Pastel Galaxy with MoYou London Stamping Nail Art Tutorial

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Hello my lovelies! We have been having a discussion about nail colours on Life in Lacquers Facebook page, why don't you pop over and join in?!


Today I have a review and video on MoYou London Hipster Plate 7. Here's a quick look at what I came up with

For the tutorial and more pictures please join us after the jump! 

Water Marble Nail Art Decals

I feel so proud of myself right now! After 5 hours of practise I finally got water marbling to work for me!

I sat at my table last night and and just messed around with the polishes I had, I also got some great advice from Tracey from Bite No More. I found that my Essie polishes worked best and that's what I used to create this look.
The main thing that has put me off marbling in the past is the mess. It looked so much hassle and so much clean up. Then I saw @yagala on instagram making a water marble decal and I knew I had to try it! @Yagala also has a YouTube channel which you can see HERE 

For loads more pictures and all the details, join me after the jump!

Fantasy Stamping Nail Art

Yay, nail mail day!
I have finally received some, not all, of my stamping plates. I ordered these about 3 weeks ago from Aliexpress.
I don't mind waiting when they are this cheap mind you and the ones I have tried so far stamp perfectly well.

Today I have a nail art featuring plate KD27. I think this might be a cheaper version of a more expensive plate? This plate picked up perfectly fine, I had no problems at all :)

To see what I created please join me after the jump!

Fish Scales Nail Art and Tutorial

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This week I saw a lush nail art by Sammy from The Nailasarus and suddenly remembered that I had some fish scales stencils from Nail Stickrs that I still hadn't tried!

To see the tutorial video and what polishes I used, join me after the jump! 

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge July: FLORAL

After a little faux pas on monday, some of you may have already seen these! I was sat in my car looking at lions in Longleat when my twitter went a bit mental as I had published the wrong post DUH!

Today's prompt is Floral... I decided to give one stroke another go.I wanted to do something very feminine so decided to use pink and of course some glitter!

A couple days ago I bought the Cupcakes and Champagne collection by Ruby Wing from a nail friend only and I couldn't resist using one!
If you didn't know the collection of polishes are all scented and they change in the sunlight!
The scent is strong even with a topcoat on, its divine!

For this look I used Essie Neo Whimsical and Color Club Strawberry Shortcake. The roses are painted using some acrylic paint.

My one stroke still needs loads of work and my middle finger is the worst but I do still like the look of this nail art and I am pretty proud of the results.

You can see the other challenge entries below and please go and give them a view. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge: BLUE featuring Video Tutorial

Another #lifeinlacquerjuly mani. How are you all liking the challenge so far? I hope your enjoying seeing others work on my Instagram!

Ive been totally overwhelmed by all the people taking part! I thought no one would so I am sooo happy you are all joining me on this!

Today is another very broad prompt...Blue. 

I chose to get my Nail Stickrs out for this one. Maybe it would have been more suited to the Geometric prompt but oh well :)

AND theres a couple videos to accompy this too! Im getting there with the whole video thing. I still find them quite hard and awkward to film but I am getting there. 

Again these are fast so I can put them on Instagram. Do you think I should make longer versions for Youtube? 

Here is how I did the gradient.....

 

And here is how I used the Nail Stickrs to create a sponge chevron.


I hope the videos go a little way in showing you how I did this look.
I am really interested to know what you think about them so please do let me know.

For this look I used Essie Butler Please, Avenue Maintain and Sweet Talker. I also used Moyra 304 on the chevron nail. 

All of this was one ontop of a white base

And then of course it needed some bling! These beautiful metal star charms are from Effect Beauty. I love them! They are slightly curved so fit to the nail really well unlike other flat charms, plus you get a decent amount for your money.

Soooo what do you think? Please check out the other blog entries from Life in Lacquer July below!

An InLinkz Link-up

**some of the products featured were sent to me as press samples. All opinions are my own**

First Attempt at One Stroke!

I have been trying to learn one stroke nail art. MAN its hard!

I practise every now and then when I have time but I need to give it alot more time.

This is the first time I have risked ruining a mani haha. I don't think it turned out too bad for a first proper attempt.

I used a one stroke brush from Moyra UK to do these and also the St Petersburg brush. I love Moyra Brushes! They are great quality and I swear they make all the difference. I spent years trying to get by with cheap eBay ones and I swear these have already improved my nail art loads!

The polishes are Tropical storm by Happy Hands and Essies Shes Pampered. My fave red EVER!

What do you think of my first attempt?? Id love some tips too if anyone has any!? I'm currently watching A LOT of YouTube videos mainly by Cute Nails. 

Fantasy Unicorn Nail Art

This has got to be the cutest, most girly nail art I have ever done!

I used some nail vinyl stencils from She Sells Seashells for the unicorn. I know I have been doing loads of reviews for Nail Stickrs recently but of course they are not the only supplier and they do different stencils too. She Sells Sea Shells is also based in the UK.
They were easy to use and I got a great result too! I used Konad stamping polish in white to do them as it covers better than other whites.

You also get the cut outs left in the middle so they can be used as stickers :) 

I used Zoya Robyn, Unnamed Color Club Glitter, Essie Cascade Cool and Zoya Mira

I used Essie Cascade Cool as the base. Its such a powdery sweet pink. I really love it. Then used a sponge to splodge on the two +Zoya Nail Polish. Topped off with the Color Club glitter.
I hate that they don't label half the Color Clubs! I think its all the ones that come in sets that remain unnamed.

The metal charms are from eBay. I think I payed like £1 for a wheel with loads of different designs.

What do you think of my unicorn fantasy nails? I LOVE them!

I think I may be turning into an actual girly girl! HELP!

You can browse and buy various stencils and other nail art items from She Sells Seashells HERE




*some of these products were provided as a press sample for my honest review*

MegaMix Nails. Turn Your Nail Polish Into Gel Polish!

 This is part two of my Mega Mix series. Please see my previous post on gel polish. 

So here comes the practical bit! 

I have prepared a little step by step for all y'all that are new to gel polishing and to show how to use Mega Mix, hope you enjoy!

You will need...

UV lamp

Nail polish of your choice

The three Mega Mix polishes (Amazin Base, Mega Mix and Amaze Glaze) 

A brush 

A nail buffer of 240 grit or more.  

Cotton pads. 

THIS STEP TO STEP IS GOING ON THE BASIS THAT ALL YOUR NAILS HAVE BEEN FILED INTO SHAPE AND YOUR CUTICLES HAVE BEEN PUSHED BACK. 

It is essential to remove all the cuticle off the nail plate or the gel will not adhere properly. 

1. To start you are going to want to remove the shine on your natural nail. Please do not use a regular nail file for this. Using a normal nail file will cause damage to your natural nail. I choose to use a grit of 240 or over. It is only to remove shine. so a couple sweeps of the nail file over your natural nail will do it. After you have done this then use some polish remover to clean your nail and make sure no dust remains.

As I am wearing a patch on my index finger (I had a very nasty break) I cannot put gel polish on that nail as when I remove the gel it'll soak it off. Soo i have decided to paint this nail with regular nail polish as a comparison. 

2. Time to apply the base coat. You only need a thin layer. Apply Amazin Base in the same way you would apply nail polish. Do not flood the nail with gel. I tend to do four fingers on one hand, then the next four. I choose to do the thumbs separately as its easier for me.

3. Cure the nails for 2 minutes in your UV lamp.

4. Now its time to mix your colour. You may find this easier to do BEFORE you apply base coat. If this is the case, then please move the mixed colour AWAY from the UV lamp as it can start to cure.

Start with a 50/50 ratio. It says on the website this can be increased to a ration of 80 polish to 20 gel. 

5. Apply your colour. This must be done thinly otherwise it may not cure correctly and could wrinkle. Make sure to use a brush soaked in acetone to clean up any mistakes. Once it is cured that way it cant be tidied up. Cure after layer for 2 Min's.

6. Continue step 5 until you have your desired coverage.

7. Once you are happy top it all off with Amaze Glaze. One coat. Cure again for 2 minutes. 

8. Wipe off the sticky layer with a weak alcohol solution or a gen finishing solution.

TaDa! 

Okay... 

My index finger nail shows Essie's Wheres My Chauffeur using 2 coats. The other fingers show the same polish, mixed with Mega Mix and using 4 coats. 

The coverage is so much better with the polish

The coverage was not very good with this mixed gel polish. This could be due to many things I suppose. The pigmentation of the polish and the ratios I used? You can see on my ring finger especially that it is quite patchy. I suppose when you mix a polish with a clear gel it is effectively going to "water down" the colour.

I was a bit disappointed with this but I suppose it is only my first go and maybe with a more pigmented polish it wouldn't be so streaky. I'm not sure if this is the next big thing? I really love the flexibility of wearing nail polish. I can change it in an instant. BUT I can see the appeal for those wanting longer wear time. 

Mega Mix is available to buy from Martin HERE

What do you think about this? Do you have any questions? 

Stay tuned, next time I will be trying another polish.....

This gel system was provided to me for my honest review, Please see my disclaimer for details 

My Stash!

Hey everyone! 

I am sooo poorly :( :( 

I have no energy to do my nails which is so sad as i have a few new ones this week! 

So instead i decided to give mine a little dusting and take a pic to show you all. 

Now i know this doesn't look like a lot compared with other peoples or bloggers but i only have a limited budget and often buy them in sales or from "nail friends" 

I usually have them stored on shelves in my living room and that's another reason i only keep my faves as I don't have room for more shelves! 

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks i should have my new indies coming from the likes of Polish Me Silly, KBShimmer and some samples too. So keep an eye of for those babies.

If i am honest I am getting sick of mainstream brands. Alot of the "new" releases seem to be dupes either to other brands or the same brand just a few seasons ago. I like that Indies can offer a fuller more varied range although some of them are starting to look a tad same-y. 

My favourite brand fro main stream has to be Zoya. I love PixieDust and their creme shades are delightful! 

I just wish the brush was slightly wider. 

I hope you've all had a good week and have a great weekend folks! 

Halloween Nail Art Fail

Of all days to be having an off day it had to be Halloween!

I have been planning in my head loads of different designs all week but I just haven't had time to do them :( 

So this is what I ended up doing......

It doesn't really help that the photos are crud. I think today is just one of those days! 

BTW that's supposed to be a witches hat on my index finger LOL

I will spend today looking at all the other beautiful manis and hanging my head in shame :(

Breast Cancer Awareness Mini Challenge Day 5

Its the last day of the challenge today and I think I have left the best til last! 

Today we have an Ombre mani with a hand painted heart and ribbon motif. 

I Used 

Essie Lights 

Essie Flawless 

Essie Neo Whimsical 

OPI If You Moust You Moust 

Acrylic paint in white

G&G HK topcoat 

Pearls from +BornPretty BPS 

I think this is my fave of all of them, what do you think? Breast Cancer Awareness Nail-Supporters

Pish Posh and Polish	Nail Parade!	No More Nail Polish Mum!
Monkey Nails	Emma's Little Corner	The Pink PrincessZ
Life in Lacquer	Neon Sparkly Nails

 

Mountain Nail art

Hello my lovelies! 

The wether has been so bleugh here! 

yesterday we had our father in law round and he is an artist so as you can imagine we were sat talking and painting for a while lol! 

So this is what we came up with..... 

Marcus *father in law* gave me some tips and painted some things for me to copy. 

I actually found this okay to do, not too hard! 

Okay so we have mountains,birds, a kite and a hot air balloon. 

I used Essie's Butler Please and Avenue Maintain and a little BarryM at the bottom of the gradient. 

The rest is acrylic paints. 

So what do you think? I think the gradient could have been better but its all good practice! 

Arsenal Nail Art

I hate football, like literally cannot stand it!

BUT my husband is soo supportive of my nail and all the stuff that comes along with it that I thought I would do an art just for him :)

The shot of the cannon is terrible and to be fair the cannon is pretty crap too but I havent done any hand painting in a while.I am quite happy with the result.

I chose to do the number 10 as my husbands fave player was Dennis Bergkamp. 

I used Essie Shes Pampered and BarryM Foil Effects in Gold. The rest is acrylic paint. 

The studs are from the Born Pretty Store.

What do you think? What is your fave team?

Watercolour Style Nail Art

Hello! 

I feel like its been ages since my last post, Ive been super busy with some top secret things! 

All will be revealed in Oct. 

Here I have a watercolour style nail art. I used my Squishy Stamper to achieve this look and it was sooo simple. 

I used Essie's Butler Please and Shes Pampered. 

The base is BarryM Matt White.

I placed a blob of each on a mixing palette then picked it up with my stamper and repeatedly stamped it over my nail until I was happy with the look. 

This is the first attempt and it could have been better but i still love it! The way the blue mixes into the red is lush! 

For some reason the red isnt being picked up properly on my camera. I have tried to edit it so you an see it but still its a bit naff. Sorry!

One other thing.... The clean up is, well, a pain in the ass. But maybe if I had thought about it I should have masking taped my fingers. 

Confetti Zigzag

I am a massive fan of L'Oreal's Confetti topcoat. I saw it sat on my shelf looking all lonely so I just had to crack it open! One of the things I like most about the Confetti the micro glitter partials, if you squint you may see it! But seriously, in real life, you can see it and I really think it adds too the whole effect.

To do this I used my ole faithful! Neo Whimsical by Essie. I use this polish more than I use any other (maybe on par with BarryM's Matt White)
I find it a great base for doing art and I am a big fan of a nude, oh behave!

I then used some of those fancy scissors to cut this shape out of masking tape. I am "borrowing" these off my Nan and she has lent me about 15 pairs of different shaped ones! She uses them for card making but they work really well for this.

The darker pink is Essie's Cascade Cool. I did try and do the Confetti in a zigzag and it did work, of a fashion, but I wanted to accentuate it so outlined in acrylic paint. The line is not exactly straight so that's a bummer but I am still happy with it.

Its been a while since I have done anything like this and I think I will be doing it more often, its really pretty :)

A design like this works in any colourway but just bare in mind to go from light to dark :)

I hope you like this everyone and please leave me a lil comment below, I love getting comments, its like the excitement I get when I am waiting for the postman!

Geometric Design,Decal Stamping Method Tutorial

As you all have guessed by now, I love stamping! 

I created this simple design using the decal technique. 

I also used the same technique to do THIS mani. 

I thought i would do a little tutorial type explanation on how I do it. 

I use a "squishy" type stamper for decals as it really wraps the design around your nail. Unlike the normal Konad stampers, Squishy's have, what i can only describe as, a marshmallow at the end! I purchased mine from eBay for £2.35 from the UK.

First I select my design and do the normal stamping routine to get the design on my stamper.

I then let it dry on the stamper (which takes about 1 min lol) 

I then pick out the parts that I want to colour in. Today I have chosen to add a slightly darker blue polish to the shaded area of the box. 

You can use either polish or acrylic paint to colour in the stamp. Both work equally well in my opinion. 

Then it will look something like this.....

It doesn't have to be too neat as long as it doesn't overlap onto parts you don't want that colour LOL 

As you can see you can paint over lines etc and they will still show, it works on a layering principle.

Then paint your nails as normal. 

While the polish is still tacky, stamp your nail as normal. 

Be extra careful and slow. I also press a bit harder than I usually would. 

The you will be left with your design on your nail! 

All that's left is to clean up. In this instance clean up the overhang BEFORE topcoat  Otherwise the topcoat will cause the remaining polish to fold over on to your design. Such a bummer when that happens!!

And TaDa! 

The possibles are truly endless with this!