Crayon Nails and Matte Topcoat Dilemma

Dear Nail Diary,

Hello 2017!  Sorry I didn't see you in January, but I literally slept through most of it.  I tend to hibernate in Winter.  First thing you'll notice is my nails are shorter and squarer.  After a couple of breakage incidents coupled with my sheer frustration with my nails at the length they grew to last year, I've decided to try and keep them at a sensible length.  My right thumbnail has only just come out of recovery and has shown me that I do prefer the tip to extend my fingertips slightly, but not so much that I end up typing with my nails.  I'll still play around with shapes - I'm curious if I could achieve a shorter coffin/ballet nail, as I love the shape but not the length they usually are.  I'm currently rocking a rounded square for my latest nail art.

I came across this post on Pinterest which said it was a "Back to School nail art for kids," which annoyed me because I hate being told when I can or can't do something. 😠
Also I doubt many schools would allow students to have their nails painted like this in school.
I decided to give it a try, even though I'm not good at freehanding.  I pretty pleased with the results for my first time trying something like this.  The hardest challenges were picking out the colours and drawing the little squiggles.

 As you can see from the second photo, even though it's a relatively simple design, I had to use a whole lot of polishes.  In the photo I was inspired by, it looked as though they just finished with a plain glossy topcoat, but I wanted to make them more realistic by making the "paper" part matte.  At a glance they look a little too realistic, as I've been freaking out every time I catch a glimpse of them.

 I've been having a bit of a dilemma over matte topcoats lately.  I've been trying make sure all my recent cosmetic purchases have not been made my companies that test on animals.  So as my OPI matte topcoat was waning thin, I went on the hunt for a new one.  I wanted one just as good, but that also adhered to my changing moral standards.After researching as thoroughly as I could, I decided upon Zoya's "Matte Velvet Topcoat".  After using it several times, I can honestly say for the price, I'm rather disappointed.
As you can see in the photos, although there is a clear distinction between what's matte and glossy, the matte still has some shine to it.  While the effect actually worked well for this nail art, I'm looking for the "chalky" matte that OPI's creates rather than the waxy matte this creates.  I've been repeatedly told that Essie's "Matte About You" is brilliant, however that would mean compromising my No Animal Testing stance.  Next on my list to try is Picture Polish - G'Day Matte, but as they're an indie brand, getting hold of it might be problematic.

Anyway, enough ranting for today, I look forward to showing you more nail art soon.

=:x

Snowy Nails

Dear Nail Diary,

This was supposed to be a Mani Monday but I'm a bit behind.  To make up I'll give you a double feature!

I'll start with my Mom's as I did hers first.  It's based on the design of the Glossybox I received last December.  To recreate it I started off with two coats of Collection 2000 - Buried Treasure over a base coat, as it was the closest shade I owned to the box which is a sort of warm/rose gold colour.

I then sponged China Glaze - White on White onto the tips of her index, middle and little fingers.  On those same fingers I haphazardly dabbed China Glaze - Chillin' With My Snowmies in a kind of snowfall gradient.  I still had to place some of them to keep the biggest glitters away from the bottom of the nail.

On her thumb and ring fingers I simply sponged Nails Inc - Champagne Graffiti to the desired amount, as I still wanted a tiny bit of the rose gold to come through.


My nail design has been influenced by several nail art designs I've been looking at on Pinterest - where you can also find me.
I started with two coats of Ciatè - Morning Dew and added a coat of Seche Vite.  Once it was fully dry I added snowflake vinyls, which are part of Twinkled T's Holiday Vinyl Bundle.  I however got them as part of their Limited Edition Holiday Bundle.  Anyway, I painted over the vinyls with China Glaze - I'd Melt For You and a little of Ciatè - Looking Glass.  I then added a matte topcoat to let the iridescence of the Morning Dew "shine" through in a different way.

For my ring finger, I painted two coats of China Glaze - White on White and then a coat of Butter London - Frilly Knickers and finally a matte top coat.  Once that was fully dry I sponged on Barry M - Silver around the tip and up the side of my nail and then poured on some fine silver glitter and brushed off the excess. On top of this I also dabbed light glitter coats of Essie - A Cut Above and London Girl - 42 and added a thick coat of Seche Vite, careful not to get any on the matte part of my nail.

Unbelievably I've chipped this already, so hopefully later this week I'll be posting a new mani.

>:x

Happy Easter!

Dear Nail Diary,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, but real-life issues have meant I haven't really been in the mood to do anything with my nails.  I thought I'd ease myself in slowly, as X99 is currently taking up all of my time.  I have a new camera (my first DSLR - a Nikon D3200) so I've been retaking photos of all my jewellery so it looks more professional.  I'm still learning all the features, so I thought I'd test it out on taking photos of my nails first.

China Glaze Twinkle Collection Review - Part 2

Dear Nail Diary,

This is the second part of my review for China Glaze's Twinkle Collection.  Sorry it's a bit late, however there was a mix up with my order and I had to wait for it to be corrected before I could post this.  While I've been waiting, I've updated the look of the blog and I think it fits in better with the image I'm trying to create.
Anyway, on with the Twinkle Collection....

China Glaze Twinkle Collection Review - Part 1

Dear Nail Diary,

This is my first time reviewing a collection.  I'm a complete amateur, so I don't know all the technicalities and whatnot, so this will just be my honest opinion of how I thought they looked on me and how smooth the application was.  Also, I can't wait to get my new camera so my photos will come out clearer and the colours more accurate.  My current camera hates purples and greens. :(

Mani Monday: Midnight Leopard & Handpainted Tortoiseshell

Dear Nail Diary,

Double post!
I did both my mom's (as she's been bugging me) and my own over the weekend.  I've been practicing making prints with my new nail art tools.  I'll start with mine...
I'm not really a fan of animal print, but I really like the effect of this mani.

Neon Criss-Cross

Dear Nail Diary,

I haven't been feeling up to doing my nails for a while, but I'm finally getting back.  Not sure where the idea for this came from, it certainly wasn't what I was intending, but I like it nonetheless.

After applying my base coat I painted two coats of Barry M - White.  Once dry, I sponged on some neons (Manic Panic - Electric Banana, Nails Inc - Kensington Park Road & Sloane Street, China Glaze - I'm With The Lifeguard and Essie - Action) in random gradients.  I sealed them with SV and waited for it to dry.  I then applied nail tape in a criss-cross pattern across each nail and painted on a think coat of Barry M - Black over the top.  I immediately removed the tape and allowed it to set a little before I applied a final coat of SV.

It's quite pretty, however I think I'll take the plunge next time and use the neons as a base over the entire nail.

=:x

Sugar Sprinkle Gardens

Dear Nail Diary,

This is sort of inspired by my bathroom.  We have these new matching lilac accessories which contrast nicely with my favourite soap from Shoples.  I love their Beside The Sea soap and it gave me the idea for this mani.

After applying my base coat, I alternated two coats of Chelsea Physic Garden and Chelsea Manor Gardens. Not content with this on it's own, I added a coat of Grosvenor Gardens on my party nail.

 I finished off painting my tips with Park Lane and Fitzroy Square and then SV topcoat.  It's a Nails Inc extravaganza, before my haul for this month from Butter London comes.  I haven't tried any from them before, but these were on sale, so I'll see what I think.  I also have some nail accessory goodies from America coming, which I shall share when they get here.

=:x

Wedgwood Mani

Dear Nail Diary,

It's Mani Monday and today's is inspired by the Wedgwood pottery my Gran had.  Also as I now live in the Potteries (specifically Burslem where Josiah Wedgwood was born) what better way to officially start my nail blog?  I apologise for the sorry state of my cuticles, but I've been letting my care routine slide.  On to the mani...

Wedgwood Inspired Mani

I've been looking for a reason to use my recent haul of Nails Inc. polishes and while updating my swatch collection I came across Little George Street, which is a gorgeous powder blue colour.  After applying my base coat I painted two coats, then allowed it to dry.  I then painted Barry M - White onto Pueen plate 44 and sealed it with OPI Matte Top Coat to complete the pottery look.  Pueen Plates tend to be quite big, so there was a bit of clean up involved, however I'm pleased with the end result.

=:x

'Merca Day Mani

Dear Nail Diary,

I don't often do flag inspired nails, mainly because my Mom has been asking me to do them for World Cup games and every time I have they've lost!  I didn't see the harm in doing this homage to Independence Day.

I didn't want to do a traditional Stars 'n' Stripes - mainly because I'm lazy!  So decided stretch it out across my whole hand. On my thumb and index I painted two coats of Barry M - Indigo and then sealed it with a coat of Seche Vite.  Once dry, I stamped Barry M - White with Pueen Plate 44 and there are my stars.
For the rest of my nails I painted two coats of Barry M - White, sealed with SV and stamped the curiously named China Glaze - Aztec Orange with Pueen Plate 32 turned on its side to create the stripes.
I finished with a final coat of SV.

=:x