Animal Paw Print Nail Art - Using OPI, Chanel & Illamasqua Lacquer

I had an hour free, so thought I'd play about with some nail lacquers.

For this manicure, I have used:
OPI Nail Envy
OPI - Moon Over Mumbai
OPI - I Juggle Men - to add a little bit of shimmer
Chanel - Black Satin
Illamasqua - Collide

I wanted something cute to match the black outfit I have for New Years!!  I hope you like them :)

If I don't get a chance to post before, I wish you all a happy and health 2013!!!

xxx

Moon Manicure / Reverse French Manicure - OPI Axxium Soak Off Gel

With my Christmas Party this week, I wanted to do something sparkly but not too outrageous to wear and have for work!!

I thought I should try the trend of the almond shape nails, and the classic reverse french / moon stytle manicure!

To create these nails I used OPI Axxium Soak Off Gels, and as my nails are slightly longer, the Axxium Soak Off Overlay Gel.  The gold is Glitzerland & moons are Lady In Black.  I used the Gold Glitter gel to go over the whole nail and blend it in.

I found that these were so tricky to do on myself, so are not a perfect as I would have liked, but think the look effective!!

Ruby Ritz Shellac

As it December, I am starting to feel festive.  I ordered the Shellac Christmas Duo 2012 when it was released back a few months ago, but have only now decided to try it out!

Ruby Ritz Shellac is part of the Shellac Christmas Duo for 2012.  It is a bright red with glitter, and a fantastic bright festive colour!  It is a fully opaque, and the glitter is small and shiny, with no obvious lumps or large pieces.  There is a slight gold hue to the glitter, but this is not overly noticeable at all, and I would call this a true red.  I cannot wait to try the gold version 'Tinsel Toast' that came with it - when I can reach my toes I will give that a try!!

I was thinking about adding some nail art, but the colour is bright and shiny, I don't think it needs anything added to it.

What colour are your festive nails?!

Have a good week!

Claire xxx

Midnight Swim Shellac & CND Additive in Titanium Pearl

Hi Guys,

Well, for the last few weeks I have been recovering from surgery, and I have had the new Shellac colour 'Midnight Swim' just waiting to be tried!!  I also got a few of the new additives which I tried out.  Unfortunately I was not able to try any designs, and have just used this across my whole nail - I love it!

Midnight Swim is a great navy blue colour with tiny glitter particles.  It is not overly shimmery or glittery.   The coverage is very opaque with two coats.  The colour, to compare it is very similar to OPI's Russian Navy.

The new additives are colour pigments that can be burnished into the tacky inhibition layer on cured Shellac.  For my first try out I used Additive 'Titanium Pearl' which is a very shimmery silver colour - although it looks white in the pot!  It is great for fades, but I was not comfortable enough to spend mush time playing so covered my whole nail.  For this I used a dry gel brush and scrubbed the additive into the nail.  For the picture below I used a lot of the additive, but you can used less.

Overall I think the Midnight Swim Shellac is a great colour and great addition to the collection.  I will keep playing around with the additives, but first impressions are that these will be an easy and great way to add to Shellac services.

Hope you are all well!!

Have you tried the additives?

Claire xxx

Pretty Poison Shellac on Toes

This weekend I finally had some time to do my toes, and went for the Pretty Poison Shellac.  This is a lovely deep green with a shimmer.  It is a dark opaque colour, and I can't wait to do my fingers to match!!

I am not sure how popular this will be with clients, as green is always a colour I have found for people to be hesitant of, but with Halloween coming up a few people might go for it!!

What do you think of this colour?  I think the 'Fall' 2012 colours have been a great addition to the Shellac colour range and am loving these new shimmers.

Hope you all had lovely weekend!

Claire xxx

Vexed Violette Shellac

My client today loves purple and tried out the new Shellac colour - Vexed Violette.  I hadn't had the chance to look at it so was keen to see it!!

The colours is a great shimmery/shiny colour but not as opaque as I was expecting.  Luckily my client LOVED it!!

It is a metallic colour which is not as dark as Rock Royalty or Purple purple which have both been so popular since the weather has turned cooler.

I like it, and a great addition to the purple Shellac selection!

Have a great week,
Claire x

Hot Chilis Shellac

At last I have all the Shellac colours!! The one I have been without is 'Hot Chilis'.  Its a great soft red colour with a shimmer.  On the first coat I was worried about coverage, but on the second coat it was perfect.

A great colour for all year round!

Overtly Onyx Shellac

Hi Guys,

I have got my hands on some of the new 2012 Shellac colours!!  I have no idea how these new colours bypassed me.  I am still to get the Dark Navy Shimmer colour which I am really excited to get when it comes back in stock!

This weekend I am wearing 'Overtly Onxy' which is a black shimmer.  It is in between Blackpool and Asphalt in colour.  It is a completely opaque colour and very shimmer and shiny!! I am loving it and think it will be great for the party season.  I wear dark nails quite often and like black, but think this is a great alternative.

I am going to be working through the other colours I have and will update you as I try them out on myself and clients.

Have you tried these colours?!

Claire xxx

Hot Pop Pink Shellac

As summer is finally upon us, I wanted summery nails!  This is a great hot pink colour, and I am loving it.  A great creamy and opaque colour, with great coverage.

There is only one down side with this colour and that is fades if you are in a lot of bright sunshine i.e. sunbathing.  I have had a few clients who have had this fade on their toes, but for general wear I have not seen any problems.

Thanks for looking!
Claire x

Shellac Layering - Rose Bud and Strawberry Smoothie

One of my clients wanted to try out the layering options with Shellac as she could not decide on what colour she wanted. She has used Strawberry Smoothie and loved it, but wanted something a little different.  We went for one layer of Rosebud and one layer Strawberry SMoothie.

I think this is a great colour combination, and adds some depth to a very light colour!  I am not always good at layering as I find sometimes it can be a little streaky or nails are slightly different colours - this however works very well and very easy to achieve.

How do you get on with your layering?

Claire xxx

Shellac Nail Art Tutorial - Sponging and Free Hand - Silver Chrome & Asphalt

I was bored last Sunday and had a chance to play around with a couple of effects and the new gel paints!! I have been wanting to try using a makeup sponge as i like the fading effect and subtlety.  I used the gel paints the Sam Biddle Gel Paints that are really fantastic to try some free hand lines with a fine brush.

So, this is what I used and how I did these nails:

I used Shellac, Gel Paint and fine nail art brushes

Apply base and colour, curing as directed.

Apply a lighted colour to a makeup sponge.  Here I have cut up a large one but you can get small ones. I actually think something which is not so compact in structure might work better.

Dab on the colour where you want it and cure.

Using a fine brush apply the gel paint as you like.  I found the tip of using a pad moistened with isopropyl alcohol helpful for neatening up the lines.

I found the gel paint really manageable, it did not run, and i did all five nails without needing to cure.  When you are happy with your design, cure.

Apply top coat, remove inhibition layer and apply oil.

I hope that you like these.  Have you tried using a sponge to apply gel polish, or lacquer?

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!!!

Claire xxx

New Shellac Colours

I am slowly getting to use all the new Shellac colours!! I do like them! I just need to find a better wasy of storing them as I have filled all my wall space!  Below are the six new colours released in the UK in March 2012. These colours are all wearable and offer some different looks which is just what Shellac needed to do.

So here they are:

I have used Silver Chrome on toes - these will be great for the summer as well as the holidays and special occassions.  I have a wedding coming up, i think with a black dress and black peep toes this will look great!!!

The Dark Lava colour has been really popular, and I think will be great for the winter.  It has a deep red shommer to it, but also looks purple or brown in different lighting.

I have used Rock Royalty with the Gold VIP Status Shimmer.  This is much more subtle than the glitters, and thie effect I think will be wearable for clients.

I love the Rubble colour, it is very similar to the OPI 'You Don't Know Jacques' which I have found very popular.  It goes with everything and can see this being very popular.

I used CityScape with the new VIP Status in Silver.  This is a great mix and a lovely dove grey colour which is very shiney.  The Shimmer in the VIP Status I think sets it off nicely.

Thanks for reading!
Claire x