NOTW: Orange and White Floral Nail Art

It's been a while since I've had the time and patience to get myself inspired to do some nail art. But yesterday I decided to crack open my BarryM White Nail Art Pen and give my hot orange nails a pick-me-up. I went for a pretty basic floral design but I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I hope that this might inspire you to spice up your nails for the weekend. 

NOTW || Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I don't usually celebrate Halloween but I like to make an effort to make it fun. This year I've decided to created some Halloween themed nail art. I got inspiration for this look from a photo I saw posted on Instagram (Follow me JennaDoesBeauty) and decided I just had to do it. Personally, I think this look isn't as good as I imagined I could have done it, but I still think it's a great idea for Halloween!

Have you created any Halloween themed nail art this year?

NOTW || Style and Money

Essie Stylenomics and Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Big Money

Lately I have been loving dark colours on my nails. I am truly obsessed with black-toned colours like Barry M Red Black and OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. 

For a while now, I have been on the hunt for a green black nail varnish, so picked up Essie Stylenomics on a shopping trip to Boots. I love the brushes on Essie nail varnishes, it helps the varnish apply beautifully and leaves a smooth and shiny finish. It took me the usual 2 coats to get my desired green/black finish.

I decided to add an accent nail, and what better to use than a glitter nail varnish. For this I used Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Big Money. I love this glitter nail varnish, it's so pretty with tiny gold and pale pink flecks. Although I love this varnish, I'm not looking forward to taking it off as glitter is notoriously difficult to get off but until then, I'll happily admire my nail creation.

NOTW || Essie Cocktail Bling

 

I have been dying to get some colour on my nails after treating them with the Rimmel Nail Nurse Nail Treatment for 2 weeks. Especially after posting about my Autumn Nail Collection! And if you read that post, you will most definitely recognise this nail varnish. If you didn't, click here to see what I thought.

Update || Rimmel Nail Nurse Nail Treatment



First things first, if you have read my original post then you can read it here. I'm now on my 14th day of this nail treatment and I've just removed the treatment from my nails. I can definitely feel a difference in the strength of my nails. They are a lot less flexible than they were prior to using the treatment. I haven't noticed any early signs of peeling which is great because before using this treatment, peeling nails were my biggest nail worry. As you might be able to see in the picture below, my nails are still slightly stained but I think that's the kind of thing that has to be buffed off or grown out.

 

If I'm being honest, I think this nail treatment has worked better than I thought it would. Especially as it was only £4.49 from Boots. And now I'm off to paint my nails with one of the lovely autumn colours that featured in my Autumn Nail Collection. 

 

 



Seasonal Nail Collection || Autumn

Autumn is by far my favourite season. There is nothing more pleasant than the sound of  rain on the windows, getting into your pj's early and sipping on a hot chocolate and watching the leaves change. Not to mention the chunky knits, knee-high boots and tartan print. But today I'm showing you what nail varnishes I'm most looking forward to wearing this Autumn.

 First up is Essie's Cocktail Bling which is a blue/grey colour with a hint of lavender. It's a great colour for the seasonal transition from Summer to Autumn as it's quite a neutral colour and isn't exclusive to just one season. It's also good if you don't like wearing dark varnish on your fingernails but want a colour that symbolises the season. Personally, I think it is a gorgeous colour and is a great representation of the Autumn sky (so poetic, haha).

 Next is Barry M's Red Black (115) which just as it's name describes, is a very dark blood red. Darker colours, especially with deep berry tones are really popular in Autumn and this is a great nail varnish to achieve an on trend nail look. I love this sexy vampire like colour and think it will be a hit for me this Autumn.

OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark is a nail varnish that I think most people will have heard of as it's one of OPI's best sellers. Looking at it in the bottle, it's looks black but when applied you can clearly see that it's dark purple. It's a really chic colour and I can definitely understand why it's so popular. It's a deep plum colour so slots in great with the Autumn berry trend.

Look Beauty Nail Pop in City is a grey/taupe colour which is really popular colour for Autumn. It's a darker yet neutral colour which works perfectly with the seasons trends. Again, it's a great colour for those people that don't like wearing to much of a dark colour on their nails.

Barry M's Raspberry is one of my all time favourite nail varnishes. Every year since discovering it I can't wait for the Autumn months to sneak in so I can start wearing it. It's a gorgeous red berry colour and bang on trend when it comes to this season. One of my very first NOTW posts was about this nail varnish. You can check it out here.

Last up is Essie's Penny Talk and the only metallic nail varnish in this collection. It's a very pretty copper colour, thus being great for this season. I am yet to use this colour but I think it will definitely get it's fair share of use this Autumn.

As you might be able to tell, I can't wait to use all of these gorgeous nail varnishes. I love them all so much that I'll probably have them on a weekly rotation. I would love to know what your Autumn Nail Collection looks like so feel free to leave me a link to a similar post.

First Impressions || Rimmel Nail Nurse Nail Rescue 14 Day Nail Hardening Treatment

Is it just me or are names for products getting longer and longer?! 

My love of nail art is reaching an all new high but my nails seem to be weeping underneath the pretty polish and crying out for some love and attention. My nails are stained from months worth of nail varnish, flimsy, weak and are starting to peel. So when I spotted this treatment at a reasonable price of £4.49, I thought I'd try it out and hope for a change in the condition of my nails.

 

Rimmel Nail Nurse Rescue boasts longer, stronger, harder and more resilient nails in 2 weeks. To start the treatment, your nails must be clear of any nail varnish. I also cut my nails down and shaped them to their natural curve. Next, you should apply one coat of the treatment and then a second a day later. You should then keep the treatment on for a remaining 5 days, remove it and repeat the procedure for another 7 days.

 

The treatment is very polish like in formula. You apply it like you would any other polish and wait for it to dry. I found that it dried really quickly which is great because I'm very impatient. It also leaves a shine to your nails like a top coat.

 

I look forward to seeing how well this treatment works and will keep my blog up-to-date with the results. Have you used any nail treatments? Did they work for you?

 

 

July Favourites

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Nail Design: Mad About Ombre!

If you've seen my previous post you will see that I am loving ombre nail art this summer. Today, I had a friend come over so I could do her nails for her 21st birthday tomorrow night. She is wearing a gorgeous green dress and nude heels and wanted a nail design look that would compliment her outfit. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I came up with this super cute coral ombre design. To create this look I used Barry M's Coral and Peach Melba as well as Barry M's Matt White for the base colour. The colours blend in really well together to create an even gradient. My friend was really happy with the overall look and can't wait to celebrate her birthday in style.

Nail Design: Summer Ombre

 

Ombre has been a trend that has well and truly hit. You would have seen trends from ombre hair to ombre nails. For this nail design look I used a dark pink colour, an orange and a bright yellow. I think the colours really blend in well with each other.

 

The colours I used for this design are:

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Pomegranate

Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Hip Hop

Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint in 326

 

Nail Art Tutorial: Pastel Daisies

 

 

For this tutorial you will need some dotting tools but if you don't have any, you can use something with a ball point at the end like a slidey clip. I'm using my dotting tools which appeared in my June Favourites, and I'm using 2 different sizes.

 



 

1. First, you will need to cut and shape your nails to your desired shape and length. I decided to go for a short, square nail so I could fit all the daisies on the top of my nail.

2. Next, paint you nail your favourite pastel colour! In this picture I used Barry M's Strawberry Ice Cream.

3. Once the polish is dry, used a white nail polish and your dotting tool to create small flower shaped blobs across the tip of the nail. I think 3 looks best. Again, I used Barry M's Matt White.

4. Next, with your smalled dotting tool, use a yellow colour, I used 17 Lasting Fix in Sherbet Lemon and dot it into the centre of the daisies. Lastly, apply your favourite top coat.

Nail polish used:

Models Own Apple Pie

Barry M Blue Moon

Models Own Grape Juice

Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream

Barry M Peach Melba

Barry M Matt White

17 Lasting Fix Sherbet Lemon

Nail Design: Watercolours and White Triangles

 

 

This watercolour nail design is right on trend this season, especially with bright colours. The white triangles give it an Aztec-y look which is really big in the fashion world at the moment. This look would be great for any of you festival-goers this summer and I guarantee you'll get your fair share of compliments.

 

Nail varnishes used from left to right:

Barry M Nail Paint in Matt White

Barry M Nail Paint in Peach Melba

Barry M Nail Paint in Bright Pink

Barry M Nail Paint in Pure Turquoise

Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green

Barry M Nail Paint Base and Top Coat

 

 

Nail Design: Polkadot Rhinestones



Essie - Not just a pretty face
NYC - String of pearls


Pastel colours have most definitely made a comeback this summer after being all the rage last year. I couldn't get enough of the mint greens and pale pink colours. This week I'm wearing Essie's Not Just A Pretty Face and NYC's String of Pearls to create this cute polkadot design. I added some small silver rhinestone's to give a pop of elegance. I think this look is quite a muted look for summer, as I prefer brighter colours, but would be great if you were going to a more formal occasion like a wedding or christening.

I would love to know what you think about this nail art design and if you would like to see some kind of tutorial on how to recreate this look.

NOTW: Half Moon Manicure

If you haven't heard of, or even seen a half moon manicure then where the hell have you been?! Half moon manicures have been all the rage for the last six months and seen on celebrities like Rihanna, Beyonce, Dita Von Tease and Lauren Conrad to name a few. The half moon manicure consists of two contrasting colours on one nail. The first colour is the shape of a half moon and usually is on the cuticle end of the nail. The second colour covers the remaining nail.

In my opinion, half moon manicure look best when the half moon is a metallic varnish like sparkly gold and the remaining part of the nail is a pastel colour like a Barry M's Mint Green (pictured above). I really like the look of this manicure as it's simple but looks great. It's actually easier to create than I first thought but you definitely need some patience.

What do you think of the half moon manicure? Have you ever tried it?

NOTW: Influenced by the weather

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

NOTW: Purpley-Plum

Purpley-plum colours are so in this season! I have many shades of purple in my nail varnish collection but most of them are really dark, which can annoy me because they are so dark that sometimes you can't even tell it's purple. But whilst hunting through my collection I found this gem! My aunt gave me this nail varnish a while back and I never got round to using it. I'm pretty sure this brand is for professional use so I'm not sure if you can get it down at your local high street. The varnish itself was a bit gloopy (it's very old) so I could only manage the one coat so I am most definitely on the hunt for a high street dupe!

If you have the perfect purple, let me know in the comments below!

NOTW: Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Watermelon

I am loving this new Barry M Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Watermelon. This teal colour is great for this time of year. The varnish is super shiny which is great so there is no need for a top coat.

What do you think of Barry M's new Hi-Shine collection?

What's On My Toes?

Frankly, I don't expect you to actually be asking the above question but I haven't done a NOTW this week and I thought it would be fun to try something new. Now, if your one of the crazy people that are scared of feet, I would read no more and look away!

On my toes nails I have Accessorize's Mink nail varnish, which you might have seen on my most recent haul post. Over the top of the Mink I have Barry M's Hologram Hexograms which is a beautiful glitter varnish that looks great on fingers and toes!

What do you have on your toes?

Jenna x