Alphabet Nail Art Challenge : N for Nautical

It's time for another theme in the Alphabet Nail Art Challenge everyone, and today is (as per the title) "N for Nautical" ! I think that nautical designs such as anchors and navy stripes are pretty popular in the nail art world, as well as just in general with stuff such as jewellery and tattos often being inspired by nautical symbols, so I had a lot of idea for what to do on my nails today ! Here's what I came up with :

I didn't have a very good time trying to take photos of this design with my camera so I've had to resort to using my iPhone for taking today's pictures ! Who'd have thought a mobile phone would get better photos than a normal camera ? ..something's not right there ! Have any of you ever had this problem with certain nail designs ?

I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls which I applied about 3.5 hours before I started doing my nails. I was doing crochet all day so I had the patience to wait for it to dry for a bit ! I dented my thumb though with the white polish so I took that off when I got back and applied China Glaze Man Hunt instead. For the stripes I used CG Man Hunt and OPI The Spy Who Loved Me, I used Barry M Silver Foil for the anchor on my thumb and then placed a stud on each striped nail.

So what do you think of my nautical nails ? I think they're quite minimalist but in a good way, and I really love the anchor on my thumb nail ! The decision to add studs to the striped nails was a last minute one as I just thought it was lacking something ! I suppose I could have done something more complex, but I'm quite happy with what I've done !

I'm off now, so I'll see you all again tomorrow !

Geometric Gradient and my Belated Blogaversary !

Helloooooooo everyone ! So I was meant to write a post yesterday as it was my official first blogaversary, but I ended up getting completely sidetracked and totally forgot until I'd turned my computer off and was laying in bed, but by that time it was gone midnight anyway and no longer my blogaversary.. oh well, I'm here today ! But anyway, I've got a great design that I'm in love with to share with you today !

So these nails were inspired by a design I saw by Chelsea at Get Nailed, which just happened to pop up on my Tumblr feed when I sat down to do my nails on the day before I left home to come to Berlin. I loved the colour combination and just the way it was so simple and minimalistic, yet really eye-catching at the same time !

For this design, the nail varnishes I used were OPI Funkey Dunkey, OPI Planks A Lot and OPI Steady as She Rose, and topped off each nail with a plain silver stud. I think I prefer the lighter purple base, as on my thumb, ring and little fingers to the darker purple, but I also love the way the colours and reversed designs all fit together ! I'll definitely be trying this with different colours soon !

So that's all for today everyone, I still can't believe it's already been a year since I first started posting here, and I'm so glad that I've been able to entertain you all and share my designs with the world for a whole year now ! Here's to another year everyone !

Review : Born Pretty Store - Black Rhinestones

Good evening everyone ! Today I have a very special post for you all, my first ever review ! I was contacted by Born Pretty Store a couple of months ago, and it's taken me a while to get round to finding enough time to do it properly (wouldn't want to do it half-heartedly would I ?), but I finally got the time after I finished the mountains of work I was catching up on from after the Easter holidays ! So behold, my review !

So today I'll be showing you the 1.5mm black resin rhinestones which I used to create an easy studded nail art design that I really really love ! The rhinestones come in a pack of 10,000, so there's plenty to last you ! The bag that they come in is plastified and very sturdy, although once it's open you have to seal it back up with selotape or if not then transfer the contents into a closable container, as there is no reclosable seal on the packet.

For this design, I just layered the rhinestones over two coats of Essie Mint Candy Apple, I wanted to do something simple to show them properly. I really love the size of them, they're not so big that they take up too much space on the nail, and it's nice that they look so small and dainty !

I think I'm going to get quite a lot of use out of these rhinestones, and I can't imagine I'll be running out of them any time soon thanks to the sheer amount that come in the packet ! The only real downside I can think of for these rhinestones is the fact that you can't re-seal the packet, although this is far from insurmountable, so not a real problem with the product !

If you are interested in purchasing these 1.5mm black resin rhinestones, then head on over to Born Pretty Store, they do loads of nail and beauty accessories for really good prices as well as free shipping worldwide. And as if that wasn't enough, if you use the coupon code MQL91, you can get an extra 10% off your order ! Happy days !

NOTD : Melting Lines and Studs

Good evening everybody ! So I finally managed to finish my essay last night (it was due in today, maybe shouldn't have procrastinated so much) and today after handing it in I decided to give myself a lazy day before starting major revision for my exams next week ! So obviously, lazy day means nail painting, and I'm really super happy about the designs I've got to show you all today !

 So whilst trolling the internet for patterns and prints to put away in my nail inspiration folder, I came across a seriously funky illustration by Joe Van Wetering that I knew would look awesome translated into a nail design ! I only did two accent nails though seeing as it took aaaaaaages to do just those, and I can't imagine doing ALL my nails individually with all different colours, maybe when I decide I have more time !

I used LOADS of different colours for just the two accent nails, so I'll try and name as many as I can remember ! I started off with a base of OPI Don't Pretzel my Buttons on all my nails, and then for the accents I used Collection 2000 Spangles, OPI Funkey Dunkey, OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, OPI Berlin There Done That, Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, Barry M Cyan Blue, China Glaze Man Hunt, P2 Hug Me, OPI Planks A Lot, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Dim Sum Plum, OPI Skull and Glossbones, OPI Casino Royale and OPI Mermaids Tears. Okay that's a lot, I think that's pretty much all of them, don't think I've missed any !

And that's it ! I'm off for an early night so that I can get on with my revision tomorrow (ha, that was a pretty good joke, wasn't it ?), hopefully I won't procrastinate as much as I did for the essay, we'll soon find out ! Wish me luck !

Have a great weekend everyone !

NOTD : Chevron Studs

Helloooooo eevrybody ! So I'm back after a hectic weekend of major working, and decided to have a relatively peaceful evening today seeing as I've been working non-stop since Friday night ! I've still got quite a bit to do but nothing that's due for this current week, so I've got a little bit of time to chillax and just watch TV, do my nails and blog !

So  today's design is pretty simple, but I really like it ! I think I'm actually really getting in to the whole stud trend that's going around, I just love the way they look on the nail ! For today's design, I didn't use the glue I normally use to stick the studs down, I just placed them on the relatively tacky base colour and then went over them all with some Seche Vite as I do with every manicure ! Hopefully they'll be far easier to get off than last time, and won't rip off the top layer of my nail !

The one single nail varnish I used in this design is OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! and I really do love it ! Some of you may recall that I used it in the last design I did with studs, but it seems that it's my go-to colour for these types of manis ! To be honest though, it's a really great colour : deep grey but still leaning towards a very dark green when you see it in certain lights, a great Autumn colour !

And that's all for today everyone ! I hope you all like this simple stud manicure, I'll have to think up some more different ways to wear studs in my designs, they're just such a great addition to any colour if I happen to do a swatch of a plain colour or whatever ! Also, what are your methods for sticking stuff onto your nails like studs, rhinestones, fimo, pearls etc ? Do you prefer to use glue or just top coat ?

I'll see you all again soon guys ! Have a great day tomorrow !

NOTD : Gradient Studs

Hello there again everyone ! So I'm back from my weekend away, and I have part of a recycled mani to show you all for today's NOTD ! I don't really wear gradient manicures a lot, so when I got this design stuck in my head it was kind of surprising considering I hardly ever do gradient nails, however I decided to go with the flow and I really like how this design has turned out !

So I decided to recycle the studs I used in my last NOTD from Thursday, first of all because I really really really like them, but also because the nail glue I used on them is so industrial it'll take forever to take them off, so I thought I'd make their usage worthwhile !

For this design (please excuse that highly over-exposed photo, it's too late for me to go and find another one now), the polishes I used were OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine! and then Barry M Gold Foil for the gradient, and the two accent stud nails are the same as the other day, just the OPI base colour with square studs stuck on top. For the gradient I just painted the two colours onto a makeup sponge and then dabbed it on each nail, super simple !

And that's it for today ! I'm off to go and finish some Russian work for tomorrow, I have to say it's been great having some time off from the intensive studying that's required for my course ! Now there's only a few weeks left before Christmas, time really is flying !

See you all tomorrow guys, maybe even with the same studs, who knows ! Have a great day !

NOTD : Leopard and Studs

Well hello there guys ! I've got a super-cool NOTD for you all today which I'm so proud of for some reason, even though they're pretty simple ! As you may know, I mentioned yesterday that I broke a nail whilst swimming (on my right hand, thank god), and so I've chopped down all my nails really quite short (not short short, but shorter than I'm used to). So here goes with my short nails !

So having to deal with the fact that I've now got rather short nails, I went with some trustworthy leopard print, which, in my experience, never fails to look good on tiny nails ! I also decided I haven't used studs in a rather long time, and fancied trying out some square studs for the very first time ! Verdict ? I love them ! I'm thinking I may have to do nails with just studs on in strips on all 10 nails !

For this design I used (once again) polishes from the OPI Germany collection : OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, OPI Berlin There Done That, OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!, and for the detailing on the leopard print I used my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in black. I decided to do the detailing slightly thicker this time, just to see what it would look like, and I really like how it turned out !

And that's it from me for tonight everyone ! I've got a couple of swatch posts for you for tomorrow and Saturday, as I'm going to visit my Grandma this weekend and obviously won't have time to do my nails, let alone blog !

Tune in tomorrow guys, and I'll see you again on Sunday evening !