So! FashioNAILble

Today's nail art comes straight from the catwalk at New York Fashion Week. I've decided to recreate a few of my favourite nail looks from NYFW Spring 2012 this week.

Even though I'm sure this design didn't originate at fashion week, CND's Wanda Ruiz used this checkerboard pattern to decorate the models' digits for the Nicole Miller show using a Raspberry Pink and Navy Blue.

I used No7 Lucky Lilac as a base. With a liner brush, I drew a cross on my nails and then used a small nail art brush to fill in two of the four sections with Primark's Yes Cyan!.

I don't know if you can see in the pictures but my top coat has bubbled a little. This could be because I used 3 coats of the stuff, or because I tried to thin it out with Nail Polish Thinner. The consistency definitely improved with the use of the thinner but it has now gone cloudy and apparently bubbly so I'll just move on to a new bottle. Not to self: don't use thinner in your top coat!

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No7, I Am Disappoint

Boots are running their £5 off No7 make-up when you spend £5 in store at the moment and since I always need hair dye or products, I  take advantage and stock up while the offer is on so I get a few vouchers. I run right over to the No7 counter and pick out a nail varnish which then costs me just £2. Bargain!

I picked up Minty Fresh which is a lovely colour but an absolute nightmare to apply! The formula is not particularly thin but it drags and streaks like a byatch and needed 4 coats for opacity.

Here's my step-by-step. You can see the extent of streakiness on the first picture. I would recommend you stay away from this polish at all costs! I'm tempted to throw it out because it's so dang frustrating! 

Anyway, on to the nail art... as if this mani couldn't get any worse, the colouring on the bullion that I used came off completely and smudged all the way up my nail when I applied my top coat. I still love the little detail though!

Stamping Plate: Bundle Monster BM212
Base Colour: No7 - Minty Fresh
Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies 243B
Top Coat of NYC
Bullion from Born Pretty Store
Gems from eBay

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Just Like The Movies: Batman Nail Art

I'll keep it short and sweet today as I don't think these need much commentary, I don't know anyone who hasn't heard of Batman. Today's nails are based on the masked vigilante and his various foes!

Pinky to thumb: Riddler, Joker, Bane, Harley Quinn, Batman

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Just Like The Movies: Tron Nail Art

If you've been following for a while, you'll know I created a Tron mani when Legacy was released in cinemas last Christmas [here]. Well here's my updated version!

The imagery comes from both the original film and the sequel. I love both the movies but I think the Tron: Legacy is a bit long. I normally watch up to the part where Quorra rescues Sam from the grid, then skip to Castor's club scene, watch that part and switch it off!

Unfortunately, the pictures for this one didn't turn out very well which is a shame cuz I think it's a kick ass mani!

Pinky to thumb: Identity disc, Recognizer, Light Bikes, Original Tron-ail, TRON

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Just Like The Movies: Napoleon Dynamite Nail Art

Can I call Napoleon Dynamite a 'cult-classic'? I think it definitely has a cult following but maybe it's not old enough to be a classic. Perhaps cult-favourite is better.

This movie is an endless source of inside-jokes among my friends and I, all the way from the obvious, 'GOSH!' to references about chatting online and llamas. I suppose they aren't really 'inside' because anyone who's seen the film will understand but I don't know too many people that have. If I see you wearing a 'Vote For Pedro' t-shirt, you are instantly placed at the top of my cool meter.

Thumb to pinky: 'Vote for Pedro', Napoleon, GOSH, Uncle Rico's Van, Debbie's note to Pedro.

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Just Like The Movies: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Nail Art

Thanks to everyone that voted for today's nail art. Scott Pilgrim beat Batman by just one vote!

I think Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it and I'm definitely on the love side. It's one of only two films I've ever seen at the cinema more than once. As soon as I saw the first trailer I had such high hopes for it and it really didn't disappoint, the visual effects are just stunning.

The inspiration for the nails comes from both the comics and the film.

Pinky to thumb: 7 Evil Exes, Scott Pilgrim, Sex Bob-omb, Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim

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Just Like The Movies: Fight Club Nail Art

This weekend all I did was work on this blog (at the risk of sounding like a complete recluse I honestly didn't leave my house at all on Saturday or Sunday) and it definitely paid off. Yesterday I passed 2000 pageviews with a bit of help from some Twitter friends and reached 200 likes on Facebook. I just want to take this chance thank you all so much for reading and commenting, and even those of you who just drop in from time to time for a browse - don't think you go unnoticed. You guys make blogging worthwhile and have all helped me out when I need it most. THANK YOU!! xx

Fight Club has been one of my favourites for a very long time and it's definitely why I'm such a David Fincher fangirl. I've seen every feature film he's ever directed and I'm so so so excited for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this December [Trailer here]

Thumb to pinky: Soap, Black Eye, Project Mayhem, Bloody Lip, Yin Yang (like the Ikea table)

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Just Like The Movies: (500) Days of Summer Nail Art

Welcome to Movie Week!

I loved Week of Geek and I think you guys did too, so I've been cooking up ideas for another theme for a long time. The idea for 'Just Like The Movies' has been brewing for at least a month so I'm really happy to finally get started!

The ideas for this theme didn't flow quite as smoothly as the Geek ideas because translating the movies on to nails took quite a bit of imagination. I had to take imagery from the films and turn it in to a simplified idea that would be possible (and hopefully quite easy) to paint on my nails. That's not to say I didn't have loads of fun creating the manis you'll see this week. It's been such a fun challenge and I'm proud of the outcome.

The films I've chosen are from my list of personal favourites and a few suggestions from others. 

I'm starting the week with (500) Days of Summer. Whenever I feel like watching a movie, but have no idea which one to put on, I always just go for this. It has a great soundtrack and I love the humour so it's just easy watching. Also... Joseph Gorgon-Levitt. I loved him since he was Tommy in 3rd Rock and I just know I'll enjoy any movie he chooses to star in.

Pinky to thumb: Ikea, Arm Drawing, Expectations vs. Reality (one of my favourite movie scenes ever, the Regina Spektor song just makes it for me), Tom's greeting cards, 500 Days.

Click here for screen shots.

If you want any info about polishes or application techniques used, please email or tweet me :)

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Once Upon A Time (Disney Princess Nail Art)

I never watched many Disney movies growing up. The only ones I can remember watching as a child are Aristocats and Lady and the Tramp, I didn't even watch The Lion King for the first time until I was probably 16/17!

However, somehow I still know the names of most of the Princesses and can easily recognise them all and their iconic outfits. I picked a few of my favourites to decorate my nails with!

The Inspiration

Pinky to Thumb: Snow White, Jasmine, Ariel, Cinderella, 'D' for Disney.

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Black Tips

This isn't going to be a very talky post. Enjoy the pictures!

Base Colour: Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude
Tip Colour: W7 Black
Pinky to Thumb
BYS Fools Paradise
Barry M Raspberry
Barry M Bright Purple
Jay Jays Ablaze
Barry M Cyan Blue
Top Coat of NYC

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Like A Broken Record

Todays Pink Wednesday post is insanely similar to last week's but I love the comic book/onomatopoeia design so much so I had to try it again! This week, it's a bit more exaggerated and 'in your face'!

Plate: Bundle Monster BM209
Base Colour: Nails Inc. - Paris (for Diet Coke)
Stamp Colour: Collection 2000 Hot Looks - Dynasty
Black acrylic paint for the outlines
Top Coat of NYC

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My Nails Are My Canvas

I've started using acrylic paint in my freehand nail art recently. It has it's advantages and disadvantages over nail polish so I just thought I'd share my thoughts for any of you that are curious about acrylic paint and using it on your nails.

Why it's better than nail polish

♥ It's more pigmented. There's no need to go over and over the same spot if 

♥ It doesn't dry out as quickly as polish. I blob out my colours on to a sheet of clear plastic, my 'palette' if you will, and when I use polish I'm constantly having to put out out new blobs of polish as it dries up. One blob of acrylic paint will last the whole manicure without drying up. 

Why it's worse than nail polish

♥ It's hard to work with at first because it's a different consistency to nail polish, so it just feels a bit alien. The best way to describe the difference is that it's less forgiving than polish. You have to be much more careful with the brush. After a few goes, you get used to this though.

♥ It takes a bit more work to remove, but will come off with your regular polish remover.

I really like using acrylic paint and I'll continue to use it since I think the pros far outweigh the cons. If you're on the fence about trying it yourself, I say go for it, but find it cheap somewhere. I paid 99p per bottle in Ryman stationers.

Models Own Purple Grey

White Acrylic PaintFreehan

The line design is by Wah Nails and it's called 'Basket Case'

The accent finger is my attempt at the pop art work, Crying Girl, by Roy Lichtenstein. It's not my best work but from a distance it looks alright, so I left it on!

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POW, PINK WEDNESDAY!

You may have heard of a little salon called Wah Nails?! Well I found out that they are open to recruiting anyone with a knack for nail art, nail technician qualifications aren't required. So if there are any UK nail art enthusiasts who think they'd like to apply, check out their careers page. I would apply myself but I live too far away from their salons and I'm in no position to move at the moment so it's going on my 'what I want to be when I grow up' list!

Today's Pink is Nails Inc Shoreditch and is definitely not something I would pick out on any normal day but I like to step out of my comfort zone on Pink Wednesdays and try out the colours in my stash that normally get overlooked. I thought I would be removing this colour as soon as the pictures were taken but I'm oddly enamoured with it! It's a creme formula so I used 4 coats for maximum opacity then spiced it up with some of Wah Nails' designs, Pow! and Basketcase.

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Some Assembly Required (Avengers Nail Art)

Superhero nail art has become such a fixture on here that I'm considering dedicating a label to it!

 Earlier today, I came across a gallery of minimalist (my favourite kind of 'ist') Marvel hero posters by artist Marko Manev which you can see here and naturally my first thought was 'they would look good on my nails'.

I decided that to make it a nice neat set, I would just do the designs corresponding to the Avengers minus Captain America because I've already done a design exactly the same.



Thumb to pinky: Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow

I used:
Thor: Barry M Raspberry, white acrylic paint, La Femme Grey Cream, Barry M Mushroom, L'Oreal LaquiResist Black Bean, Barry M Grey
Hulk: Collection 2000 Hot Looks Spangles, BYS Fern, La Femme Grey Cream
Iron Man: La Femme Cherry Red, white acrylic paint, Collection 2000 Moonlight Shine
Hawkeye: Models Own Purple Grey, La Femme Grey Cream
Black Widow: Rimmel Black Satin, white acrylic paint, Barry M Raspberry


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I Wanna Go Surfing

This is a scheduled post so with any luck, I will be surfing right now! Hopefully the weather is nice, the waves are tip top and I'm having an awesome time in the ocean. If not, it's probably raining and I'm stuck in a tent playing cards with my Dad and Brother!

 So today's mani is inspired by my favourite part of summer. The surfing. I'm what you might call 'high maintenance' but I'll happily spend a week slumming it in a tent if it means I get to go in the sea every day.

The Drums - Let's Go Surfing

I used Barry M Cyan Blue as a base.

The waves are a mixture of BYS Metallic Blue, BYS Fools Paradise, No7 Poolside Blue and Rimmel Daisy Chain.

For the breaks of the waves, I used an unnamed Collection 2000 White applied with a sponge.

Topped of with a coat of NYC.

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