Laid-Back 31DC Day 24, Inspired by a game

Another short post and it's a day late, bad Linzi.

Today's (yesterdays) challenge is inspired by a game. This is THE ultimate game, the king of all games and the one of the most addictive games ever!

Pacman

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 23, inspired by Nature.

Today has been full of sunshine which means the doors and windows have been open, the birds have been twittering and everyone in a great mood.

My mani was inspired by all the cherry blossom tress that are out in bloom right now. I love the sight of blossom on tree so much more than spring flowers.

I've used La Femme Beauty Ultra Blue which just screams blue cloudless skies. I wanted the blue to be thin and light-weight and I'm a tad annoyed that you can still see the whites of nails so I can't have it all.

I used a brown shaprie pen to draw the tree branches but in the photo it's come out slightly purple which is strange. Then once fully dry I used a dotting tool to create the outer petals in Models Own Pastel pink NP033 and Models Own Lili's pink NP082 for the middle petals. I then layered it with a coat of OMG London fairy dust to add a touch of shimmer.

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 22, Inspired by fabric

This is the cushion I use to rest my tray on when I use my laptop or do my nails, sadly I don't have a nail desk but one day I might.

These nails were fun  to do but fiddly. I started with a base of No7 Stay Perfect, Snowflake 140 and then stuck down lots of tape in rows. I Careful dabbed on each colour in turn and then swiftly pulled of the tape. my pinkie finger came of worse as I hadn't let the white base dry fully so it's pulled some of the white of making it look messy.

I've used MissGuided, Orange. Models Own, Green Flash NP079. La Femme Beauty, Claret. Rimmel 60 seconds, Purple Reign 605 and Models Own, Mushroom NP096.

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 21, Merge or Melt

I've not been at home for the last few days, we had a little house drama involving a faulty shower. Thankfully it's all sorted now and we have a new shower and running water again!

So this post is a quick one.I was aiming for sunset/lava effect.

I've used Models Own, Sun Kissed NP122. Models Own, Zest A Peal NP125 and Models Own, Blooming Pink NP123.

Laid-Back 31DC Day 20, Texture

I don't own any texture polishes, I haven't really made my mind up if I like them or not. I do like the liquid sand effect and the leather look but how are they when it comes to taking them off, hard work or easy?

So today's nails are my take on texture without texture.

I've used La Femme Beauty, Claret which is a stunning shade of red. I'm really getting back into red polish just recently. Then I've carefully placed stripping tape over the red and then applied a matte top coat to create the effect of texture.

Laid-Back 31DC Day 19, Favourite polish

This was an easy one, with clear winner in my eyes. I'm a big (huge) fan of Models own and my collection of polish is dominated by this brand. My favourite polish by far is from the Hed Kandi Collection, Ibiza mix HK04. It's jam packed with multi coloured glitter in different sizes in a super glossy clear polish. Ibiza mix is great in just one coat over nude nails or over a coloured base.

For this challenge I've also used some other favourites: Snow White NP042, Jade Stone NP083, Beths Blue NP063, Pastel Pink NP033 and Lemon Meringue NP030 and created a pastel ombre topped of with Ibiza mix.

I'd love to hear what you think, please don't be shy :)

 

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 18, Oldest untried

After a bit of a search I stumbled upon this little beauty from Ruby and Millie. This polish came from a gift set a few years ago and I've just held onto it. I love red nail polishes but don't tend to wear them very often which is why this little gem has waited about 3 years to be used!

It goes on well, a little thin so I needed to use three coats to get an even finish. It's super glossy and bold. I'm so glad I've rediscovered this polish I think I've got a new favourite red :)

Laid-Back 31DC Day 17, A new technique for me

I was given a nail foil set was back at Christmas and it's been on my list to try but just never got round to doing it/them.

I decided on a spring theme as it's Easter Sunday and the sun has even made an appearance.

This little kit is from Rio and has a selection of 10 foils, a sticky nail glue adhesive, a 2-1 topcoat, small pot of gold glitter, a thin detailing brush and a pink hoof shaped tool - this little thing is great, I use it lots.

The design has yellow daffodils, bright pink flowers and green leaves, very spring time don't ya think!? ( It's the second in from the right on the top row. in between the animal print and the wood effect)

The technique is a simple idea. Apply a thin layer of the nail adhesive to the nail. It doesn't work on the naked nail so you must have polish on first - this part is easy. You let the adhesive sit for about 3 minuets and the place a pre-cut square of foil on the nail and then rub, rub lots. After a minuet of rubbing you just need to gently peel of the foil and the image is then left on the nail.

A few times the image didn't fully transfer a I needed to go back and touch it up...frustration doesn't come to close. it's easy to fill in any gaps but it's just a tad fiddly.

The effect I love and I'll be happy to try the other foils but to be honest I'm in now rush as it took forever to do because you have to do each nail in turn.

Laid-Back 31DC Day 16, Colour Opposites

Laid-Back 31DC Day 15 and it's the half way point!!

This post is a day late because I just couldn't decide what colours to use. My first idea was Black and White but I've done that (and failed) so my second colour combo idea was Red and Green but I couldn't bare the thought of having this on my nails. I needed to find a clash of colours that I was happy with and that I was comfortable on have on my nails whilst at work tomorrow - this was not easy task!

After lots of trial and error trying to match up colours I settled on Yellow and Purple the next step - how am I going to use these two contrasting colours, what design was I going to do?? This particular challenge has definitely been a that - a challenge! I had started (yesterday) with grand designs and big plans but with the time it has taken just to decide on the colour i have to say I have chicken out on doing any designs I opted for a gradient.

I'm happy with them now, but I don't think I'll be in any hurry to clashing nails any time soon!!

To help the yellow pop I used No7 Snowflake 140 to build the white base. The Yellow I've used is Rimmel Lasting finish, Sunshine 280 and the Purple is Rimmel 60 seconds, Purple reign 605. Rimmel have a great selection of string colours and because they dry it makes them perfect of gradients because you don't have to wait an age for each layer to dry.

 

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 15, Watercolour

My watercolour inspired nails have a very 80's feel. I went for spring colours to stick two fingers up to the weather - what's with all the snow at the moment?

I've used No7 SnowFlake 140 as my base. Great name considering! This polish is opaque in two coats and is almost off white in colour.  It's a clean white but not a bright and bold white just an subtle 'off white'. I then selected two pearly polishes, La Femme Beatuty, Misty Rose and La Femme Beauty, Liberty both have shimmer and sheen finish and I choose my two favourite chalky pastels Models Own, Beths Blue NP063 and Models Own, Jade Stone NP083.

The technique is very simple and quick to do first do a base colour, wait to dry then splodge of the colours you want to use in random places on the nail and then kinda squish and swirl then polish down using thin plastic. I used the outer packaging a mail order was sent - finally came in handly!

The overall affect is good, a little messy and does require a but if clean up (I need to practise this more) but I think I'll be trying this again. This challenge has introduced me to do techniques that I don't think I would have tried unless I was doing the challenge and had to do them!

I'd love to hear what you think!
 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 14, Stamping

This is my first proper attempt at nail stamping.I got a cheap stamping starter kit of eBay ages ago and I've not really done much with it.

I've watched a few youtube clips and read a few tutorials on the best way to stamp. The overall consensus seams to be, use a plastic card and not the metal scrapper that comes with the many stamping sets. The metal scratches the plate and I wasn't able to scrap the polish off very well. I've used my Subway and this did the trip!! Most nail polishes will stamp, some more than others and does come done to trail and error to find out which work better than others.

I've kept the design simple - well that's what I thought! I choose this kinda wave like image and tried to make it look like car tracks. The stamping image is a little to small/short for my nails so I had to try and match the lines up in a few places. some worked better than others. I think this new technique ( for me ) needs more practise but I can certainly see the appeal.

If anyone has any tips and/or advise on how to master the technique of stamping I'd love to hear from you!

Laid-Back 31DC Day 13, Cheer yourself up mani

I love a bit of animal print so my 'Cheer myself up mani' had to involve animal print :)

I tried Zebra print and it never turns out well, I wouldn't know how to re-create snake print - this might be one to try when I have some free time. I'm not the biggest fan of the textured nail trend at the moment, particularly the flocking/fluff. yes it may look nice but surely not very practical. What happens when you wash your hands? Does the fluff come off?!

My decision was made I went for Leopard nails, it a old fave and never fails to put a smile on my face. These nails were a little rushed and not my best but I'm still happy with them.

Gold Base, No7 Stay Perfect, Hot To Trot 360
White, No7 Snowflake 140
Black Nail Art Pen Model Own.

Laid-Back 31DC Day 12, Tape

This is a short and a late post, sorry, I did an 11hr shift at work yesterday and was too tired to anything but go to sleep and tonight I'm for aiming for a bath and and an early night so I haven't been as creative as I was planning to be with this mani.

I've used tape a few times and Love the effect it gives. I used Boots 17 Holographic as my base. I wanted to give this polish another try as the first time I used it I wasn't too sure. I have to say I like how it looks with the black and in some lights my nails look like they have Lazar beams on them! ha ha.

Laid-Back 31DC Day 11, Splatter

Today is Mothers days and I'm back home visiting my mum and I've managed to rope my sister Ellie into helping me do today's challenge!

First things first was deciding on the colours to use. There was no way I was able to bring my growing collection so I've used Ellies polish and we both agreed on the follow three polishes, Nails Inc Elizabeth's street, Barry M Nail Paint in Indigo and Barry Ms Nail Paint in Mint Green.

Second task was to find a good tutorial on Youtube because neither of us had done this technique before. We found Graffiti Splatter Nail Art Tutorial by Rainkeroro to very helpful and easy to follow.

This technique was very fun to do but frustrating when the polish wouldn't splatter or worst when it did but your aim was off and you missed the nail you wanted and just end up splattered the paper underneath! It took us about 20 mins to both hands because it was had to get the polish to splatter and to aim on target!

 

Laid-Back 31DC Day 10, Geometric

So the official meaning of Geometric is "A design characterised by or decorated with regular lines and shapes."

I've recreated a design I found nuthinbutanailthing This blog is amazing, her work is wonderful.

I don't have steady hands so this challenge had me worried for days :( In the end I gave it a go and I'm not that disappointed with the results until I looked at the photos and it just highlights how wobbly my hands are. I must practise straight lines and invest in a dedicated nail desk?!

Laid-Back 31DC Day 9, Saran wrap

I must admit I did have to google saran wrap to discover what it was and google said "cling film, Saran Wrap (a thin plastic film made of saran (trade name Saran Wrap) that sticks to itself; used for wrapping food)" Ok so being from the UK it's cling firm, but how was I to use it on my nails?  Another question when to google followed my an image search and wow lots of great nail designs and everyone says is quick and easy!

I have to say it was fast and easy and I like the results :) I think next time I'll think more about the colour combinations, I can see this being a fast design for work nails or when I can;t choose what what colour to use.

My favourite colour combo for today is the red and black, whats yours?

I've used Models Own Red Alert, NP019, Models Own Snow White, NP042 and Models Own Dream Stream NP124  and then Models Own Pro Jacks Black  014.