NOTD : Nebula Nails

Hey there everyone ! So it's the end of exams today and time for the inter-semester break, which apparently means for pretty much everyone here expect for me, a wild night of partying. As for me, I've been chilling all day, watching films and doing my nails, and plan on going to bed at a reasonable time (whether I'll be allowed to stay asleep or not during the night is at present unknown). So I've got a great design for you all today which I'm really proud of, and I hope that you like it too !

Yeah ! I've done galaxy nails again, happy times ! I've been wanting to try doing a new galaxy design ever since I got Butter London Royal Navy, but haven't really got around to doing it until today for some reason ! It took a while to do, but the reason for that was probably the fact that I was watching a film at the same time and getting distracted, whoops !

So the nail varnished I used for this design are, as I already mentioned, Butter London Royal Navy for the base, and then for the actual design I used American Apparel T-Shirt, American Apparel Office, China Glaze Man Hunt, Orly It's Up To Blue, China Glaze Fairy Dust and then my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white for the stars. I'm really pleased with how this nail design turned out in comparison to my previous galaxy nails, not just because the length of my nails in the first attempt were really too too long, but also because I prefer how the design flows on my latest attempt, don't you think ?

All in all I'm really happy with how this turned out, as you've probably guessed already ! Unfortunately I don't know exactly when my next post will be as I'll be away from tomorrow until next Friday, and so I won't have a chance to post anything really until then ! I really should have sorted out something out, but I will see what I have in my folders and try and find at least something to tide you over for the week !

If I don't post before then, have a great week everyone !

NOTD : Stars and Shiny Stripes

Hola everyone ! So I had my first exam today which went pretty well so I'm really happy, and so I decided to reward my good work with some baking and some nail art ! I made some reaaaaaally tasty macadamia nut caramel squares which are seriously tasty, and after that I just decided to chill and do my nails whilst watching ANTM (oh lord I have spent far too long watching it during this past week..) ! So without further ado, the nails !

This is an idea I've had in my head for quite a while, but I have never got around to executing it ! I'm really glad I did finally get to do this nail design though because I think it looks great ! I think I'm getting slightly over-the-top with the amount of nail art designs with these two accent nails recently, it seems to me that I've been doing rather a lot of them ! Never mind !

So the nail polishes I used for today's design are American Apparel T-Shirt, China Glaze Man Hunt and OPI Die Another Day, plus my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white for the stars on my accent nails. I thought that Die Another Day would be a bit too orangey for the stripes for the USA flag, but as it turns out it really works quite well and the orange-ness isn't that noticeable ! I think a deeper red polish would have been too much maybe !

And that's that for today everyone ! I hope you all enjoyed today's design, now I'm off to watch a bit more ANTM before a friend comes over to watch Team America ! Happy times ! Hopefully it won't be too too long before my next post, my next and last exam is on Thursday (unless of course it gets cancelled because of this damn snow, ugh I hate snow so much right now), so hopefully I can post something after that as I'll be revising all day tomorrow !

Hope you all have a great evening !

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 !

Swatch : Shimmer Polish - Fanny

Good evening everybody ! So I've been super busy since my last post last week, but I promise I have very good reasons for my absence ! I got back to uni late last Saturday, and I didn't lift a finger work-wise the entire time I was home in France, so I've had lots of catching up to do, plus house hunting for somewhere to rent for next year ! See ? Told you I had a good reason ! So anyway, I still have an essay to finish, so this'll have to be a very quick swatch post for you all today !

So this beauty is Fanny by the wonderful Shimmer Polish ! There's a huge mix of different coloured glitter such as pink, red, gold, purple and a subtle green, in a light dusty pink tinted base. The mix of colours makes for a really interesting polish, which shines in all different colours in different lights !

For this swatch I used three coats of Shimmer Polish Fanny on my thumb, ring and index finger, then for the two accent nails I did a light gradient over OPI Casino Royale. I absolutely love this shade in both the plain glitter and the glitter gradient, I think I'll definitely be doing more gradients with this polish, it applied really well, and looks great !

The formula on this polish was great, as was Jasmine by Shimmer Polish which I swatched a while ago ! Three coats is definitely enough for this glitter by itself, and any visible nail line is pretty hard to spot !

You can buy Shimmer Polish either through the blog, or via the Etsy website, and there is also a Facebook page for you to keep up to date with news and giveaways !

So that's all for today folks, I'm off to write some more of this essay, oh joy ! Have a great evening everyone !

NOTD : Half Hearts

Hola everyone ! It's been quite a while since I posted anything, but it's my last week here in France before I go back to uni, and so I've been busy sorting stuff out, making the most of being out here, etc ! I did do my nails the other day, but I wasn't overly happy with the way they turned out, so I might post those at a later date, who knows !

So I got the idea for these nails from a design that Whitney from Dressed Up Nails has done a couple of times, here and here, a really pretty design with all different types of hearts, super pretty ! I especially liked the half coloured hearts, so I decided to just paint those on all my nails, alternating the pattern on each nail.

For this heart design, I used OPI My Very First Knockwurst for the base, and then painted on the rest of the design using OPI Casino Royale. I reaaaaaaally love this colour combination, and I love the actual nail art design, which is always a good thing, I think I'll definitely be doing a similar design again soon !

So over all I'm super pleased with this design, a very good thing seeing as I won't have time to do my nails until Saturday at the earliest, due to me travelling back to the UK ! I'll make sure I get something posted for you all ASAP though once I get back ! I'll be very happy to get back to all of my nail varnishes, as I've had a bit of a nail art block recently and I think it could be because I haven't had all my nail varnishes with me, I keep thinking up designs but I always seem to need polishes that I don't have with me, frustrating !

And that's all for today everyone ! I hope you all like today's design, and don't forget to go and check out Dressed Up Nails on Blogspot, Tumblr, and on Facebook ! Whitney's designs are all seriously amazing, and always bright and fun !

See you all soon everyone ! Have a nice evening !

Swatch : OPI - The Living Daylights

Good evening everyone ! I had time to do my nails again today ! Happy times ! I've been feeling quite uninspired recently for some reason, plus the fact that I don't have all my nail varnishes with me seeing as I'm "on holiday" back at home because I won't be able to carry my whole stash back with me ! Hopefully I'll be inspired again once I get back to all my babies (my nail varnishes that is... I'm not ashamed) !

So today's swatch (and my current NOTD) is OPI The Living Daylights over OPI Skyfall, both from the most recent OPI collection in honour of 50 years of James Bond. I really really love all the nail varnishes in this collection, and I think that this glitter topper is really original ! This swatch shows about 1.5 coats of The Living Daylights, as I did quite a bit of blobbing to get the glitter where I wanted, but the formula and coverage was really good anyway !

I wasn't sure initially when I first looked at the different polishes in this collection, as to whether I'd like this glitter or not, but it's really grown on me since I've been wearing it ! From a distance it looks sort of like scales, which is really cool, and the colour combination is really cool, I love it over Skyfall (but that's a whole other story about another amazing colour) !

And that's it for today ! I will assume that you have all fully understood by now that I'm absolutely in love with this collection ! I can't wait to do even more nail art (once I have a wider choice of colours to use) and different combinations with the Skyfall collection ! Expect another Germany collection repeat, I LOVE IT !

I'll see you all again soon everyone, have a great evening !

NOTD : Skyfall Roses

Happy first day of the year everyone (seeing as I already wished you all happy New Year in yesterday's post) ! I finally sat down with my OPI Skyfall collection this afternoon and did a manicure using a couple of the colours ! I have to say, I really do love it ! So here we go for my first nail art of 2013 !

The only colour I used in this design that wasn't from the Skyfall collection was the base colour. It's a shame there weren't any light/neutral colours in this collection, I know it's a Christmas-time collection but still, it'd be nice ! This design ended up taking longer than I had originally anticipated, but that was mainly because I was being fussy about the size of the leaves !

So for this nail art design, the nail varnishes I used were OPI My Very First Knockwurst for the base colour, and then for the roses I used OPI Skyfall, OPI Live and Let Die for the leaves (I love this polish !), and then my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pens in both black and white for outlining the flowers. The white was a last minute addition, as the roses weren't really showing up very well with all the dark colours, but the white really makes it pop !

And that's it for today's first post of the year ! I personally think it's a great design to start the year off with, and hopefully I'll have many more wonderful designs for you this coming year ! Also, can you believe I've actually posted two days in a row ?! I'm finally getting more time to sort out nails and blogging, but I can't guarantee whether that'll continue ! I'll try my best though, I promise !

See you all again soon everyone ! I hope you're all having a great year so far !

Top 10 of 2012

Good evening everyone ! So seeing as it's the last day of the year, I thought I'd do a round-up post of my favourite nail designs on my blog from 2012 ! Now I know I only started in July, but I've still managed to grab together a good top 10 for today's post !  So here we go... Try My Hand's top 10 of 2012 !

NOTD : Leopard Print Hearts

Hey there everyone ! I actually finally managed to do my nails again, and am doing a rather late post tonight as I don't know when I'll even have time to sit down and blog ! I really ought to start doing some revision as I have exams at the end of January, but so far I've been spending my time with family and just enjoying their company (plus my dogs, really enjoying having them around) !

So today's design is based on a jumper I got for Christmas, and I'm obsessed with the pattern ! It isn't exactly as I've done on my nails, but I'll maybe have to try doing it properly on my nails some time soon ! I've never painted large hearts on my nails in a design before, and when I've tried they always turned out wonky in some way, so I'm really glad with the way these ones turned out !

The polishes I used for this design were my standard go-to leopard print colours : OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, OPI You Don't Know Jacques and then my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in black... great combination ! I think the brown polish I use is a little too dark for the heart design I did on my two accent nails, but oh well ! I think there'll be some heart designs coming along in future posts on this blog, perhaps even with some polishes from the Skyfall collection (which I somehow managed to avoid using in today's design ?!) !

I also have some more bonus pictures for you all this evening, all still very leopard print related, so they absolutely deserve a place on this post, just you wait and see !

Here are my mum's nails which I did with her favourite design - leopard print, of course ! She's got acrylics on at the moment which is the perfect excuse for me to do her nails ! She wanted to use one of the Skyfall collection polishes, so I used OPI The World is Not Enough as well as the usual Don't Pretzel My Buttons and my nail art pen !

And here's my top model puppy dog called Puppy, who today got a dog-icure ! I was surprised she actually stayed still long enough for me to do her nails, and I love the leopard print one on the left ! Needless to say they're covered in mud now and chipping away like crazy, but it was a great photo opportunity ! Do you ever paint your pets' nails ?

So that'll be all for today you guys ! I'm going to bed now as it's waaaaaay past my bed time and I'm really quite tired ! I hope you all like my nails today, I definitely do, and I'm loving the hearts ! I'll see you all again soon everyone, and I'll try and get something up for New Year (even though I'm not doing anything apart from a nice meal at home for it) !

Advent Calendar : Gold Stars

Good afternoon everybody and I hope you're all having a great Boxing Day ! So first of all I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas, and that you've all enjoyed spending time with your family and friends ! I also reaaaaaally need to give you all a huge apology for not having posted for two weeks now ! Truth be told I've been super busy over the last two weeks and have barely had enough time to sit down and relax, let alone paint my nails ! I even kept my Christmas Houndstooth nails on for over 10 days, can you believe it ?! Anyway, I've had a sitting down on the sofa day today, and decided it would be the perfect time to do some blogging ! The nails I'll be showing you today are a design I did last Saturday, but that I didn't have a chance to post until now !

As I'm travelling back to Bath by myself as a foot passenger on the ferry in January, I was only able to bring over a select amount of nail varnishes with me for my one month holiday over here in France for Christmas ! It was a tough decision but it had to be done, so I only have a small handful of nail varnishes (although now I have rather a lot after opening presents yesterday) !

For this design I used OPI Danke-Shiny Red and then for the stars I used Barry M Gold Foil and painted them on with a nail art brush. I'm really pleased with how the stars turned out, as last time I painted stars they looked pretty bad !

And here's the manicure I've got on right now (I changed my nails yesterday in between opening presents and eating Christmas lunch, I was just too excited about my new nail varnishes) ! I received the whole of the OPI Skyfall collection for Christmas, and I had to do the manicure I've been dreaming of since I saw the swatches online ! This is two coats of OPI Casino Royale with one coat of OPI The Man With the Golden Gun :

Gorgeous, right ?! I can't wait to try out all the different colours, they're all so amazing ! Lots of different manicures with the collection coming up on the blog I think, so stay tuned for that ! Also, here are some bonus photos of my doggies relaxing on Christmas Day ! For your enjoyment !

 So Merry (belated) Christmas everyone ! I hope you enjoyed this post, and I'll try and post again very soon you guys !