.Miu Miu Inspired Swallow Print Nails.

At the weekend i picked up a bottle of Model’s Own Utopia as a nice light summery colour and i absolutely love it all on it’s own. But when my new swallow water decals turned up i knew this manicure had to happen asap!

I’d never used water decals before but they look great and are really easy to apply. Just cut them to size, dip them in water for 15secs and press onto your nails. Add a few 3D pearls and you’ve got a really simple but beautiful manicure in less than an hour - i’ll definitely be investing in more water decals for the future, they’re great fun! And as for Utopia, everyone needs to go out and buy this colour now, it’s just beautiful.

Have you used water decals before? Who sells the best designs?

Tweet me @xameliax #miumiunails

xax

.Blue & Gold Leopard Print Manicure.

So the other week i swatched one of my favourite colours from Essie’s Summer Collection - Bikini So Teeny* but in my excitement to try it out i didn’t get chance to do a lot with it. So today i sat down and incorporated it into one of my proper manicures and came up with this! I just love these colours together and the little gold studs are just so versatile, they’re great!

Polish: Barry M Gold Foil, Essie Bikini So Teeny*, a black nail art pen and some little gold studs* from the Born Pretty Store!

Don’t forget to take a look at my new etsy store, i can paint you a set of these in no time to wear whenever you like - just request a custom item down the left hand side!

Have you tried hand painting leopard spots yet?

xax

.Gold Grass stud Gradients.

 

Tonight is date night and i’m wearing this gorgeous dress* that Madam Rage sent me (outfit post to follow!). So i figured this was a good opportunity to paint my nails to match.

I really wanted to try out this grass design on Bundle Monster’s new plate 312* and these new larger gold studs* that Born Pretty Store sent through. So i mixed them up with the smaller ones from my Vintage Iced Frappe Manicure a few weeks back to create a stud gradient on my accent nail.

Polish: Essie Master Plan, Essie Matte About You, Barry M Gold Foil & N07 I’m Exquisite.

You can grab a bag of these studs at Born Pretty Store HERE and HERE! Don’t forget to use the code AMYJ61 for 7% off your order!

Have you tried Bundle Monster’s new plates yet? What do you think?

xax

.Burgundy Velvet Manicure.

I went to a wedding this weekend and brought some gorgeous burgundy wedges to wear so of course my nails had to match! Goldleaf sent through a packet of their Burgundy Flocking Powder* and Burgundy Glitter Flocking Powder* the other week so i figured this was the perfect opportunity to give them both a go!

I used my tea strainer technique to apply these again and it worked really well even with the glitter - they’re just so fuzzy! I’m loving the glitter in my two accent nails, it just sparkles through beautifully and adds a bit more to the manicure. I used a coat of Rimmel Black Cherries underneath and it was a pretty good match so any wear at the edges didn’t show up too badly.

You can grab a bag of this beautiful flocking powder from Goldleaf HERE for just £1.99 - keep an eye out for that glitter flock coming soon!

Have you tried the flocking craze yet?

xax

.Essie Summer Collection - Fear or Desire.

Fear or Desire* is my second favourite colour in Essie’s Summer Collection. This colour is a beautiful strong bright orange perfect for summer 2012’s colour palette and would look gorgeous next to holiday tanned skin. It covers in two coats well and like all Essie Polishes i’ve tried it dries quite quickly too - perfect for slapping on before a lazy summer BBQ or for an evening around the pool bar!

Here i’ve teamed it up with some funky Square Gold Studs* from Born Pretty Store turned sideways to make little diamonds down the centre of my accent nails and a gorgeous pattern from Bundle Monster’s 315 plate* from their new collection on my others! Again Barry M’s Gold polish is fantastic for stamping and transfers really well!

You can pick up a bottle of this amazing summer colour from John & Ginger HERE!

If you like this design don’t forget to visit my Etsy Shop - Pretty Little Nails! If you can’t see a design you want just drop me a message and i can make you your very own custom set however you like and file them to fit too!

What are your thoughts on this Summer’s brights?

xax

.Essie Off The Shoulder | Swatch.

 

This is another colour from Essie’s lovely Summer Collection - a bright hot pink called Off The Shoulder*. I like to think of it as a Barbie pink (in a good way) and i think it goes really well with a pale skin tone but could also be a fantastic colour for tanned skin round the pool. I wasn’t a huge fan of bright nail colours until i tried this and Essie’s Fear or Desire* but now i’m hooked and i think i could go even brighter - have you seen Essie’s new Poppy Razzi Collection?! Camera and Action are just Amazing!

The first picture here shows just how smooth these polishes dry, they’re great. With a layer of Seche Vite they look just like a gel manicure, and they last almost as long too. I’ve jazzed it up with a simple pattern from plate 314 in Bundle Monster’s new 2012 plate collection* using Maybelline’s Golden Brown - a great colour for stamping with!

You can pick up this gorgeous bright summer colour along with the rest of Essie’s Summer Collection from John & Ginger HERE!

What do you think of Essie’s Summer brights?

xax
(I always seem to break my middle finger nail first so apologies for this slightly uneven mani…i need to be more careful with my hands!)

.Essie Summer Collection - Bikini So Teeny Swatch.

 

The lovely John & Ginger sent me a mini selection of Essie’s beautiful Summer Collection* last week and with the amazing weather we’ve been having i couldn’t wait to try them out!

This is the first colour i pulled out of the box called ‘Bikini So Teeny’* and it’s a gorgeous pastel blue. It’s almost got a slight lavender tint to it making it different to any pale blues i’ve got in my nail box. It’s on my fingers and my toes at the moment, i’m loving it!

I’ve jazzed up this swatch with a little stamp from Bundle Monster’s New 2012 Plate Collection*  that also fell through my letter box last week! There’s so many wonderful new designs i didn’t know where to start, but i picked out this cute little Hawaiian design over this colour because it reminds me of a Billabong bikini i used to own! I stamped using Konad’s Special Polish in White* and the design is from plate number 318. I’ve got three other gorgeous colours to show you, so keep your eyes peeled for those!

Have you tried any of Essie’s Summer Collection yet?

xax

.Adorable Owl Flocked Nails.

How cute is this manicure…look at the biddy owl sat right there on my ring finger surrounded by all that fluffyness! *squee*
This was inspired by the gorgeous salmon coloured flocking powder Goldleaf sent through and a little owl cushion i saw in a shop window the other day, i just couldn’t resist! I’ve also discovered a great new way to apply flocking powder from a bag using a tea strainer. Simply by sieving the powder through the strainer over your nails and gently pressing it in you get a lovely even spread and a super fuzzy finish - great stuff!

Polish: Ciate Sugared Almonds*, OPI Fluffy Bunny & Barry M Gold Foil.

If you haven’t tried flocking powder yet you need to have a go, it’s great fun and not as hard as you might think. You can grab a bag of your favourite colour from Goldleaf HERE for just £1.99 and free delivery!

What do you think of flocked nails?

xax

Introducing my Etsy shop - Pretty Little Nails!

You can now buy my nail art designs on easy to use press-on nails - how fun! If you’ve seen a design you like you can request a custom set, or you can simply buy a pre-made set straight away. No two sets will ever be the same as i hand paint each one so they’re a perfect little treat for your nails.

There’s a few pre-painted sets on there at the moment, but please feel free to message me if you’d like something different made - if you’re having a custom set and send me measurements I can ‘file to fit’ before I paint for a unique fit to your nails. I ship worldwide too so everyone can join in the nail art fun!

VISIT MY NEW SHOP HERE!

xax

.Sugared Almonds with Negative Space.

 

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at ‘Negative Space’ nails for a while now but not really thought about it when painting my nails and as a result it’s taken me quite a long time to paint some (or rather not paint some) into my manicures. So when i was swatching Ciaté’s gorgeous Sugared Almonds* colour i decided to give them a little twist!

Let’s talk about this polish first of all. It’s the third of three i’ve tried recently and i think it’s one of my favourites (i’m really torn between this and Iced Frappe!). It’s a really pretty pastel peach colour perfect for summer…if we ever have one. Just like the others it dries so quickly and covers really well in just two coats, i’m a huge fan of their polishes.

Polish: Ciaté Sugared Almonds* & Barry M Gold Foil.

How to: I created this by painting my whole nail and then ‘drawing’ the hearts with a cotton bud dipped in polish remover. The side of the head was perfect to press on the nail at the base and push up in two directions to create the top part of the heart! The rest of the nails an the outside of the hearts are lined with gold polish using a striping brush.

You can pick up a bottle of this beautiful summer colour from Ciaté right HERE for just £9!

Have you tried negative space nails yet?

xax

.Cute as a Button Candy Floss Nails.

How adorable is my ring finger…IT’S SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE!!! It’s called ‘flocking’ a new nail art technique that leaves your nails looking and feeling super soft and fluffy and i love it! This pinky colour was sent over by the wonderful Goldleaf and as soon as i saw it i thought ‘Candy Floss’! I also picked up these cute little buttons at a craft store and decided to combine the two with this manicure.

Flocking your nails is similar to caviar beads, simply paint a layer of polish and wait for it to dry. Then paint another coat and either sprinkle the powder over your nail or place some on paper and roll your wet nail into it - easy peasy! If they look a little patchy just roll or sprinkle extra powder into your bald patches. They should last a few days and will dry nicely if you get them wet in the shower. I just glued my button on with nail glue - just make sure your polish is completely dry first!

Polish: Barry M Strawberry Ice-cream, Natural Collection White.

You’ll be able to buy this flocking powder from Goldleaf very soon so hold tight!

What do you think of nail flocking will you give it a go?

xax

.Apples & Custard Nails.

The next colour from Ciaté is a beautiful green shade called Apples & Custard*. The name itself inspired this manicure, plus i wanted to use my new striping tape some more!

I love the colour of this polish and the picture reflects it’s true tone well. It’s not a mint but it’s still pastel and perfect for this time of year and autumn too. It goes on really nicely and dries super fast just like the Iced Frappe shade i played with last week. I’m finding the wear of these polishes to be pretty good too, especially because i’m a bit rough on my hands and don’t tend to think before plunging them into my bag or washing up! Highly recommended polish indeed.

Polish: Ciaté Apples & Custard* and Model’s Own Lemon Meringue. The Gold Studs* i used are from Born Pretty Store.

You can grab yourself a bottle of Apples & Custard from Ciaté HERE for just £9!

What’s your favourite shade of green polish at the moment?
 
xax

.Bridal Manicure with Clear Caviar.

I was asked to create a Bridal manicure by the lovely Goldleaf using their Clear Caviar Beads* and this is what i came up with! I decided on something simple using the beads on the all important wedding accent nail and a floral pattern on the rest. Keeping to a white, gold and silver colour scheme to compliment any blushing bride.

Polish: Natural Collection White, Barry M Gold Foil. Bundle Monster Plates 221 & 225, silver glitter from ebay and Clear Caviar Beads* from Goldleaf / The Glitter Shop.

You can get your mitts on a bag of Clear Caviar Beads for just £1.99 HERE!

I can’t wait to try these beads over different colours and see what they look like, i think they’re going to be the most versatile beads yet!

Any brides to be out there looking for some wedding nail inspiration?

xax

.Monochrome Stripe.

When i saw this manicure from Sophie at My Awesome Beauty i knew i had to give it a go. So i ordered myself some striping tape and got painting!

I haven’t really done Sophie’s design justice here but it was my first time using striping tape and i found it a little tricky! I used the tape to first mark out the sections and help paint the polish where it’s supposed to be. Then when they were all painted i peeled off the first set of tape and stuck new lines over the top to clean them all up. All that’s left to do is trim the edges of the tape and seal with a topcoat.

Polish: Barry M Black, Essie Master Plan and OPI Funny Bunny. Striping tape brought off ebay.
I can’t wait to have a proper play around with this tape and see what i can do, i have a load of colours to try out and a few ideas!

Have you tried striping tape nails yet?

xax

.Vintage Iced Frappe.

The wonderful Ciaté sent me a selection of gorgeous pastel colours to try out the other day i just couldn’t wait to get painting. I think this is my favourite manicure yet, it’s so subtle and pretty but quite detailed when you look up close. 

This manicure uses Ciaté’s Iced Frappe* which is a lovely pastel purple colour with a slight greige tint. It’s actually a perfect match for Bon Bon which Marie Claire are giving away for free this month. It goes on really nicely and is completely opaque in two coats - it’s a super fast dryer too, i love it. On a side note…how adorable are their bottles?! I also got to use my new Essie Matte About You mattifying topcoat which gives a beautiful effect especially with a shimmer colour stamped on top like this one. These are the little gold studs* that BornPrettyStore sent a while back, they only took two weeks to arrive - which coming from across the world and free delivery really isn’t that bad at all. I went for the 1.5mm studs because i think they’ll be the easiest to style and i wasn’t wrong, they sink into the polish perfectly and are really secure…great stuff!

How To: Paint your nails with the base colour and cover all but your ring finger with matte topcoat. Stamp your design onto all of your nails apart fromt he accent and then using clear polish sink your studs into your nail fromt he cuticle up using a dotting tool. Finish with a top coat on your ring finger and you're done! Remember not to topcoat the rest of your nails as you will use the matte effect!!

Polish: Ciaté Iced Frappe*, Essie Matte About You, Maybelline Golden Brown, Bundle Monster Plate 225 and 1.5mm Gold Studs* from BornPrettyStore.

You can grab yourself some adorable little nail studs with 7% off from BornPrettyStore by using the discount code: AMYJ61 at the checkout! You can also pick up this beautiful nail polish colour straight from Ciaté HERE!

What do you think about mixed matte polish manicures?

xax

.Wicked Inspired Nails.

After watching Wicked in London the other week i’ve had the soundtrack looping in my car so i can re-live the magic and sing along like a crazy lady wherever i go! So when Goldleaf sent me these awesome green studs this week a musical shaped light bulb went on above my head and i created this Wicked inspired nail art! It also gave me the chance to use my Black Caviar Beads that have been sitting in my nail box for a while now and i have to say, i love them even more than the gold. The glitters were both sprinkled over black polish and the studs/gems were pressed into a topcoat of clear. Same as before, sprinkle your caviar beads over a still wet second layer of polish and gently press to set - easy peasy!


Polish: Barry M Black Polish, Green & Black Glitter and Green Gems from ebay. My Black Caviar Beads* and the Green Metal Studs*(coming soon) were both from Goldleaf Craft Supplies AKA The Glitter Shop!

You’ll need to keep your eyes peeled for the studs on Goldleaf’s store as they’re not up for sale just yet, but you can get your hands on all kinds of Caviar Beads for just £1.99 a bag right now HERE!!!

I’m absolutely loving stud manicures at the moment - have you tried them yet?

xax

.Turkish Delight Rivet Manicure.

 

Just a quick design for you tonight - This is the third beautiful colour that Model’s Own sent me the other week: Turkish Delight* (you can see the other two HERE and HERE).

It’s a loooovely magenta purple colour, probably more suited to autumn but with the weather we’ve been having recently i decided to give it a go now! This is what it looks like with two coats, and in usual Model’s Own form it covers well and gives a nice even finish.

The rivets are Black Caviar Beads* placed on top of a layer of clear polish as are the Square Sequins*. Both of these were in my package sent from The Glitter Shop /Goldleaf Craft Supplies a few weeks back and i’ve been waiting to try them out ever since they flopped through the letter box! It’s my first time trying out rivets so they’re not overly even, and i went a bit crazy with the seche vite to keep them on for longer than a day but they’re ok!

 

Don’t forget that Model’s Own Polishes are only £5 a bottle and you can pick yours up from Boots , Superdrug or on their website HERE!

Have you tried any of Model’s Own Pro Polishes yet?

xax

.Rainy Day Nails.

.A Tribute to Our Lovely British Summer.


Rain rain go away!!!

How To:  Paint your nails with two coate of grey apart from your ring finger which you need to paint with a lighter colour. To paint the clouds use your brush and the base colour of your other nails to draw three strokes down the tip of your nail. Wait for those to dry and do the same with your black. Set the gems into a layer of clear polish and cover with a coat too!

Polish: Barry M Grey and Black and Essie’s Master Plan. Assorted blue gems from ebay!

Is it raining where you are?

xax

.Model's Own Nyla Nude Swatch.

This is the first of three colours Model's Own sent me called Nyla Nude* and it’s a gorgeous orangey nude, perfect for summer. On their website it does look a little more beige (i struggled to find the swatch at first!) but this photo is a good representation of the final colour. Like other Model’s Own polishes i’ve tried this colour goes on really well as it’s quite thick - two coats is more than enough to get an opaque finish. It self-levels well too so don’t be concerned if it looks a bit streaky at first because it will dry to a smooth finish.

I’ve painted it with Essie’s Mint Candy Apple Green and Master Plan on the accent nail and i think it goes really well, such a lovely summery effect! This manicure also has a top coat of Seche Vite to finish it off.

What's your favourite nude?

xax

.Galaxy Nails.

Finally got round to creating some galaxy nails and they were a lot easier than i thought they would be!

Polish: Barry M Black, No7 Sing the Blues & I’m Exquisite, Model’s Own Golden Rage, Rimmel London Trend Spotting, Natural Collection White and Seche Vite Topcoat.

How to post to follow!

xax