Monochrome paisley

For Decembers Polish Party challenge the girls and I decided to go for a black and white theme...

This proved a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Trying to limit myself to only two colours was a struggle and I trailed through loads of pictures on google and Pinterest to try and find some inspiration...

In the end I went for a pattern that I haven't done for months; paisley. I don't know why I haven't done this pattern again sooner because I have always loved how it looks on nails as it's such an intricate pattern but is relatively easy to do. 

I used Nails Inc 'New York Noir' for my base and then my trusty Models Own white nail art pen for the pattern. 

I know this pattern looks quite difficult and it does require quite a steady hand but it's just a case of painting random swirls and dots on the nails. You can be as simple or creative as you want with this pattern.

I hope you liked these nails, don't forget to check out the other Polish Party members blogs below as all these lovely ladies are super talented and have come up with some amazingly creative patterns for this months challenge! 

- Sophie x

NYE sophisticated glitz and glamour

So 2013 is very nearly over, and I still can't get over how quick this year has gone.. I hope everyone's had an amazing year!

For this NYE I have gone for a more sophisticated look but still with the necessary NYE sparkle....

First I used Barry M 'Countess' from their  Royal Glitter Collection and this has to be one of my absolute favourite winter nail varnish colours. It's a rich deep burgandy, packed full of bronze, red, silver and gold finely milled glitter particles and you literally only need one coat of this for full coverage, it's amazing! 

Of course you could just use this one colour on its own and it would still look lovely but because it's NYE which is a perfect excuse to "go sparkly or go home" I then added a top coat of Nails Inc 'Glamour glitter' which was free out of glamour magazine a while ago but is the perfect for adding that little extra 'zazz' as it isn't too packed full of gold glitter so it adds a nice subtle layer on top of the nail. 

As you can see in the picture above these two nail varnishes are the perfect duo! It's still nice and glittery but without being too in your face.

Finally, add a layer or two of top coat to make your nails extra glossy (I highly recommend seche vite top coat, it is truly amazing, it's gives your nails a gel-like effect and dries in seconds!!) 

... And that's it!! 

I hope everyone has a lovely NYE, and I'll see you all next year for another tutorial! 

- Sophie x

Christmas mix and match

What better way to get you into the festive spirit than to paint your nails all Christmassy? 

I haven't done a tutorial for this as I used that many different colours and nail art pens, but each nail is really simple to do! 

For all the colours, pick your base colour, then use the right colour to do the shape of the animal/character, and finally use nail art pens for the details such as eyes, scarf, belt etc.

I chose some of my favourite things about Christmas but you can pick anything like snowflakes, Christmas tree, Christmas puddings, bows, or anything glittery! 

I hope you liked this quick post, I've got one more Christmas themed post coming up next week so keep your eyes out for it! :)

- Sophie x

Sparkly snowflakes

I've got another quick Christmas nail art post for you...

For this I used Essie 'Midnight Cami' as my base colour which is a gorgeous metallic navy, and then I layered Models Own 'Jack Frost' (isn't that just the best Christmas name for a nail polish!?) on top to add some extra sparkle.

Then using my trusty Models Own white nail art pen I painted a large snowflake on each nail and added a couple of scattered dots. You don't have to do just one big snowflake, you could change it and do a couple of smaller ones, or alternate on each nail!

Finally just to add that extra bit of sparkle I glued on a couple of white and blue gem stones that I got from a mixed set off eBay..

.. And that's it! Simple, quick and rather pretty Christmas nails, and the perfect alternative to traditional red and gold patterns! 

Hope you like this pattern,

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! 

- Sophie x

A 'Stroke of Brilliance' from Essie

ITS CHRISTMASSSSSSSS!!!! ...

.. well nearly!

It's only 15 days until Christmas now, so it's the perfect time to embrace all things glittery and sparkly!

I was browsing boots the other week and was immediately drawn to the Essie stand thanks to their new 'Luxeffects' range which consists of 5 gorgeous and dreamy top coats packed full of glittery goodness! There's a gold, silver, white and pink one but the one that really caught my eye was the blue glitter called "Stroke of Brilliance" seen in the photo above...

And let me tell you, it really is a stroke of brilliance!! I just had to buy this colour as it's nothing like any other glitter nail polish I have. It is full of different sized navy/metallic blue glitter particles and looks so amazing on the nails as it catches the light so beautifully which gives it a silvery effect too.

As with all Essie nail polishes the consistency is perfection. The brush packs the perfect amount of glitter on each application and the wide fan style brush gives a beautiful even cover of the polish on the nail.

The formula is very chip resistant! In the swatch photo above (that I took today) I've actually had this nail varnish on for a week now and haven't had to touch it up at all! I decided to layer it over a dark metallic blue to show off the gorgeous two tone of the glitter but I think this would look beautiful over a pale blue or even white!

I think this is a perfect glitter nail polish for the Christmas season as it makes a nice change from traditional gold/red/green glitter! 

I hope you enjoyed this review, let me know if you've tried any of the Essie 'luxeffects' range, and what your favourite Christmas nail varnishes are! 

- Sophie x

(P.S sorry about the lack of blogging in November, it was such a hectic month at University with too many assignment deadlines, and i completely lost track of time.. I didn't realise it had been a month since my last post! So so sorry! Now that my assignments are nearly complete i'm hoping to get back on track with my blogging and fingers crossed will be able to get a new post up every week or at least every fortnight! Thank you for bearing with me! xx) 

The Walking Dead

It's that time of the year again..... Halloween! 

There were so many designs that I was debating to do for the Polish Party Halloween challenge but since the return on my favorite programme 'The Walking Dead' I've been slightly obsessed with zombies so i thought, what better tutorial to do than the look of rotting flesh dripping with blood!? 

For this tutorial, I used Models Own 'Aciiid' and 'Purple Ash' which blended together give the perfect horrible zombie 'fleshy' colour! I also used my red Rio nail art pen - you don't necessarily need to use a nail art pen for this, but i just found it easier to work with.

... I didn't do a step by step picture tutorial because this is such an easy look to achieve and literally takes a couple of minutes! 

- So to start with paint all your nails with the lime green 'Aciiid' 

- Then put a couple of blobs of the 'Purple Ash' onto a piece of scrap paper and using a small sponge start getting messy!! Just dab and blend the darker colour all over the nails and down onto your skin.. be careful not to overdo this bit as you still want to let the lime green colour come through!

- Next, grab your red colour and start drawing blood around the cuticles/edges of the nails and also do some red streaks down your fingers. Then using a clean edge of your sponge just blend the red in slightly.

- Now add a few fine streaks of the red and 'purple ash' on the nails, and again just lightly blend them in using the sponge.

- Dip the sponge back into the 'Purple Ash' and darken the red colour slightly, and also sponge some of the lime green 'Aciiid' down onto your fingers to make your flesh look like its rotting!!

- Finally, just keep blending the colours together over the nail and on your skin until your happy with the effect. 

And that's it!! I didn't put a top coat on these as you don't want the nails to look glossy!

This literally took me about 10 minutes to do, it's so quick and easy and extremely fun to get that messy with nail varnish and not having to worry about being neat and precise! 

I hope you like this look, if you're dressing up as a zombie for halloween then this would be perfect to do!

Thank you for taking the time out to read this tutorial!
- Sophie x

P.S. don't forget to check out all the other Polish Party girl's Halloween tutorials below as they are amazing! 

Autumn bloom

Hi everyone,

Today i've done a tutorial for possibly my favourite pattern to date.. a autumnal vintage floral design...

Autumn is by far my favourite season, and i love being able to go back to wearing warm, rich, dark colours for the season.. and of course to make it a bit more 'me' i had to do some flowers on there!

(before i start please excuse the poor quality of my pictures! my camera isn't the best, and it doesn't help when there is poor lighting in my room!)

To begin with paint your base colour.. 

I used my all time favourite autumnal colour - Models Own 'Purple Ash'.. Oh my.. this colour is just amazing! its a gorgeous purple/brown/taupe colour and as with all models own colours gives amazing coverage!

Then using a light colour, I chose 'Lemon Meringue' as you can see above from Models Own (again!) and just paint random splurges to make the base shape of your flowers.. this bit doesn't have to be neat, the messier the better in fact as it all adds to the vintage look!

Then you'll need two more colours, one slightly darker, and then another one step darker.. I used another beauty from Models Own - 'Fuzzy Peach' and my red Rio nail art pen.

For this bit i used a fine nail art brush and put a dot of each colour onto a piece of paper and then just painted random flecks and swirls onto each flower.. I also painted a little blob of the red in the centre of each flower just to add depth and shadow.

Finally you just need two shades of green for your leaves (you can just use the one shade if you don't have two) - I used 'Aciiid' from Models Own (can you tell that they are my favourite nail brand?) and my green Rio nail art pen..

Paint a couple of triangular shaped leaves onto each flower with the lighter shade, and then add a couple of flecks of the darker colour to mimic the veins in the leaves..

Then just seal with your favourite topcoat and your done! 

This pattern is so easy and quick to do! you can be really messy and random as it doesn't take any precision at all, and of course it creates a perfect look for autumn! 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, leave any comments below with any suggestions as to what kind of pattern you would like me to do next!

Thank you for taking the time out to read this tutorial, I really appreciate it!

- Sophie x