail and carefully pushed my nail onto the surface of the polish, in the same way that you would if you were water marbling (one nail at a time).

With my nail still submerged, I cleaned the excess polish off the water with a toothpick and then pulled my nail out slowly, and then cleaned up my finger with acetone and a cotton bud.

This is messy so you could tape your finger with sellotape beforehand or use Vaseline to prevent it sticking.

Once I'd finished, I used a coat of Seche Vite to make them dry super quick.

What do you guys think?

I really like how it turned out!

Over and out
Rach x

Pretty Peter Pan

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying the sunshine this week. I've had a lovely week off and wish it didn't have to end :(

Had a little bit of a haul on Tuesday. I bought 2 of the new MUA polishes (Pistachio Ice Cream and All Nude) for £1 each from Superdrug, and I also got 2 Sinful Colors from Boots (Winterberry and Snow Me White) for £1.99 each. Bargain!!

Today I'm going to show you my take on the Peter Pan collar trend that has been around a lot lately.

These were so difficult to photograph, my phone just did not want to pick up clean lines so apologies for the slightly blurry pictures.

 

I started with a base coat and then filled 2 thirds of my nail with MUA - Pistachio Ice Cream. I created the semi circle with a nail art brush and filled it in with the same brush. You could also use hole reinforcers from a stationary shop but I didn't have any.

Once that had dried, I used my new Barry M Nail Art Pen in White to draw on the collar and button detail.

 

I've decided that these pens are very similar to the ink you'd get in a gel pen, they just have a fatter nib.

Once it had all dried, I used a coat of Seche Vite to add shine.

Let me know what you think in the comments below, I hope you like them!

Over and out
Rach x

Nicely Nautical

Hey everyone!

Finally the weather has started to warm up! Hooray!

Today I have something nautically themed to show you and I'm really chuffed with how they turned out...

I started with my base coat (Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener) and did 2 coats of Barry M - Matt White on each nail.

Then I taped off some lines with striping tape and did a single coat of Rimmel London - Aye Aye Sailor, one nail at a time and peeled back the tape while the polish was still wet.

I tidied up the edges of the lines where some blue had seeped under the tape by using a bit of acetone and a small brush and used a coat of Seche Vite to add shine.

Once that had dried, I applied a selection of gems and studs to the corner of each nail with nail glue to add a bit of detail. These were mainly from a wheel that I found in River Island for £3.99.

I'm off work this week so I'm planning another 2 posts for you :)

I hope you like my mani, please leave me a comment below

Over and out
Rach x

Neon Lights Swatch & Review

Hey everyone

Today I'm showing you something that I've been so excited about for the last month, and it finally arrived on my desk at work yesterday. I think I squealed in the office :S

I ordered Lush Lacquer's - Neon Lights about a month ago and waited (prayed) for it's safe arrival. Here's what I got....

 



This picture doesn't do it justice in the slightest, it's literally amazing in real life and applies like a dream! I paid about £12 for it including shipping from the USA which I thought was pretty reasonable.

 

It's a white jelly base which is a really nice consistency and surprisingly opaque (2 coats pictured). It contains lots of different sizes of hex glitter in neon pink, orange, yellow and green which are nice and evenly distributed through the polish.

 

 

I have to say I was surprised at how easy it was to apply because we all know that chunky glitter polishes like this can be a bitch sometimes.

 

Anyway, you can buy this polish here through their etsy store. I also quite fancy getting my hands on "I lost My Marbles" and "Chubby Bubby".

 

Let me know which ones you like by leaving me a comment below.

 

Over and out

Rach x



80's Splatter Mani

Hi everyone,

Today I have some nails to show which turned out nothing like I waned them to but I still like them! They remind me of 80's t-shirts and boy bands. I also chose to show you my right hand because I think they turned out better than my left (Cue awkward hand pose)

It's also a technique which I'd anticipated to be a lot easier that it actually turned out to be.

I started with my base coat and then did 2 coats of Barry M - Black (my go to black, always) and then picked out 3 different colours to use for my splatters. I chose the following...

Barry M - Peach Melba (peachy)
Barry M Gelly - Grapefruit (hot pink)
Barry M - Fuchsia (purply pink)

Once I'd picked them out, I blobbed a bit of each onto a piece of paper and dipped a straw into it to blow through onto my nail. This proved tricky and I ended up thinning each one down to a more watery consistency using acetone.

It took me a good few attempts to get it right and I still think they could be better but I'll revisit them another day.

Once they'd dried, I tidied up the edges (a lot!) with acetone and a brush and coated them with Seche Vite. Then I decided I'd prefer them matte so I used a coat of 17 Nail Xtras - Matte Top Coat.

What do you think?

Please leave a comment in the box below, I love hearing what you think.

Over and out
Rach x

Lemony Lines

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been aaaages since I've posted. I've been so tired lately, I think it's this miserable weather and the fact that I've quit Diet Coke. (This may seem like no big deal but I was drinking 3 litres a day and nothing else!) I've been Diet Coke free for a week and a day now :)

So today I decided to cheer myself up with a nice sunny mani, here it is...

I started with a base coat of Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener, then I did 2 coats of Model's Own Pro - Mellow Yellow on each nail. I used a coat of Seche Vite to make it dry super quick and then started applying striping tape in different width lines. To make the thicker lines I put 2 pieces of tape right up next to each other.

Once I'd applied the tape, I went over it with a single coat of a darker yellow (unknown from a set of mini's from Marks and Spencer) and while it was still wet I peeled back the tape with a pair of tweezers.

I tidied up the edges with a bit of acetone and then topped it all off with another coat of Seche Vite. Unfortunately I got a bit of shrinkage which you can see on my index finger :(

I hope you like today's mani! I bought Nails Inc - Leather Effect in black the other day so I think my next mani with include a bit of leather!

Over and out
Rach x

Loud and proud borders

Hey my lovelies,

So I bought the new Model's Own Neon Ice - Bubblegum and promptly put it in the fridge as instructed. Oddly... Boots thought it was ok to put the display under quite a hot lamp and it was warm when I picked it up, but hey ho, it doesn't seem to have affected it's brightness.

Here's what I did with it...

I used Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base and then did 2 coats of Barry M Gelly - Lychee.

I coated it with Seche Vite and then poured out a little blob of the pink onto a piece of paper.

I did the borders with a smallish striping brush and carefully went round the edges, trying to make sure to keep the lines even and straight.

 

This was so simple to do and I think it's really effective. I couldn't really capture the neon-ness of it on my iPhone camera but trust me, it's pink!

I hope you like today's post, leave me a comment in the box. Please let me know if there are any designs you'd like me to try too.

Hope you all have a fantastic Easter or Passover!!

Over and out
Rach x

Easter Bunnies!

Hey nail art fans and new followers hellooo!

I have been soooo excited to post this mani, I'm obsessed with it!

As it's supposedly springtime (questionable, it's decidedly wintery!) I thought I'd do some lovely childish bunnies on my nails, cos' that's the kind of girl I am.

Here goes...

So, cute right?

I used Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base and did a single coat of Barry M - Matt White on each nail. Then I created my gradient with a make-up sponge using 17 Lasting Fix - Juicy (green) and Catwalk Couture (blue). You may remeber these from yesterday's post! It took a couple of coats to get a nice opaque look and a hell of a lot of clean up afterwards! My cuticles still have a bluey tinge even now.

Once they's dried I used Barry M - Matt White again to draw my bunnies with various dotting tools. Their pink noses and ears are Barry M - Strawberry Ice Cream and their eyes are black acrylic paint.

I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.

I just realised pointer bunny looks like a bit of a beefcake lol.

I've had loads of compliments about these today, everybody loves rabbits obviously.

Keep your eyes peeled for my next mani, I bought Model's Own Neon - Bubblegum today and also a Rimmel London Apocalips lip gloss which I've heard good things about.

Hope you like my little cuties, leave a comment in the box :)

Over and out
Rach x

XOXO Nails

Hello again!

My second post for today is XOXO nails so here's the pic...

Unfortunately, once again the cold weather has taken it's toll on my cuticles :(

I used Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener as my base coat and then did 2 coats of Barry M - Matt White on each nail.

Then I used a cocktail stick to draw on my X's and O's with the following colours...

Thumb: Barry M - Mint Green
Pointer: 17 Lasting Fix - Juicy
Middle: Rimmel London - Sky High
Ring: 17 Lasting Fix - Catwalk Couture
Pinky: Rimmel London - Block Your Green

Finally, I did a coat of Seche Vite to add shine and durability.

Hope you like it, leave a comment in the box.

Over and out
Rach x

Model's Own Pro Bargain Haul Mani!

Morning everyone!

So we have snow again! I am less than impressed with the weather, this time last year people were laying on the UK's beaches catching some sun!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, been a hectic week. I got a promotion at work yay! I noticed I got some new followers over the weekend so welcome to you guys! This will be the first of 2 (maybe 3 if I have time) posts today!

First things first... last post I told you about my bargain Boots find.... Well I went back to buy some more! I bought 4 polishes for £12.80 which is a saving of £19.20!!! I love it when you save more than you spend.

This mani was the result..

I started with my base coat which is Model's Own Pro - Nail Strengthener. Then, from thumb to pinky the colours are... (All Models Own Pro) Yas-Mint, French Pink, Lavender Blue, Mellow Yellow and Barry M - Blue Moon on my pinky.

Then I used Barry M - Matt White and my biggest dotting tool to do the dots. Once they'd dried, I used Seche Vite to make them all nice and shiny.

I hadn't realised at the time but I guess these are kind of Easter themed!

Hope you like them... leave a comment in the box.

Over and out
Rach x

Barry M Gelly Hearts

Hey nail art fans!

Today's mani features 2 of the new Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polishes. I love the consitency and application of these polishes.

I also have a new bargain find I have to rave about.

So I started off with my NEW topcoat which I stumbled upon in Boots. The first thing I spotted when I walked in was the Model's Own Pro stand with "Save" cards all over it. Shock and awe commenced when I realised they were only £3.20 down from £8.00!! I can't believe I only picked up base coat, I'll be re-visiting Boots at some point tomorrow I think :S

So once my base dried, I did 2 coats of Barry M Gelly - Lychee on all of my nails. While they were drying I (carefully) took some easy peel sellotape and used a craft punch to cut out a heart shape from it. I used it as a stencil to paint onto a sandwich bag to make little transfers of the hearts using Barry M Gelly - Grapefruit. I hope that makes sense!

Once they had dried completely I carefully lifted the edges with a pin, picked them up with tweezers and placed them onto my nails. This takes patience and concentration...not for the faint hearted or hot-headed!

Once I had them all placed how I wanted them, I rubbed them gently so they'd stick and outlined each one with a gel pen. The gel pen takes a good few minutes to dry completely..don't be tempted to top coat staight after!

When I felt my gel pen was dry, I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite et voila!

I hope you like them, please leave a comment in the box below

Over and out
Rach x

Studded Galaxy Nails

Hey everyone!

Hope you are all happy and well!

Today's mani is kind of a redo of my last galaxy nails but with slightly different colours and a little something extra

I started with my base coat, then applied 2 coats of Barry M - Black  to all my nails. Once that dried I used a make up sponge to dab on 3 colours in a random pattern. The first was ASDA's Own - Lilac, the second was Barry M - Peach Melba, and the third was Barry M Gelly - Grapefruit.

Over the top of that I used Barry M - Diamond glitter to give my little galaxies some depth, and finally I added some white dots with acrylic paint.

For my ring finger, I added some small square studs from River Island, and coated the whole thing with Seche Vite.

I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Over and out
Rach x

Heart Pop Art

Good evening nail art fans

Hope you've had a happy Wednesday! I started out with noooo inspiration for what I was going to do all I had was a colour. I haven't used orange for a while and it was calling me from the shelf so I decided to use it, and there's no colour that goes better with orange than pink!

Here's what I came up with...

I used Save the Nail - Bridge the Ridge as my base and painted 2 coats of George (Asda) - Sunset Orange on all but my ring finger which is Barry M Gelly - Grapefruit.

Then I went in with some white acrylic paint and a dotting tool to do 2 circles close together, joined into a heart shape with a small nail art brush. I placed the hearts randomly on each nail. Once the hearts had dried I used a gel pen to carefully outline them.

Then I used a smaller dotting tool to do little white dots (Barry M - Matt White) to fill in all the gaps.

Once it was all dry, I used Seche Vite to give it all a glossy shine :)

I hope you like them!

Over and out
Rach x

Missoni Mani

Hey everyone!

2 posts in one night you lucky things. Here's my latest mani and probably the one I'm most proud of to date. It reminds me of the designer Missoni. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take pictures straight after I did them hence a little bit of wear one the tips :(

I started of course with my base coat which is Save the nail - Bridge the ridge, then did 2 coats of Barry M - Matt White on each nail.

Once that dried, I used 3 colours and my tiny brush to do my chevrons. The lightest pink is Barry M - Strawberry Ice Cream, medium is Barry M - Fuchsia, and the darkest is Barry M - Raspberry.

Once my chevrons had dried, I used a gel pen to outline them (it's a pilot one from paperchase). I've never attempted gel pen before but after seeing some designs by Alice over at One Nail To Rule Them All (amazing btw) I knew I had to give it a go, and I was so impressed with how well it worked!

 

These actually ended up taking almost 4 hours, I was so ready to take a picture of my left hand them give up and do something easier but I persevered and the result is worth it. I've had soooo many compliments!

 

I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite and hey presto!

 

I hope you like them!

 

Over and out

Rach x

Striping Tape Mani

Hey my little lovelies!

Better late than never here's the post I promised for some time last week!!

I started with my base coat (Save the nail - bridge the ridge) and then painted all my nails with 2 coats of Rimmel London - Caramel Cupcake. I then did a single coat of Seche Vite and waited for it to dry completely before applying the tape.

It took literally ages to put the tape on and line it up perfectly!!

Once I'd got my tape in position, I went over the top with a single but even coat of 17 - Tigers Eye and immediately peeled off the tape with a pair of tweezers.

I then tidied up any messy bits with a tiny brush and a bit of acetone, and went over the whole thing with a coat of Seche Vite.

Tadaaaaaaaaaa, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Over and our
Rach x

Colour Block Mani

Hey guys!!

I hope you're all having fabulous weekends! I can't believe its Monday again tomorrow, it feels like i've blinked and the weekend is gone :(

So today's mani is something that i've been struggling to get right for a looooong time.... you got it.. striping tape! But I think i've finally nailed it so here are the results...

 

I started with a base coat of Save the nail - Bridge the ridge and then did 2 coats of O.P.I - Skull and Glossbones on every nail. And heres the important bit... I coated them all with a single, thin coat of Seche Vite.

The problem that i've been having is that when I peel back the tape, it's been ripping up my base coat which was soooo frustrating. The Seche Vite means that they're completely dry.

So once my Seche Vite dried I taped off sections with my striping tape and filled them with my medium grey which is Rimmel London - Grey Matter, and my darker grey which is Rimmel London - Man Overboard.

 

I peeled the tape off while my accent colours were still wet and almost jumped for joy when I ended up with nice clean lines and an intact base colour. Now that i've perfected this art I think you'll be seeing more tape usage on my blog!

This week I also decided to clean out an old polish bottle and fill in with olive oil so that I can treat my cuticles on the go. I've been using it for 2 days now and i've seen sooooooooooooooooooooooo (yes really) much improvement in the condition of my cuticles.

I was almost at my wits end over what to do with them, it's been driving me insane but this has given me hope!

Anyway, I  hope you liked my mani, please let me know what you think in the comments below

Over and out
Rach x

Mario Clouds!

Hey nail art fans!

I'm ashamed at how long it's been since my last post :/ Sowwy!

I have no excuses, pure laziness! It has however given my nails a nice break. but I'm back now and I've got some super cute nails to show you all...

 

I'm so in love with this mani I can't even tell you!

 

I started with my base coat which is Save the nail - bridge the ridge and then did 3 coats of Barry M Textured Nail Effect - Atlantic Road which by the way I am obsessed with!

 

My lovely boyfriend got me all four of them for valentines day, he's a gem!

 

 

 

So once that dried....it took a while...... I used my biggest dotting tool to paint little cartoon clouds all over them with Barry M - Matt White

 

I haven't used a top coat because I'm not sure what it'll do to the texture but I'm toying with the idea of matte...hmmmmm!

 

Anyway, I hope you like my mani today, please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear what you think.

 

Over and out

Rach x