Weekly Blog Round Up - Week 5!!!!!

Hey Guys, 

Hope that you all have a lovely weekend, this is week 5 of the weekly blog round up and we hope that you enjoy all the different blogs, inspiration and information you find on all our blogs.  Do let us know what you think and if there is anything you would like to see!

Claire xxx 

Stacie went Rockabilly http://kawaiinailart.blogspot.com/2011/04/rockabilly-nails.html over at Kawaii Nail Art

The Nail Addict created some beautiful butterfly nails which look like damask silk http://thenailaddict.blogspot.com/2011/04/you-give-me-butterflies.html

Claire at Top Twenty Nails road tested some CND Shellac http://toptwentynails.blogspot.com/2011/04/shellacs-rock-royalty-great-purple-long.html

Sharon mixed 2 blues to create a gorgeous effect http://polishinfatuated.blogspot.com/2011/04/beautiful-squishy-jelly.html

Linda was inspired by tokidoki and Sanrio http://wuliaonails.blogspot.com/2011/04/tokidoki-for-sanrio.html

Emily decorated her nails perfectly for Easter http://emilysnailfiles.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-manicure.html

Grace showed her patriotic side with these cool Britannia nails http://ooooohpretty.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-royal-wedding-nails.html

Gradient or Holo? Jen went for both http://moondancerjen.blogspot.com/2011/04/purple-holo-gradient.html

Lena stamped with bundle monster on Essie Bermuda shorts http://thestudentsguidetonailpolish.blogspot.com/2011/04/essie-bermuda-shorts-preview.html

If you would like to be involved in future round ups contact Stacie at http://kawaiinailart.blogspot.com

Shellac's Rock Royalty! A great purple long lasting manicure!

Hey Guys,

I am off to NYC this weekend and wanted to nails to last.  I have run out of time to do something funky and Royal Wedding related, so went for the next best thing with Shellac's 'Rock Royalty'.  This is a great dark purple colour that will go with anything!

Shellac is different to many of the soak off gels available on the market.  Shellac is a hybrid nail polish, and it is thinner than most of the gels I have been using.  I find that it will last up to 14 days on most clients and soaks off so quickly.  I have not used this colour before so I am looking forward to seeing how it wears.

These are my nails for the week and I am looking forward to showing off all the new polishes I can get hold of in America next week!

What are your experiences of Shellac?!

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend - I will be updating again next week!!

Claire xxxxx

UPDATE

Hey Guys,

As promised, I have updated you on my Shellac!! After 10 days wear they still looked perfect, but  I really wanted to try out some of my new lacquers so soaked them off!  

Great for holiday nails and everyday manicures in my book!

These are how they looked

I soaked them off for 10 minutes using Expert touch and Magis Wraps

I scrapped off any remaining Shellac with the rubber end of my reusable cuticle stick and they were as good as when I put them on!!

Please ignore the state of my nails - it if from taking my buff of gels and then acrylics and many other systems!!!

Hope this helps!!

Claire xxx

Pink Wednesday! OPI, Shellac and NCO Pinks!!!

There has been a great call for pink nails from my clients this week - so just thought I would share some of them with you!

Hope you are all having a lovely week, Thanks for visiting!

Love, Claire xxx

These are my friends Honeymoon nails - I have used OPI's Axxium's Soak off gel in Pompeii Purple.  I think they look great for a sunshine break!

This client didn't want gels, so went for the same colour but lacquer rather than gel.  What a great colour match!

These are NCO nail enhancements in Dark Pink.  Such a pretty colour!

My client did not want anything too bright, so we went for Shellac's Strawberry Smoothie in 3 coats.

NOTD Inspired by 'The Only Way Is Essex'

Hi Guys,

I hope that you are all having a wonderful long weekend?!  I have been trying to enjoy some sunshine and am soaking it all in before my trip to NYC next week!  Any suggestions for polishes I could pick up that I can't get over here?

My husband has been watching The Only Way Is Essex and called me down to see the nails on last weeks episode, and my nails today were inspired by them!  The ones on the show have 3D acrylic bows, but after a major FAIL with my coloured acrylic, I went for just polka dots instead!!

For this I have used polish, but will be doing this with either my Axxium's or Shellac for my holiday as I think they look cute!!  The dots are not as uniformed as I would like, but I am heading out in a bit and just went with the flow!

Products used are:
OPI's Alpine Snow (White), Strawberry Margarita (Pink), Lady In Black (Black), OPI's Ridge Filler Base Coat and Lumos Top Coat.  For the dots I used a dotting tool.

Here are some pictures:

Both thumbs are black with white dots

 The ring fingers are pink with white dots and other fingers are white with pink dotted tips and a black 'snake' which could be done with crystals

What do you think? Thanks for reading, have a great week!!!

Claire xxx

Weekly Blog Round Up - Week 4!!!!

Claire gave us a right royal review http://toptwentynails.blogspot.com/2011/04/kate-will-nails-inc-limited-edition.html

Grace has gone psychedelic with her 60's inspired nail design http://ooooohpretty.blogspot.com/2011/04/hairspray-part-two.html

Dawn showed us how to have some fun http://thenailaddict.blogspot.com/2011/04/just-for-fun.html

Nicole funked up her French http://nicnacksnails.blogspot.com/2011/04/funky-french.html

Emily had a diet coke break http://emilysnailfiles.blogspot.com/2011/04/diet-coke-inspired.html

Linda was inspired by Despicable Me http://wuliaonails.blogspot.com/2011/04/despicable-easter-art.html

If you would like to be involved in future round ups contact Stacie at http://kawaiinailart.blogspot.com

Hope that you have a had a great week - and enjoy the Easter weekend!  Why not try out these designs, we would love to know how you get on!

Claire xxx

Kate & Will Nails Inc Limited Edition Crystal Colour Lacquers

Whoooo I got the 'Kate' & 'Will' lacquers from Nails Inc, I am so excited to have got my hands on these!! I am so excited for the wedding, and have bought very little in terms of merchandise, so when I saw these polishes I just could not resist!!

I bought these polishes from the ASOS website, which has a good collection of many brands of lacquers.

The packaging is so cute, with a bow and wonderful crystals on the lids.  The bags have a re-sealable top which is great as it means I can keep them in the bags - Although this might not last long as the tops are so cute!

Will is a very Royal red colour.  It is a true red with no shimmers or hint of Gold.  I really like it as it is deeper than a pillar box red.

Kate is a very demure beige colour, which is fairly opaque.  It is quite a discreet colour, that is very light.  I am slightly undecided about it, but do think it is lovely - and looks great in the bottle.

Although the tops are great, one this I will say is that it does alter your polishing position as they are quite heavy.  Being selfish though, I will be using these on myself only as they only come in 10ml bottles.

The texture is normal for Nails Inc lacquers.  I find them similar in consistency to Essie, and the brush is also similar in size - they are different to the OPI polishes.  I did struggle to apply the coats thinly, and will have to get a bit of practise in.  Both polishes offer good coverage, and have a shine to them, enhanced by top coat.

*In the images below, please ignore the state of my nails!! They have been treated badly with practising all types of enhancements, so the lumps are my nails and not the polish!!!!*

Here are some images of 'Kate'

 One coat of lacquer

 Two coats of lacquer

Here are some images of 'Will'

 One coat of lacquer

 Two coats of lacquer

What are you going to be having on your nails for 'The Wedding' weekend? I am toying with Union Jack Minx, or red white and blue nail art...ohh the decisions!

Thank you so much for taking the time to look! Let me know what you think!!

Love, Claire xxx

NOTD - Models Own 'Grey Day'

Hey Guys,

I hope that you are all having a good week?!  I am loving the sunny weather in London, and am looking forward to the long weekends ahead. I must admit that I am a bit of a polish Snob - I tend to use 'Professional' or 'Designer' Brands, and so this post is unusual for me!!

Today's nails are using Models Own, a brand I have very little experience and knowledge of, but I loved the colour of their 'Grey Day' and I was very pleasantly surprised.  The bottle is a 15ml bottle and not an expensive brand - this bottle cost me £3.50 on the ASOS website.  I only bought this bottle as I was buying the Nails Inc Limited Editions Kate & Will polishes (update to come later this week) and thought why not give it a try!

It is quite a thick and opaque lacquer - you could easily use one thicker coat if you were in a rush.  It is not overly shiny without a top coat - but most certainly is not matte.  Not sure how long it will last, but for the price - two days would make me happy - I will let you know!

Here are a few pictures:

 One coat

 Two coats

Thanks so much for looking,
Claire xxx

NOTD - Weekend Nails - OPI Black Shatter & Glitzerland

Hi Guys,

Hope you are all having a great weekend!?! I am so excited as I am going to NYC in 2 weeks, and can't wait to get my hand on some different nail polishes!  I am so excited to find some of the OPI Nicole range...is there anything else I should be looking at getting that I can't find in the UK?

Anyway...todays nails are just a quickie as I have a fully booked Sunday with at least 4 sets of gels, so they will be ruined by tomorrow night!

I have used OPI's Glitzerland which is a shimmery, almost glittery gold, with a high coverage.  It is a brilliant colour, not too bold - but not too quiet either.

I have used OPI's Black Shatter in a thin coat over it - I usually use a thicker coat of shatter as I like the big shattered bits, but have to say over this colour I like the smaller shattered bits.

All the OPI products I used are available from Lena White in the UK.

Hope you like them!! What are your nails wearing this weekend?

Claire xxx

Weekly Blog Round Up - Week 3!!!

Hey Guys, 
This weeks weekly blog round up organised by Stacie of http://kawaiinailart.blogspot.com is below!  Enjoy all these great updates, and other blogs.  If you like them make sure you follow them, let us know what you think!
Have a great weekend, 
Claire xxx

Grace is staying on trend rocking the colour block  http://ooooohpretty.blogspot.com/2011/04/rock-colour-block.html

TheNailAddict used China Glaze for this cute spring manicure   http://thenailaddict.blogspot.com/2011/04/china-glaze-starboard-and-china-glaze.html

Here is LingLing's classy twist on an old favourite http://wuliaonails.blogspot.com/2011/04/elegant-and-classy-twist-on-old.html

Stacie went wild http://kawaiinailart.blogspot.com and got a tumblr account and posted a Kate Middleton Engagement Ring inspired manicure! http://kawaiinailart.tumblr.com/

Sharon was feeling beautiful in blue http://polishinfatuated.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-blue-this-pretty-over.html

Trisha broke a heart or 2 http://ibeatpolish.blogspot.com/2011/04/broken-hearted-stripes.html

Nicole shredded it http://nicnacksnails.blogspot.com/2011/04/shredded-tape-mani.html

Jen played with her new bundle monster plates to make this Spring dream manicure http://moondancerjen.blogspot.com/2011/04/spring-dream-manicure.html

Check out Claire’s paw print French tutorial http://toptwentynails.blogspot.com/2011/04/paw-print-tutorial-using-opi-lacquers.html

Tutorial - Using Tape for Striping using OPI Lacquers

Hey Guys,

I hope you had a good week - this is just a quick and simple idea following the recent blogs of others using tape.  I have just shown how easy it can be to us tape to create a nail design.

For this you will need contrasting colours - I find light and dark works best.  If you use thin coats to layer your colours they will dry quicker.  Today I have used OPI's Lacquers, the pink is 'Princesses Rule' and the grey is 'Lucertainly Look Marvelous'.  Both of these colours are fantastic in their own right.  Princesses Rule is perfect alone, or for a sparkly French Manicure - it is great for brides as it makes a plain French polish into something more special.  The grey Lucertainly Look Marvelous also has a shimmer to it and is not a flat colour - I would compare it in style to OPI's 'My Private Jet' - I love it!!

Step 1:  Prep nails, Apply base coat, and apply 2 layers of your base colour.  Please note that you can do this the other way around if the lighter colour is opaque or using acrylic paint.

Step 2:  Once the base layer is dry, cut some tape into the thickness you want and apply it to the nail how you want it, and press gently.

Step 3:  Apply a coat of your top colour over the tape.  Be sure to ensure the tape is secure, and avoid flooding the edges of the tape.

Step 4:  If required, apply a second coat of your top colour and allow to dry slightly.

Step 5:  Gently remove the tape from the edge of the nail to the centre.

Step 6: Apply top coat and enjoy your perfectly straight lines!

For this demonstration I have used thicker strips of tape to show clearly how this method works.  You can use any shape, thickness and design for this.  You will be best off using 'Scotch' or 'Invisible' tape as this seems a little less sticky.

Have fun playing around, and let me know how you get on!  I will be coming up with some different images to share over the weekend, so do let me know if you want to see anything!!!

Thanks for reading, 

Claire xxx