Nail Art Style

Hi everyone! Today's post is a little bit late... Ooops. Anyway, it's inspired by my favourite LFW designer of Monday, Christopher Kane. I was desperate to find some really bright prints to recreate, since my previous manicures have all been quite muted. While this design still involves pastel shades, the combination of lilac, pale green, nude and metallics makes it a little more eye-catching, and I'm pleased with the result.

These pieces immediately grabbed my attention, because they're so unusual. I love teardrop shapes and I think they're always really effective, especially when outlined in such a bold manner. At first I planned to apply my base coats and then use acetone to remove the teardrops, so that my natural nails were visible beneath, but that all turned out to be too tricky so I improvised!

Models Own 'Grape Juice'

Models Own 'Bare Beauty'

Sinful Colors 'Pistache'

Rio silver nail art pen

Essie 'Matte About You'

Fine nail art paint brush

I started out with bases, applying two coats of either 'Grape Juice' or 'Pistache' to each nail, and once dry, I used a fine paint brush to apply the teardrops using 'Bare Beauty'. Obviously not all of them are full shapes, so some sections are just the pointed end, or a rounded side. I continued to apply 'Bare Beauty' until each shape had a nice, clean finish, and then I used Essie 'Matte About You'. I knew that a mattified finish would look really cool beneath the metallic polish I'd use next. I thought full outlines would be a bit too much so I improvised, and instead applied little dots of silver using a Rio nail art pen.

Hi guys! Today I bring you a design inspired by one of the most popular fashion houses of today's LFW schedule: Mulberry. Mulberry has created one of the biggest buzzes online thanks to their cute and clever invitations - rather than sending out traditional invites, they collaborated with Wedgewood and delivered tiny tea cups to the lucky individuals on their guest list. I had a snoop around online and came across a gorgeous image of Mulberry cups and saucers, and knew immediately that I had to recreate the colours and patterns on my nails!

Models Own 'Blueberry Muffin'

Models Own 'Utopia'

Models Own 'In The Navy'

e.l.f. 'Nude'

Sinful Colors 'Black On Black'

Rio white nail art pen

Essie 'Matte About You'

Fine nail art paint brush

Unfortunately I couldn't match the dusky pink colour, so I improvised with a nude shade. I also wanted to include Models Own 'Utopia', because although there isn't a soft grey shade in the picture, I knew it would fit in really well. I've never used this colour combination before in my nail art, but I really love it!  

I started out with my base coats, applying two to each nail, apart from 'Utopia' and 'Blueberry Muffin', which required three for opacity. Once everything was dry, I used my Rio white nail art pen (my Models Own ones have finally run out after over 10 months... Sob!) and added the classic Mulberry tree.

I used a fine nail art brush to neaten up the triangle shapes of the tree drunks, and then added the leaves quite randomly. I painted a combination of dots and dashes, and kept stopping to check the shape was developing okay. I think the tree on my thumb nail looks best, because the leaves are slightly thinner and more spiky, but I still think the rest look cute!

I topped everything off with Essie 'Matte About You', because this manicure just begs for a mattified finish. I'm really pleased with the overall effect and love the muted tones, along with the simplicity of the tree design. What do you think of my Mulberry nails?

Happy Saturday everyone! For my second London Fashion Week post I've taken inspiration from Antipodium's SS14 collection. I popped back over to Vogue for the latest images, and was immediately drawn to the pretty pleats and cute prints of these designs. I'm one of those people who loves coordination, and Antipodium's matchy-matchy combinations really appealed to me. 

I decided to use these two outfits as a starting point. I love the floral print of the top, especially the mixture of muted colours with a punchy turquoise shade, and also the cute little polkadots on the skirt and jacket. I based my design around all of these features, and have created an unusual mix-and-match manicure.

Models Own 'Bare Beauty'

Models Own 'Utopia'

Models Own 'Blueberry Muffin'

Sinful Colors 'Black On Black'

Barry M 'Greenberry'

Rio white nail art pen

Essie 'Good To Go'

Medium dotting tool

Small dotting tool

Fine nail art paint brush

I applied base coats of 'Black On Black' and 'Bare Beauty' (this took three coats), and once dry, I began adding the details. I use a medium sized dotting tool to apply 'Blueberry Muffin' polkadots to my nude-coloured nails, and spaced them out as evenly as possible. Once dry, I used a small dotting tool to add another black dot inside each.

Hi :) I'm sure you're all aware that today saw the launch of London Fashion Week 2013. I know a lot of bloggers have done it before, so I've decided to dedicate my next few posts to the huge fashion event. Today, I've taken inspiration from Bora Aksu's collection, which I fell in love with as soon as it appeared in Vogue's coverage. Aksu made a massive statement this morning with his combinations of bright colours and intricate textiles, all of which are reminiscent of his native Turkey. 

I decided to use these three outfits as a starting point. Considering the dreary weather at the moment, brightening my fingers up with pretty yellows and baby blues seemed the perfect thing to do! I really like the lace detailing and soft drapes of fabric, along with the cute little ankle socks and grey peep-toe heels.

Sinful Colors 'Unicorn'

Models Own 'Blueberry Muffin'

Models Own 'Utopia'

Rio white nail art pen

Essie 'Matte About You'

I applied four coats of 'Unicorn' to my thumb, middle and little finger nails. I love the cheapness of Sinful Colors polishes, and the variety of shades available, but the consistency is pretty runny and so extra coats are always needed for opacity (especially with pale colours). On my other two nails I used Models Own 'Utopia', which is a must-have for EVERY nail polish collection! It's a beautiful soft grey with a touch of mauve, and is perfect for subtle manicures.

When my bases were dry, I used my Rio white nail art pen and started applying my version of a lace design. I added dots, petals, and a couple of 'random' shapes to my yellow nails, and tried to keep the flow of polish as thin as possible throughout. On my grey nails, I added 'curtains' using Models Own 'Blueberry Muffin' (this was freehanded by the way, because I couldn't be bothered to find my striping tape!). Once dry, I added white dots along the lines.

I'm really into mattiefied nails again, so I finished my manicure with a few slicks of Essie 'Matte About You'. I think the matte effect works really well with soft, pastel designs, and my bottle is quickly running out! I think I'm going to have to go on a nail polish shopping splurge soon...