Lacquer Up: Negative Nails

I have seen a lot of negative nails in the blogosphere of late.

Merricures       One Nail To Rule Them All    Nail That Accent

So I thought, for this lacquer up I would do my best, easy interpretation of a negative nail for you all to try. 

I have done a simple, diagonal negative nail on my first try as I haven't the steadiest of hands. 

In order to make sure the line is clean, I have used surgical tape to ensure a straight line.

Surgical tape is my new, best nail art friend. It's cheap and easy to use and can be cut and shaped with a pair of manicure scissors incredibly easily. Just like the manicure strips that I have written about before if you are wearing another colour underneath make sure the polish is bone dry before applying the tape. You will ruin your under polish otherwise. If you have time, put your base colour on the day before for the best results.

I applied my base coat and allowed to dry before adding the tape in the direction I wanted it to go. Once I was happy with it I applied my first layer of polish. 

I left to dry and applied another coat. Here I am using Ciaté's Mink, this needs a couple if layers for the colour to really shine through. 

This is now a discontinued colour, a similar colour that will work work their range is Cream Soda. 

Leave to dry completely. If not you'll end up with a jagged line, like one of my failed attempts 

Once dry, peel the tape of and apply a quick topcoat. I have added a couple of metal nail art hearts that I found on Amazon. I bought these to add interest to my manicure because it is a bank holiday carnival weekend and I have gone a little nail appliqué crazy since my last post; it's a simple and fun and easy addition to nails that require minimum effort. 

I completed with a more thorough layer of a high shine topcoat.

It's super easy and I will definitely persevere with it. I like how modern this looks, this can be formalised for a job interview; the colour above works well for that (above sans appliqué hearts obviously) or you could make it fun by slicking on a neon colour like Model's Own Toxic Apple. All winners in my opinion.

Go on, bag yourself some surgical tape and get negative!

Lacquer up: Jewels

It's no secret that I love a good nail polish. I have already spoken about my weekly manicure ritual. I have experimented on a grand scale; having utilised a gem and nail polish set I got from work. If you aren't sure if jewels are your thing and you don't want to splash out on a roundel of jewels; I cheated. The set I am using (below) is from a nail art set from Top of The Pops Magazine. (Yes, it still exists!) You can get the set I bought here. It has a comprehensive selection of gems, for you to try for the price of a chocolate bar! WIN!

After this week's manicure, I am pretty confident that not only do I like gems, I think their application is super easy and will get a few more expensive sets, for sure! 

I've used Rimmel I heart Lasting Finish in "It's a scorcher". It's
perfect for this wonderfully warm weather and the green round gem I chose makes it extra special and summery!

Paint your nails as normal.

For my base-coat I have found a new cosmetic brand Kiko Milano. Their 3-in-1 Shine is a base coat, nail hardener and Ultra Shine Top coat all in one, which is super useful. It dries really quickly and produces an amazing shine. They have an extensive range of nail care products. All are reasonably priced. Perfect for those who manicure at least once a week!



To apply the Gem get a cotton bud and dip into the gem pot. Gently push the gem into the still wet nail polish and allow to dry.

Once dry; add a top coat to retain the gem and the shine & viola!

You can add gems to every nail or use them as an accent nail as I have done. 

Who knows. I could be as good as these in no time! 

      Wah Nails                                   Sophy Robson                             Wah Nails

Nails... Nails... Nails!!

I am passionate about nail art. I love painting my nails, I love having manicures and one of my favourite pastimes involves strolling the aisles marvelling at the plethora of new and exciting colours available.
Week after week I clog my Instagram feed with images of my new nail conceptions (to the left my manicure Du Jour) and thankfully, hundreds of the people I follow do the same.

It does fill me with an extra joy to know that of late, others seem to be coming out of the #Nailporn closet.

With the rise of nail powerhouse WAH Nails; having whimsical nails is THE thing to express your personality. It is something that doesn't have to break the bank, is quirky but doesn't scream 'FASHIONISTA' as much as a Philip Treacy creation atop your crown even if you are trying to channel the late but great Isabella Blow on the sly.




I tend to favour painting my own nails, it is a cathartic process that can take up an afternoon trialling block patterns, lines and fades for you to silently admire while on the tube for the next week. My new favourite endeavour, is buying (in bulk) the new Ciaté Kits, they are called 'Wow Kits' for a reason. Ciaté, famed first and foremost for their Caviar Manicure sets (£18.00). This 'gateway' kit (there is no other word for it) led me to hunt down & purchase the following sets Colourfoil (£18.00) & Velvet (£14.00). Each have their own benefits and personal vanity rewards that cannot be missed. There are lots of kits available and I haven't the time to try them all!

For the most eye catching manicure, good for a night or if you just want your nails to feel fabulous all the time the Caviar set is the one for the job. It is super easy to apply; you just paint your nails in either the colour that is provided with the kit (normally the best match) and press in the pearls and wait to dry. For a longer lasting manicure add a high gloss topcoat to secure the pearls (They can start to separate after a night on the town without it) you do run the risk of losing the lustre of the pearls in the White (Mother of Pearl) Cotton Candy Colourways. but it is not a notable change for everyday.
The Coloufoil, is a similarly easy and high impact manicure set. This is suited more for the everyday, but is can be made vibrant enough for your needs. You apply the base colour of your choosing, apply the glue once the colour is dry (I would recommend leaving this to dry for a minute or so) and going wild with the various foils in in the kit. This provides a fun, urban look good on both long and short nails and can be accentuated by not foiling all the nails or just foiling one (my preference when wearing this manicure is to only apply the foils to either the pinky or ring finger) this draws attention to the detailing and does look great if you've a few costume rings on.
The most troublesome to apply and maintain is undoubtedly the chicest. The velvet manicure is my personal favourite, but this really does take up an entire afternoon/evening to make sure it looks perfect. For the best results use the colour provided in the kit, paint the nail with the colour and immediately apply the velvet coating to the nail to ensure even coverage. I  would suggest doing one nail at a time if you aren't having a manicure party with friends (The most fun, I highly endorse and recommend this as an evening in) as you need to get even coverage while the polish is still wet and this can really only be achieved if you work one at a time, you don't get a second chance either. The manicure lasts for about three days, if you don't get your nails wet, get any oils on them (moisturising is OUT) but they look and feel amazing. you'll find yourself stroking your nails at any given opportunity!

I have also been playing around with modified French Tips, this is an easy manicure look if you fancy having easy, chic nails for the week.You can play around with striking bases, neutral bases, neon and glitter tips you could use a matte topcoat for the base; essentially the world is your oyster with an infinite array of options only limited to your imagination.
I have found, if you aren't comfortable painting your tips blind if you have an opaque base (I am not and have had many a wonky French Manicure to prove it!) you can use these to help you get the perfect shape. they are designed to perfectly shape the nail and are great for stripes in addition to French Manicures. For the Strip to work you will need to make sure the base coat is bone dry before attaching these to the nail. This week I have gone for a metallic base (Models Own - Pink Fizz)  with a neutral tip (Nails Inc - Porchester Square). An easy and modern update to the traditional and chic French Manicure, eye catching enough for you to feel amazing and for others to take notice.

No doubt I will find more nail polishes, colours and manicure sets for you all to try yourself. let me know of your success with any of the above!

I am off to match my colours for next week!