Nails for work!

Hi everyone, sorry it's been so long since our last post! Exams and deadlines got the better of us!

But here's a new design that's simple but effective.

I wanted to create a design for those of you without any special tools and full time jobs. So I thought something like this would go down well! Obviously there are millions of colour combinations you could create and if you wanted it to be a bit more noticeable you could do a contrasting nail with the opposite colours on your thumb and ring finger nails, but that's up to you!

I created this design with a base colour of Barry M Guava from the Gelly collection giving it the fantastic shine! There's not even a top coat on when this photo was taken! And I finished off the tips with Avon's sequinned turquoise to give the design something a bit more special with glitter! I did the tips using the brush that came in the colour and using a side to side motion on the nails, it takes a steady hand, but if you do it really slowly it doesn't always help, just a confident stroke of the brush should do fine!

So I hope this design can be worn by some of you for your jobs as you can tone up or down the colours to the level that's suitable for you! Enjoy!

~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

Barry M nail art pen

With the new(ish) arrival of the Barry M nail art pen, we thought we'd have a go a few designs and let you know what we though of it!

Heather - Here I went for the aztec look, this silver pen was brilliant to get intricate designs, I enjoyed trying to think them up. The problem came when I tried to do the same on my right hand, it didn't turn out quite to the same standard but I'm sure I'd get better with practice.

The pen was quite easy to use, took me a few minutes to get the pressure right (so make sure your base colour is completely dry first!) but you soon get the hang of it. With this design, I didn't get chance to put a top coat on (whoops!) and I found that because of that the pen design rubbed off within the next day or two so a top coat is a MUST! Personally for now I think I'll stick with the brush and varnish...but maybe I just need a few more tries with the pen and then I may grow to love it! 

Faye - This is my first attempt with the pen (my left hand only as my right looked like a child did it!) And I really love it! Again, I found it difficult to get the pressure right as Heather did, but after a few practice runs I think I got it! My only issue is that it is a lot harder to do your right hand (drawing with the left) but maybe that is something that will come with time? I'm not sure I would choose using the pen over a striping brush and polish but I would defs use it again for the more detailed designs!

Overall, we think it's a good handy tool to have in your nail kit, it just takes some time to get used to it!

Let us know what you think about the pens!

Stripy Gradient

A design idea inspired by the Nailasaurus's post: http://www.thenailasaurus.com/2013/07/nonoo-resort-2014-inspired-nail-art.html

I loved the effect of the stripy gradient so thought I'd give it a go! As I'm not too quick with striping tape, I need more practice, I decided to only do the stripes on two nails on each hand. But turns out I like the contrast of the stripes from the other nails, which was even more exaggerated by doing the gradient in the opposite direction.

This design is quite technically challenging as it includes both the gradient technique and striping technique so I will explain both separately below. For the design I used Barry M's gelly colours Lychee and Plum.






* Gradient effect

To create this effect you firstly paint the whole nail the lighter colour, in this case, Barry M's gelly Lychee. Next you find a mixing plate (I use an old plastic lid) and put a blob of each colour next to each other. Grab a cocktail stick and where the two meet, mix them along the join. To apply the gradient to the nail use a sponge. I use a make up sponge (as in the picture), but even a clean washing up sponge would work (it would give a slightly more speckled finish but could add an interesting effect!). Put varnish on the sponge as it is on your palette then dab it onto your nail on top of the base colour. I find I need to top up the varnish on my palette quite regularly but you get into the swing of it. This technique takes time, but try not to rush it! If this isn't quite as clear as I thought there are some great gradient tutorials on the internet so just have a search and see what you find!



*Striping effect

For the stripes you need some striping tape (which is available very cheaply on ebay) and scissors. some people also use tweesers to handle the tape but I find it easy enough without. So to create the stripes, begin with a base coat of the lighter colour. Once this is dry put your pre cut strips of tape where you want the stripes to be, taking care to keep them parallel (if you want yours parallel!). Then, in the same way as the gradient technique, dab the gradient colour over the top of the stripes. Straight after this when varnish is still wet, take the tape off and there you have your design!

Finish each nail with a top coat once dry and tidy up using nail varnish remover and nail brush around your nail.

Any questions about these techniques or anything else just ask! I'll answer as best I can.

~Heather