Autumn Roses

After swatching BarryM's autumn Gelly collection I was inspired to do a spot of nail art using all the colours, so I decided on some colourful roses.

So the colours I used are; BarryM - Chilli, Mustard, Cardamom, Paprika, Cocoa, and Chai. It's topped off with HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat to give a really nice shine. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

BarryM Autumn Gelly Hi-Shine Collection Swatches

When I heard about BarryM's new autumn collection of Gelly colours I knew I had to get them asap! So yesterday, as soon as they were on shelves I was in Superdrug making the most of their 3 for 2 offer to get all 6 polishes in this new collection. 

And I was not disappointed! This collection is absolutely beautiful and really unique, meaning that even for a girl with as many polishes as I have I can't say that I have duplicates of any of these colours. 

First up is Cocoa. This is a stunning, rich, dark brown. It really is like melted chocolate and is really easy to apply.
This is 2 medium coats with no top coat.

Next we have Chilli. This is my favourite colour from the collection. It's a gorgeous deep red, perfect for autumn, winter, and summer alike.
Again, it went on really easily.
This is 2 thick coats with no top coat.

 Next up is Cardamom. This is a really pretty, muted green. It's a really unusual shade and will be perfect for the end of summer and beginning of autumn, but maybe not so much winter.
This is 2 thick coats with no top coat and it could probably do with a third coat.

 Fourthly we have Chai. While I do love a grey, this is my least favourite from the collection. It is a lovely colour but I felt it is the least original and it was harder to apply evenly than the others.
This is 2 thick coats with no top coat.

 Next we have Paprika. This is a gorgeous shade of rusty orange. It's a lovely twist on a summer neon making it more wearable in the colder months.
This is 2 medium coats with no top coat.

And last but definitely not least is Mustard. I think if I had to pick just one from the collection it would be this one. Although I prefer the colour of Chilli, I think Mustard is the most original and unlike any other colour I have.
The picture makes it look brighter than it is in person.
This is 2 medium coats with no top coat.















Altogether it's a really good and well thought out collection. It fills a gap in the market with some really gorgeous autumn shades.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Watercolour Flowers

As the weather has been so miserable for the last couple of days, I fancied using some autumnal colours today. 

I used a really easy technique using acrylic paint and water to create these flowers! 

You simply blend acrylic paint with water until it's really runny, then paint splodges onto your nails. Leave it to dry for a minute then using a cotton bud touch the design to get rid of the excess water. Do it as many times with as many colours as you like to get your desired effect. 

For the background colour I used O.P.I. - Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh, and all the other colours are acrylic paint. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Girly Waterfall

I painted nails for an Asian Wedding this afternoon, and after applying so much glitter and doing so many French manicures I felt pretty uninspired for myself. So I came up with a really simple pink waterfall mani. 

I've seen loads of people use this waterfall technique but I haven't tried it out before. 

The colours are; BarryM - Coconut for the background colour, Essie - Bahama Mama, Models Own - Lilac Sheen, Essie - Lovie Dovie, BarryM - Rose Hip, and BarryM - Rose Quartz to add a bit of sparkle!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Oriental Flowers Part 2

I did this gorgeous gradient the other day and then felt really uninspired as to what to do on top. So I just went for another oriental flower look.

The colours are; Models Own - Apple Pie, Models Own - Coconut Cream, Essie - Bahama Mama, and black acrylic paint. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

#fightforlifeandlive

Since Robin Williams' passing last week, there has been a real movement for depression awareness. 

On Instagram the hashtag #fightforlifeandlive has been made by nail bloggers encouraging other nail artists to paint green nail designs in aid of depression awareness. 

These were the depression awareness green nails I painted in support of the #fightforlifeandlive movement. 

It's an amazing movement to get involved in, even in such a small way as painting green nails to raise awareness. 

The colours I used for this design were; Sinful Colours - Envy, Models Own - Apple Pie, and white acrylic paint. 

Please get involved if you can. Depression is such a real and horrible thing for millions of people around the world. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Oriental Flowers

This has to be my favourite design that I've done in a long time. I think it's so pretty and was so easy to do! 

For the gradient I used Orly - Pretty Ugly and China Glaze - At Vase Value. They blended together really nicely and I'm so happy with how subtle the gradient is. 

I used black acrylic paint for the branches, then the flowers are Models Own - Rhubarb And Custard with Rimmel - Ethereal on top. 

Like I said it was really easy and i just think it's so pretty! 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Daisy French Tips

I'm getting back into matte top coats after enjoying gloss for a while, and I think this daisy french tip design looks so pretty with the matte look! It's such a simple design - this has to be one of my quickest with it only taking about 10 minutes!

The colours I used were; Rimmel - Aye, Aye, Sailor, Models Own - Gumballs, Models Own - Apple Pie, O.P.I. - Just Groovy, Models Own - Purple Glare, Models Own - Red Lustre and white acrylic paint for the flower petals.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Picnic Time

I saw a similar design to this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and wanted to re-create it using different colours and putting my own twist on it. I'm really happy with how it turned out and it just reminds me of summer days and picnics and sunshine! 

The colours I used were; Essie - Lovie Dovie, Models Own - Purple Glare, BarryM - Coconut, Zoya - Pippa, and then acrylic paint for the green leaves and loose pink glitter from bornprettystore.com

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Vintage Roses Part 2

After my last post, we had a friend come to stay who really loved the roses and gingham, but wasn't so keen on the orange. So I did this version on her and I'm thrilled with how it turned out!

The colours are all the same as in my previous post except the blue background is Essie - Lapiz Of Luxury.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Vintage Roses

Just a quickie design that I sped through last night! I'm happy with how it turned out given that it only took about 20 minutes! 

I wanted to try something with some colours I don't usually use. So for the background I used Rimmel - Tangy Tangerine, the white checks and rose leaves are acrylic paint, the background of the roses is Models Own - Rhubarb and Custard, and the rose details are using Essie - Lovie Dovie. 

Sadly todays weather isn't really matching the bright colours of this design!

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Water Marbling

I've tried water marbling so many times and have never managed to get it looking picture perfect like the ones you see on Instagram and blogs. I'd say this is my best attempt yet. I won't give up, and hopefully one day I'll get a perfect water marble! 

The colours I used were; China Glaze - White On White, China Glaze - At Vase Value, and Sinful Colors - Fig. I used one thin coat of F.U.N. Lacquer Diamond Holo Top Coat to give it that beautiful shine, and then HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat to seal it all in.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Glitter Galaxy

1 hour and 12 polishes of stress created this glitter galaxy. Although it doesn't look like a typical galaxy mani I'm really happy with how it turned out. It has so much texture and depth, and is just so shiny!!

The polishes I used were; BarryM - Espresso, China Glaze - White On White, Sinful Colors - Fig, Maybelline - Wine Shimmer, O.P.I - I Don't Give A Rotterdam!, Rimmel - Aye, Aye, Sailor, Sally Hansen - Snow Globe, China Glaze - Your Present Required, Models Own - Southern Lights, F.U.N. Lacquer - Diamond Holo Top Coat, Rimmel Finishing Touch Glitter Top Coat, and topped off with HK Girl Fast Dry Top Coat! 

So much shimmer!

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Dandelion Puff

I tried something more arty today and was really disappointed with how it turned out, but I wanted to share the beautiful colours. 

The background colour is O.P.I. - I Don't Give A Rotterdam!, then over the top of some of the black dandelion puffs and on the thumb is F.U.N. Lacquer - Diamond Holo Top Coat, the black is acrylic paint, and i used BarryM Matte Top Coat. 

The Diamond Holo Top Coat is my new favourite thing in the world! It gives such a beautiful simmer and shine, and is just flawless in the sun light!

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Dry Marbling

I've been seeing loads of dry marbling around on Instagram and blogs recently so I wanted to give it another go. I used contrasting colours this time and I'm very happy with how it turned out :)

I used BarryM - Coconut, Rimmel - Aye, Aye, Sailor, Sally Hansen - Snow Globe to add a little sparkle, and topped it off with HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Glitter Drips

I wanted to do something simple today, so I decided upon glittery drips.
I used Models Own - Southern Lights, BarryM - Blue Grape, and HK Girl Fast Drying Top Coat to give it an extra shine.
I love how it turned out, and I just can't get enough of this Southern Lights polish by Models Own. The shine is out of this world!

Until next time,

- Esther :)

China Roses

Yesterday I got some nail mail that i've been looking forward to for weeks. China Glaze - At Vase Value. It's a beautiful turquoise colour and looks gorgeous with Sinful Colors - Fig. 

I thought it would go nicely with some free hand roses.

The background is China Glaze - At Vase Value, the flowers are Sinful Colors - Fig, and Fig mixed with China Glaze - White On White, and the leaves are a mix of acrylic paints. 

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Summer Skies Tutorial

This design is really simple and is perfect for the summer. 

First paint yours nails with your background colour. I used Lapiz Of Luxury by Essie.

Next, using white acrylic paint gently use a sponge to dab cloud shapes onto your nails. Make sure there's not too much paint on the sponge other wise you'll have very gloopy, thick clouds!

 Once you've finished the clouds, paint black V shapes using acrylic paint to make your flying birds. It's up to you how many you want to put on each nail, but I didn't want them to be too crowded.

Finally, clean up the edges and seal it all in with a top coat. I used Sally Hansen Double Duty top coat, to give a lovely shine.


















This design is amazingly simple and fast, but gives a really lovely effect.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Sweet Shop Reviews

When I heard about Models Own new scented Sweet Shop collection I was so excited and simply couldn't wait to get my hands on them! Finally, two days ago they arrived! I only ordered four of them as the smell of Liquorice makes me feel very ill, so I didn't really want that on my nails! 

 First up is Fizzy Cola. This is a gorgeous brown, shimmer colour with a really good consistency. Unlike most Models Own polishes it wasn't too thick which made it easy to manage.
I noticed they had to be completely dry before you could really smell the cola bottles, but once they were it was a very strong smell.
This is three thin coats with no top coat.












Next up is Gumballs. This is a bright, thick pink creme polish. It is the thickest and the most like Models Own's usual polishes in my opinion.
This polish, although it was the hardest to manage, it had the strongest and most recognisable scent. Even while the polish was wet the smell was very strong. I loved the scent and the colour of this one.
This is three thin coats with no top coat.

Next up is Pear Drops. This is a beautiful coral shimmer polish with a really easy consistency. It went on like a dream and the tiny glitter pieces meant that you could get away without a top coat.
The smell wasn't as strong with this one which I was disappointed by as I've always loved pear drops!
This is two thick coats with no top coat.

And last but not least is Rhubarb and Custard. This is a gorgeous, dark pink colour with bigger bits of glitter than the other two shimmer polishes. It went on really easily again and had a strong scent. Personally, I didn't like the smell of this one as much as the others, but for fans of these nostalgic sweets, this is the perfect polish.
This is three medium coats with no top coat.













Altogether I really love this collection. I like it better than some of Models Own's recent collections such as Polish For Tans.
I think Sweet Shop has been well thought out and really hits a spot that Models Own haven't hit before.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Dry Marble Swatching

Yesterday this gorgeous Sinful Colors polish arrived from a seller on eBay. Instead of swatching it like usual, I decided to do a dry marble using Essie - Lapiz Of Luxury and Sinful Colors - Fig. 

I absolutely love this effect, and these colours just look gorgeous together. I love the fact that no two nails are the same!

Until next time,

- Esther :)

It's Panda Time!

I CUT MY TALONS!!! I still can't quite believe how short I cut them, and I'm having real issues typing on my iPhone now that the placement is all different! But they were getting very long and so i thought it could be time for a change :) 

Since they are squares again I thought it could be the perfect time to do this cute panda mani using Models Own Hypergels. 

The colours are; Models Own HyperGel - Red Lustre, Blue Glint, Purple Glare, Turquoise Gloss, and Coral Glaze. The white and black are both acrylic paints and it's all topped off with Models Own HyperGel Top Coat.

Until next time,

- Esther :)

Born Pretty Nail Wraps

I got these, beautiful vintage looking nail wraps from www.bornprettystore.com the other week and couldn't wait to try them. But I was so disappointed!! Unlike all other Born Pretty nail wraps I've used, these were really hard to manage, terrible to shape, and so flimsy that they just ripped in several places when I was filing them down.

You can see in the picture how messy they look, and that was simply because they were just so hard to use.

I made another Born Pretty order the other day, so lets home the next batch are better than these!!

Until next time,

- Esther :)