nail art - food and drink part 1!!

Hiya guys!!

After my last post on my first experience with nail paintbrushes i thought i'd show a few more "technical" designs i tried out. For most of my designs i watch video's on youtube as i've got to be honest i have NO imagination what so ever.
The past few times I've been watching someone take brands from foods and put it onto a nail so i decided to have a go myself following the video. I did 4 designs in total and i have to say it takes ages!!! i suffer quite a bit from shaking hands so i was glad to have a minute break in between colours as it dried.

The first design i did was "skittles". I achieved through using one nail polish and then nail art pens i got off ebay and putting a drop onto kitchen roll as i've mentioned before. Here is a picture.

Obviously the first step was to paint the nail red. i used two coats to get a more vibrant colour. The red i used was models own red alert.

When that was dry i used my thinnest paint brush to do the white lettering i have to say you don't realise how many letters certain names have until your trying to paint them on a nail!! i then simple washed the brush and outlined it with black when it was dry. With some parts of the lettering i did have to go over some of the white again just to make it look cleaner.

Next came the rainbow. The colours i wanted to use weren't opaque enough when using it over the red. They were such lovely bright colours tho and i was desperate to use them. What i ended up doing was mixing the colour with a little bit of white on some kitchen roll. By doing this it gave the colour more of a base but still kept the lovely brightness. I used the same brush as i did the writing otherwise the stripes in the rainbow would of been too thick and wouldn't of looked right.

i then used a cocktail stick to make the little dots around the design. I didn't follow a particular system with this, just put any colour anywhere!!

This design did take around 20 minutes to complete, so if i was to do this on my actual nails i think I'd probably just stick to the ring finger on each nail as i would be there for hours doing each individual nail. And as amazing as it would look, my nails wouldn't be long enough either to achieve a good look especially with the last finger.

A quick tip if your like me and take quite a while with each section, the nail polish does dry quite quickly on the kitchen roll.  If this does happen to you, rather then adding another drop simply dip your brush in the nail polish remover and start painting again. It doesn't effect the colour or consistency in at all.

I will do a post each day on the different designs so that way i can talk about the products i used and the steps i took so look out for part 2!!

Thanks again to everyone who's had a look at this page and even more to those who have commented and followed

Rhiannydd
xxx

First attempt with paintbrushes - daisies!!

Hiya guys!!

And a special hello to my 3 followers!!! thank you so much for clicking that button. It means the world to me xxx
Well tomorrow i have an informal chat at a beauty college near me to hopefully start a nail services course!! This is a massive step in the right direction to hopefully achieve my dream of working in a nail bar or salon. So please keep those fingers crossed!!

I thought today I'd take the opportunity to show some of my own nail art to you guys. I'm not trained in anyway shape or form, it's purely a hobby at the moment, so it won't be at the high standard others are, but i wanted to show you anyway.
As i don't have a job at the moment, i frequently trawl ebay for good deals on nail tools and polishes. One particular time i came across this set of nail brushes. I've seen them used in youtube video's and the precision people achieve with them is fantastic so i thought why not?? You can get lots of different sets varying in prices. Mine only cost £2 brushes which included shipping which i think is an absolute bargain!! 
These are the brushes i got.

When using them, i can't begin to explain how easy the are to use!! even the epically long one you still have complete control in what your doing!! definitely much better then the brushes which come with nail art pens.
I decided to start off with a fairly simply design just to try and get used to them. I did my first design on a false nail so i would have both hands free.

For this design i used Models own Jade stone for the base, A white nail art pen from New look and Barry M np307 which i actually mixed with the white to achieve a real pastel yellow.
What i did, was use the brush from the nail polish and nail pen and dropped a bit of the colour on a piece of kitchen roll - so it was a bit of a makeshift pallet!!
I then started off with the centre of the daisy's so i mixed a bit of the yellow with some white and did a dot at either ends of the nail - allowing room for petals.
I then used the white to do the petals, looking back i think it may have been easier if i'd done a petal at 12 o'clock, 3, o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock first and then filled the rest in. This would of meant the petals would of been more even but hey you have to learn somehow don't you!!
I then simply used the dotting tool from the nail art pen to do the dots in between. It really is such a simple design with a really nice effect. When you've finished with each colour, simply dip your brush in some nail polish remover and wipe off with some kitchen roll. A bit like you would with a normal paintbrush with water!!

This design is definitely a good one to choose if it's your first time using paint brushes.

If anybody would like the link to the person i got the brushes on please feel free to ask and i'd be more then happy to send you a link

Rhiannydd
xxx

Barry M web effect

Hiya guys!!

Okay firstly i want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has clicked on my blog. 80 views is just amazing, i didn't even think I'd get 1!! I have a few more idea's about reviews i'll do and i have many pictures of nail art i've done so stay tuned.

I went into superdrug the other day to but some hair dye and had a look at the Barry M as i absolutely love their nail polishes!! They're definitely in my top brands. They had a special offer on - buy any 2 products and get a web effect nail polish for free so of course as i was already buying 2 other nail polishes i took full advantage of the sale and picked up the free web effect. I already have 3 of the crackle effect nail polishes which i love, so i was really interested to see how it worked out. Here is the bottle for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

I used a base coat of Barry M vivid purple as i couldn't find my black and i thought it would still look ok and give a Halloween type look with it. When you first put it on, the polish is actually quite thin and looks a bit peculiar as you can see the base coat underneath. However it is incredibly easy to apply!! It does take significantly longer then the crackle effect to begin to work so if nothing is happening do bare with it!!
This is what it looks like when it first goes on.

This is the final effect after waiting a few minutes

Admittedly the effect isn't how i imagined it to look, but if your someone who doesn't do nail art and wants an effect on their nails then i think you would love it. I personally haven't used the croc effect nail polish but having looked at swatches of them i think the effect is very similar. I think i could of done with putting a bit more on the effect nail polish on so the colour was more vibrant as it's such a lovely colour in the bottle. Or if i used a lighter base coat it might look better too. I think it's something I'll have to experiment with.
If anybody else has used it and had a different experience with it i'd love to know your opinions :)

Rhiannydd
xxx

Models own winter wonderland collection

hiya guys!!

Well i have now become the proud owner of the complete winter wonderland collection by models own!! I've only recently got into the models own nail polish and i can't believe how fantastic it is. i first their nail polish on a youtube video and straight away i thought "wow i have to get some of that" one became 3, 3 grew to 5 and now i have quite a collection. Obviously some people may not rate it  as highly as i do but each to their own. i have no complaints at all. I'm yet to find a colour i don't like and certain colours i can get away with only putting one layer on.

Anyway onto the winter wonderland collection. After models own had their summer sale as a celebration for reaching 100,000 likes on facebook they brought out this collection ready for christmas. I have to say they are gorgeous!! There are 5 bottles in the collection and all as pretty.

Here's a first glance at them.

the collection includes Blizzard, southern lights, northern lights, jack frost and snowflakes.


Blizzard
At first glance i thought blizzard would be very similar to the hed kandi ibiza mix but i was actually pleasantly surprised at how individual it was. The polish is made up of sliver only hexagons in various sizes. Its very easy to apply and you don't have to try and place them when applying. You don't even necessarily have to have a coloured base coat.  Here is a swatch with 2 coats applied.

Snowflakes
The next nail polish is called snowflakes. I thought this particular one gives the same effects Models own other new collection - the mirrorball collection. This nail polish is made up of pearly coloured flakes which can look  different  colours depending on the light.This particular nail polish definitely needs a base coat as there simply isn't enough coverage achieved without. Here is a swatch with 2 coats applied.

Jack frost

This nail polish is a gorgeous glittery polish, with very small pieces of glitter so is very different to the other glitter nail polishes models own already has. The colour of the glitter gives off a beautiful pearly effect with flashes of purple and blue giving it a real frosty effect. Perfect name!! Here is a swatch with 2 layers.

Southern Lights
This nail polish create's a similar effect to the Jack frost, only it is more opaque as the glitter is purple. This one is definitely one of my favourites as the sparkle it gives off is truly stunning. I would say with this one it isn't particularly opaque with one coat, but add a second and it's just right without the need for a base coat. Here is a swatch with 2 coats.

Northern Lights
This one is the same as the Southern lights only the glitter is pink. Again this really requires 2 coats if you want an opaque look. This colour is definitely my favourite out of the collection. The sparkle effect it has and the different colours it picks up is just gorgeous. I can definitely see myself getting this one again. here's a swatch with 2 coats.

Overall i have to say this collection really is amazing. Much better then i could of ever imagined. I can't wait to do some serious nail art with these at Christmas. Here's a final picture of all of the swatches together.

Boots currently have their 3 for 2 offer on so you can get them from there or check out the models own website where you can get all 5 AND a clear for £20!!


Rhiannydd
xxx

First off introductions.....

Hiya to anyone who has so kindly clicked on this page!!

I'm totally new to anything like this so please bare with me. I've decided to set up this blog just to post my nail findings, any nail art i do and just general chit chat really....
i would absolutely love to have a job in nail art or nail technology but if any of you were to look on google you would see the courses are not cheap!! So for now i sit in my bedroom whenever i get chance and just paint various designs on my own nails and on false ones.

I will probably find that i end up posting about other things other then nails and just post general thoughts, and anything else i come across in day to day life.

Thanks again for taking the time to come onto this page

Rhiannydd
xxx