Hi guys! Today I've created a manicure inspired by the Rankin photography exhibition that's on at Liverpool's Walker Gallery at the moment. The show is called 'Alive: In The Face of Death', and features over 70 images that identify, explore and challenge our perceptions of death. Rankin photographed lots of people who have been touched by death, whether they miraculously survived, live with a terminal illness, or work within the death industry. The exhibition was really moving along with aesthetically impressive, and it was really sad to discover that some of his subjects passed away as recently as the launch of the event. It takes quite a lot to upset me (I only really cry if I stub my toe or dye one of my favourite tops in the washing machine), but this show is a real tearjerker. Nevertheless, it's really beautiful and well worth a visit, so if you're in and around the area before September 14th, get down to the Walker Art Gallery!

I wasn't expecting to find anything at the event that was very 'me', so I was shocked to discover Rankin's involvement of butterflies, flowers, glitter and diamonds (a few of my favourite things!) I decided to do a manicure inspired by these masks, and chose to focus mainly on skulls and sparkles, as I've recently done butterfly and daisy designs. At first I wanted to create skulls shapes using pure glitter, but this ended up being a bit too fiddly, so I improvised!

Glitter

Sinful Colors 'Black on Black'

Models Own Hed Kandi 'Ibiza Mix'

Models Own white nail art pen

Models Own black nail art pen

Fine nail art paint brush

Essie 'Good to Go'

Although I had quite a few glittery polishes, I decided to make my own blend to get lots of variation. I bought a few little tubes of different coloured glitters from Wilkinson's (about a pound for 6 tubes), and mixed them together to create a multicoloured mass of sparkles! I painted a thin coat of polish on my thumb, middle and little finger nails, then dipped into the pile of glitter. I wasn't completely happy with the coverage so I filled in the gaps with Models Own Hed Kandi 'Ibiza Mix'. Then I added a top coat and brushed off the excess!

I painted my un-glittered nails with Sinful Colors 'Black on Black'. It takes 2 coats for a smooth, opaque finish, which is brilliant for such a cheap brand (each polish is £1.99 in all big Boots stores). Then I started to add the skull designs - using my Models Own white nail art pen, I applied large white circles to the sparkly nails, added a little 'bump' at the bottom, and then filled in the middle. On my black nails, I painted tiny versions of the skulls.