Bronze Fan Brush

Who said the fan brush is useless?

I used to think there was no real function for a fan brush but here it is doing some nail art.

I love this mani, its so simple yet so effective. The shimmer of the bronze on the nude background is gorgeous!

This mani literally took me 15minutes; if you don't count taking the pictures.

 

 

1. Apply 2 coats of Color Club - Nomadic in Nude - wait 10minutes for it to dry
2. Place a blob of O.P.I - Brisbane Bronze onto a plastic pallet
3.   Drag fan brush through, dab excess off on a clear side of the plastic pallet
4.  Stroke over one half of your nail and then the other.

As you can imagine its very tedious so I gave up that method and applied polish straight from the bottle onto my fan brush..it worked out so much quicker and easier!

 

 

So to apply the bronze over the nude apply the colour to your chosen fan brush (don't apply too much if you want it fine or you'll end up with a nail like my index finger)

You can decided on whether you would like the lines thicker or finer by how much polish you apply to your brush.

Next stroke the fan brush from one side of your nail into the middle and then quickly before the polish dries, from the opposite side and into the middle again

Repeat this over all 10 nails and Voila! Perfectly bronzed nails!

This mani reminds me of an Okapi I saw in Chester Zoo

Tie Dye Inspired Mani

 

I loved this jumper's pattern when I was scrolling through TOPSHOP's website and decided to do some nail art to match it.

 

There's a lot of tie dye clothing out there so why not have a change and have tie dye nails!

You can play about with different colours, using as many different shades as you want. I just happen to be in the mood for pink tie dye

  

What you need:

 

1. Plastic wallet/Sandwich bag
2. Saffron - Colour 11 -White (or any light pink)
3. Saffron - Colour 59 - Pink (or any white)
4. Acetone/Polish Remover
5. Scissors
6. Sally Hansen Base & Top Coat (or any base or top coat)

 

What to do :

1. Grab your plastic wallet/Sandwich bag and cut 10 pieces that will fit over your nail - leave excess plastic to hold on to (do not cut to the exact size of your nail) You may want to cut a few extra in case of mistakes
2. Apply your chosen white polish over all 10 nails - wait until dry (My saffron polish takes 10minutes until it is dry enough for me to touch)
3. Apply a few splodges of pink randomly over your nail and place a few white in-between so that the pink doesn't merge together - Do one nail at a time!
4. Quickly before the polish dries place one of your plastic pieces over your nail and roll your finger over the top from one side to the other - lightly.
5. Remove the plastic after completing step 4. If the pink has merged together apply a small blob of white polish in-between and repeat step 4. Keep doing this until you are happy with the design.
6. Repeat step 3,4&5 on the remaining 9 nails
7. Once finished apply your top coat, and Voilà you now have tie dye nails!

 

"That’s Groovy baby!"

Geometric Shapes

Well this is quite an embarrassing fact but at the age of 22 I have just re-done my maths GCSE!

Why I do these things to myself I will never know, but hopefully it will benefit me in the near future.

 

So anyway it gave me some thought to do some mathematic inspired nail art.

I've had some ideas bouncing around for a while now but I just didn't have the time to do any freehand patterns recently as I've been rushed off my feet with revision.

I thought shapes might be the most simplest to do and that anyone else who wants to have some nails like these can do so without having to be a nail art genius!

 

 

I saw a tutorial on The Beauty Department blog on nail art using scotch tape; so I used the same method they have but with a different design. Still, I love their design and recommend you check it out!

 

 
Here's what you need to do:

 

Step 1 : Coat all your nails in ColorClub – Nomadic in Nude, apply two coats if needed.

Step 2 : Wait for nails to dry (preferably for a good few hours because the next bits tricky unless you can get someone else to do it for you!)

Step 3 : Tear off a piece of Scotch tape and place it on something it will peel off - and still be sticky.

Step 4 : Polish the non-sticky side of the tape with your chosen colours - MUA - Moody Mink, Saffron London - Colour 54, Saffron London - Colour 59.

Wait for nail polish on the tape to dry - I waited approx. 10-15 minutes. 

Step 5 : Cut the tape where the polish is into different sized strips (see image)Now cut the strips into your shapes, you could do squares, triangles, rectangles and if your brave enough, circles. I chose the easy option of squares and triangles.

Step 6 : Once the shapes are cut place them randomly on your nails. (I found it easier that once I'd cut one shape, to put it straight on the nail as its not easy to pick the shape up once its stuck to something)

Step 7 : Apply top coat and wait to dry

Step 8 : Apply hand cream

Step 9 : Admire your handy work!

 The completed look (minus the top coat which I forgot to put on)
 

Good luck to anyone else who has been sitting their maths GCSE's!

 

 

“Beauty is Geometry”

Plain O.P.I...Yawn!

Seen as I'm off to work in half an hour I thought I'd polish my nails.

 

 

 Eww...I really dislike my nails un-polished, they're so bare.

 Anyway I haven't got time for nail art so I've gone with a plain O.P.I colour...B-O-R-I-N-G!

The colour isn't actually that boring; its got a gorgeous gold shimmer mixed in with the dark brown which doesn't make it so dull after all, Happy Days!

If anyone is interested in this polish its called Wooden shoe like to know?

O.P.I even have this shade in GelColor.

"If the colour fits, wear it."

 

Xtreme Lashes

 

 I thought you might like to see some Xtreme Eyelash Extensions I have done for a customer in work!  

 

The ultimate answer for longer, thicker, natural-looking eyelashes!

 



Before

My client was on a time limit so I did not have time to apply a full set of eyelash extensions. As you can see on the images the inner corner of the eye is quite sparse.





After

Xtreme Lashes can take anywhere from 90 to 150 minutes to apply a full set.

Shocking, I know! However it is an intense treatment to accomplish; one natural individual eyelash is separated by tweezers with my left hand, next I use my right hand to pick up a lash extension, dunk it in the adhesive then apply it to the natural eyelash I previously separated from the others, this is then done 160 or more times to fill up the eyes! 

It is time consuming but most clients sleep whilst having them done and its time well-spent to see my clients smile at the end of the treatment.

Everyone has a varied natural lash growth cycle, some have more shedding than others. 
Commonly eyelashes come and go every 60-90 days, the older lash will flutter out whilst a new eyelash has been growing in to replace the old so you wont even notice when the old eyelash falls out. 
When this happens the extension that has been bonded to the natural eyelash will fall out together.





Before

Eyelash infilling is recommend every 2-3weeks to replace the lashes that have shed. After the 2-3weeks there will still be plenty of eyelash extensions, so there is no need to worry!

These lashes are legendary! 

I would most definitely recommend them to anyone who is unhappy with their own or in need of a little length and volume.
Although be prepared to spend though as they don't come cheap.
 


After

 

There are salons all over the UK which provide this treatment and every salon will have a different price.
The first full set can be anywhere from £70 - £100!

 

Please do not try doing these at home! The company will not sell their products (especially not the adhesive) to anyone who does not have a certificate; I would recommend going to a trained Xtreme Lash Professional.





After

There have been recent concerns from medical experts about "eyelash extensions being dangerous, causing infection and allergic reactions."
Doctors consulted in the report are saying that
"many adhesives used by beauty salons contain formaldehyde, which some people are allergic to." 
But formaldehyde is not an added ingredient in any Xtreme lash adhesive. I feel safe and happy using their products in view of the founder Jo Mousselli, who being a registered nurse is dedicated to the health and safety of clients.

 

I have heard plenty about other eyelash extensions companies such as Hollywood Lashes,
Lash Perfect and Nouveau Lashes.



I have personally used Hollywood Lashes products and found the extensions didn't last as long as Xtreme Lashes do, there were still extensions on the eyes but not as many as I would get with Xtreme.
 I would recommend anyone who would like to train as a semi-permanent eyelash extension stylist to visit the Xtreme Lashes website and give them a go! 

Xtreme Lashes even have a blog!

"The password is a flicker of an eyelash"

 

Summer Dots

Summer! Summer! Summer is finally here! I am loving this weather! I get easily bored of having one colour on my nails for a long time so decided to change them up a little today.  As the sunshine has decided to hang around for a bit I chose to do some colourful nails. There are a few links to the products I have used to create this look below the image, go take a look!

 

 

 

 

• Dotting tool - I used the white one out of the set 

• Star Nails Base Coat - or any other base coat 

• Seven brightly coloured nail polishes - I used Orly Grape Glitz, Jessica King Tut's Gem, Orly Lucky Duck, Avon Sunshine, Revlon Orange Fizz, Jessica Happy Together, Jessica Happy-Go-Lucky but you can just choose any colours you'd like to use  

• Saffron London white nail polish - or any white nail polish 

• Sally Hansen Continuous Treatment Top Coat - or any other top coat

 

 

 

"For me, elegance is not to pass unnoticed but to get to the very soul of what one is."

 

Shellac Tropix

  

Well its been a glorious day here in North Wales, which is shocking as it's usually quite dull and rainy. So anyway I thought I would show you guys my summery nails. I used Shellac Tropix which isn't a new colour in the range but I just love how bright it is. The bottle colour is so deceiving though as it looks a mix between red and orange, but comes out an almost vibrant pink! I hope you've all had a super day, just like I have...

"Simplicity　is　the　keynote　of　all　true　elegance"