Ghost-ies!

Obviously halloween requires some halloween nails! So I tried to think of the most simple design possible (as I should have been doing work instead of doing nails!) And I ended up very happy with my ghost-ies as I think they are super cute.

I used good old barry m nail paint in mint green for the base colour, which is one of my faves atm, (not too summery and not too wintery!) And I used a French manicure white for the ghosts.

To draw the ghosts I did a blob with the brush then finished off using one of the bigger dotting tools. Then I used different sized dotting tools each time to do the eyes, as I wanted each ghost to be individual.

Now my nails are all ready for Halloween even if I haven't decided what I'm wearing yet! Looking forward to seeing everyone else's halloween nails!

Abbi. Xxxx

Halloween nails

So halloween's here: time to dress up your nails for those parties too!

Here's the design I'm wearing for my halloween, inspiration was from a simple google search of 'halloween nails' and a combination of a few ideas!

The whole design was done using only 4 colours, black white orange and a tiny bit of green, but I love how complex it looks regardless! As usual, a dotting tool was used to create the designs.

Send us a photo on our facebook page to share your spooky nails!

~Heather

Halloween Nails (that are suitable for work)

So, Halloween is almost upon us. And for my first Halloween nails of the week I have gone for a spooky subtle accent nail! 

I have done these halloween nails a bit unobtrusive so that I can wear them to work (I don't like to be too loud with the nails at work). So its just a bit of ombre in a Halloweeny purple and a wee picture of a witch, flying over a full moon! 

Materials used: Barry M - Berry, Barry M Gelly - Plum, 17 - Mini Skirt (White), Natural Collection - Sugar Mouse (the shimmer over the white of the moon) and the Barry M Nail art pen in Black. And of course Sally Hansen Base and Top Coats. 

Hope you like! Please show us your own Halloween Nails by using the hashtag #Nailsketeers!

Just on a side note, if you are looking for halloween nail ideas - One Nail to Rule them All has a few brilliant posts that I will certainly be trying out myself!! 

Happy Halloween Week,

- Faye

RSPB nails

I created this design to wear for a charity bike ride I took part in called NightRider, which is a 100km (65 mi) bike ride through London at night with hundreds of other cyclists also taking part - I started at midnight and finished at 5:35am. It was a tough challenge but totally worth the months of training and the tri-weekly onset of 'jelly legs'. 

I chose to raise money for the RSPB and saw the opportunity to create a totally cute design with birds (I LOVE BIRDS!). I didn't have much time to do this design between the training sessions and travelling to London, but here's how I did it. 

 These nails were created by firstly applying a blue base coat, which I let completely dry. I added the dots in a lighter blue and a light turquoise around the white letters that I free handed on with a striper. The starling (Yes, its a Starling not just any old bird!) on my thumb was made by dipping a little brush into black polish and adding little flecks/dabs of orange/gold to the wing to give a more detailed effect.

I decided against adding more detail such as eyes and more wing definition because I liked the way it looked and I had very little time free.

I finished the design with a matte top coat, I used Essie Matte For You, to give it a more cartoon-y feel - which I thought was much better than with a glossy top coat.

Hope you enjoy this design as much as I did. 

-Leah xx

Cath Kidson Nails

As with many of my designs I got the idea for this one from The Nailasurus's blog (http://www.thenailasaurus.com/2013/09/cath-kidston-provence-rose-nail-art.html) I just loved the finish on this and how intricate it looked when it actually isn't too hard or take too long to do!

I started with a base of Barry M Blue, then once dry applied the Barry M white for the background of the flowers using a large dotting tool. The pinks were two from my extensive collection that are unbranded, I applied the lighter first, then the darker on top not in any particular pattern with a white splodge in the middle finishing it off. Using the smallest dotting tool I applied the green for the leaves. The hardest part was getting the dots around the edge consistent, take care when doing this! But as you can see mine aren't perfect, and I still got lots of compliments on them so it can't have been that bad! Finish it all off with a lovely top coat and you're ready to go!

If you have a go at any of our designs we'd love to see them! Find us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/thenailsketeers and let us see your creations!

~Heather

Galaxy Nails

This week I attempted the fairly in and quite on trend galaxy nails! 

Here are all the colours i used, and i just used a cut up sponge as my main tool, a dotting tool for the smaller stars and a small brush for the bigger stars!

Then I had the mad and brilliant idea to put a matte top coat on them (Essie - matte about you), and it looks AMAZING!

Here is a picture of my right hand with the glossy top coat, I love my little fingers I think they look the best, and surprisingly, again, my right hand doesn't look half bad! (I am right handed and so they were done with the left hand!).

Hope you all like them, and I would recommend giving them a go, I have put it off as they look so hard but it is actually fairly easy to make these look great!

- Faye

Blue marble effect nails

Hello Nailsketeer followers,

These nails were inspired by the sea, and the ripples and waves of water that flow through seaweed and around rocks in tide pools. Poetic maybe, but an elegant and magical design definitely. 

To create this look I used all the blue colours I had. The colours ranged from light blue, through turquoise (light and dark) right to navy blue. 

I used the standards brushes which came with the polishes and dabbed colour in random dabs and swipes on to my nails. There was no set design instead I just wanted to create a mix of colours. 

I started with a clear base coat to protect the nail and give the design something to grip on to. I used a light blue base and waited for it to dry, then started with the darker colours moving through to the lighter ones. 

I purposely painted over some of the underneath colours to give depth to the design, and it gives each nail an original and slightly different design. 




To create the movement of the water I used a striper in a light metallic blue and starting at the bottom, I striped upwards creating a wave towards the top of my nail. In the picture you can see the wavy lines I made on my thumb nail the clearest. 

To finish the design I dabbed a blue and a turquoise glitter to add the sparkle and shine of the sun on the top of the water. 

This is one of my favourite designs but it did take a few trial runs to get the design how I wanted it. I found the addition of glitter is what made the design so beautiful and alluring. I got so many compliments with this design, even my male friends couldn't help but grab my fingers and look at them closely (little bit weird but hey, its a compliment).

Because it is mostly a 'dab here and a dab there' job, this design takes no time at all to do. Be as messy as you like but I bet they will always look magnificent! Have fun with these 

Leah xx