Cath Kidston-esque Nails

First of all I'm going to apologise for the quality of the photos in this post... Although my iPhone is pretty nifty when it comes to photos during the day, the quality quickly deteriorates when there's no natural light. I also have to apologise for the absent step-by-step photos, but when I actually created these nails, I wasn't blogging! I still want to share this design though, since it's so adorable.

I've always been a fan of Cath Kidston, but not of the price tag. I managed to pick up some bargain bed sheets from Tesco and a lovely throw from Matalan, which are very much Cath Kidston-esque, and less than half the cost! (The bed sheets are these by the way, and surprisingly good quality for such a low price). Anyway, my floral covers were the inspiration for these nails; the patchwork style, pastel colours and simple patterns all received many compliments for their cuteness :)

The equipment:

NYC 'Pinstripe White'

Models Own 'Jade Stone'

Models Own 'Nude Beige'

Rimmel 'Rose Libertine'

No. 7 'Totally Teal'

No. 7 'Damson Dream'

Dotting tools (get them here.They're so cheap, it'd be rude not to!)

A fine paintbrush

So I started off with the bases. I knew I wanted the detailed rose design on my thumb, so I applied the pale beige to this nail, along with my ring finger. My index and little fingers received pale green, while my middle finger was painted pink. Once completely dry, I used the small dotting tool to apply white polka dots to my index finger, and then the big tool for larger polka dots on my ring finger.

Although it looks tricky, the rose was actually extremely easy. I began with a large blob of pink nail varnish, and once dry, I used the fine paintbrush to apply deeper red petals. I think roses look more effective if you're not too fixated on symmetry; just apply the petals randomly, varying the size and thickness, but making sure they curve away from the centre of the nail. Then, once dry, add a couple of white highlights. The leaves are a similar process, beginning with light green blobs, and then detail added with a darker green.

So once I got to this point, this is what my nails looked like. I decided to add a bit more detail to my plain fingers, and so painted 'stitches' and stripes. These were done free hand, and it was pretty painstaking to get them neat and tidy, but it was worth it in the end! As I always say, nail art looks best with a limited colour palette, so I stuck to pastel, floral shades that complement one another.

Once my St. Patrick's Day nails have run their course, I'll do a proper tutorial for roses, and involve step-by-step photographs!