Halloween Stylin’

 

Here’s my Halloween style manicure. I used thin nail art tape and OPI’s Tomorrow Never Dies along with Barry M’s Black Nail Paint.

 

I really like how these colours compliment each other. The Black Nail Paint was a dream to paint over the purple and tape. It’s nice and thick without being gooey. Maybe that’s because it’s a new bottle. I’ve had really goopy black nail polish before, it was Sally Hansen brand.

 

Tomorrow Never Dies is becoming one of my favourite polishes. It’s a really pretty shade of purple. I think it’s nice for nights out, but it could also be a good day time polish for this time of year. It requires at least 2 coats, because there will be bald patches.

 

To see my Halloween mani’s from last year check here and here.

 

Happy Halloween bloggers! xxx

Vampy Nails

 

Here’s a real simple look I did the other evening. I used OPI’s Color So Hot It Berns and a black nail art jewel. I have so many cute little accessories that I need to start using! 🙂 The jewel gives the manicure a little more edge I think. It’s also super quick and easy to do.

 

Between the French Maid looking nails, and these, I feel I’m veering towards Halloween! The stores here are already selling Christmas candy, but no Halloween stuff yet. Which is sad, because Halloween came from Ireland. True story! It came from pagans.

 

What do you think? You like? Got any other color combo suggestions? 🙂

 

 

 

The Girl with the Butterfly Print Nails

Here’s a look inspired by a beautiful dark blue dress I saw the other day. This Sephora by OPI polish (Opening Night) is a perfect match with it, and I think the butterflies add a little magic to the look. I used Konad stamping plate m21, and Konad silver stamping polish.

The butterflies are really not that visable, it’s only when the light hits them, or if someone is really looking closely that they appear.

I haven’t stamped in months, so some of the butterflies are a little askew. But this was fun, so I may have to go back to my stamps again soon. 🙂

Studly

This is my one and only Julep polish. Thanks to Julie from Short and Sweet in Texas for sending it to me in a swap. It’s called Minnie, and my mom’s worn it a lot more than I have! I greatly dislike how difficult it is to apply. It’s even harder to apply it on someone else’s nails. BUT, I do LOVE the colour. I mean, look at it, it’s amazing!

My nails remind me of a cute sweater!

 

 

 

 

These little beads are so much fun, I love the effect. I did of course manage to spill some all over my desk so I’m sure I’ll be finding them in the days to come!

 

 

A couple of times I accidentally used a silver bead instead of a gold one, can you spot where?

 

 

 

Barry M’s Papaya and really late St. Patrick’s Day manicure :)

Barry M polish is growing on me. I’m not hugely impressed with how thick it can be, or how streaky. I think it’s definitely better that some Sally Hansen polishes. This polish is Papaya, it’s a really creamy coral shade. It took two coats and even after drying it was very easily dented. I really like the softness of the colour, but wish application was easier.

I spent St. Patrick’s Day at home sick in bed. But I was determined to try a themed manicure! When I felt better I broke out these nail jewels, aren’t they cute?! I bought them with St. Patrick’s Day in mind. Really glad I got to use them.

The clovers are so shiny it’s hard to get a good close up focused picture.

Milani Nail Lacquer

 

 

 

 

First off, sorry for not blogging in a while. I was really sick with the flu last weekend and as soon as I got better I had to go straight back to work. But I’m back now and feeling healthy and I can’t wait to share more nail art with you! 🙂

 

I’ve been really  wanting to try these Milani polishes for ages but I couldn’t find them in Ireland. Luckily, my favorite Texan girl sent me some in a polish swap! Thanks Julie from Short and Sweet in Texas. I tried this one out first. It so cool! I thought it would kind of have a leathery feel to it since that’s what it looks like in pictures but actually it’s just really really gritty! I will use my Modi Peel Off Base Coat under it in future!

 

 

It’s really easy to apply. Dries super fast and doesn’t feel annoyingly gritty, it’s fine not too coarse  I love how it looks!

 

 

Have you tried these polishes? Did you like them?

 

Barry M’s Greenberry

This is Barry M’s Greenberry. I bought it because I love these kinds of colors, they remind me summer is coming and they are bright and cheerful. This was no exception. I thought it might have been a bit dark when I applied it but I shouldn’t have worried! The color POPS off my nails, fabulous! (if I do say so myself) The polish was a bit streaky and I ran into the usual problem with streaky polishes, I put on too many thick layers and then it dents before it dries, anyone else do that?

Since I knew I was gonna swatch them I HAD to do something with this polish! So I used OPI’s The Man With The Golden Gun. I think this is my most expensive polish!! And I’ve only used it twice, my mam loves it, she’s amazed that it has 18 carat gold in it. Hmm, maybe she likes it a little TOO much, better keep it away from her! Anyway, I think it looks pretty smart with that top coat.

Finished day two of my job at the hospital! Tomorrow I only have a short day, it’s been great so far, staff are so lovely and the patients are fun and in good spirits! It’s really hard physical work but it’s rewarding and the time flies and I feel really useful which is great!! No hanging around the house for me!! I do miss not wearing nail polish though! It’s prob a good break for my nails.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

Guess what? I came second in Mommy Loves Nail Polish‘s  nail art competition! I never win anything so this is really great. 🙂 This is the picture that I entered. Congrats to the first place Eva from flight of whimsy with her amazing nails!

This picture was my inspiration.

I really love that people like this manicure because it was one of the first that I did. It’s special to me. 🙂 I remember how happy I was when I managed to get it right! Here’s the original post from way back when.

Tomorrow I start a part-time job. It means I may not be able to blog as frequently. But I will REALLY try my best! Wish me luck! (first day nerves!)

Gelly Hi- Shine Nail Paint by Barry M Pomegranate

Last Monday I landed in Heathrow, was a little sad, not gonna lie! But one of the things that cheered me up was seeing a Barry M polish collection in Boots!! I bought three little beauties. AND they also have Barry M polishes in my local Boots!!! Expect to see more on this blog soon!! So far this is my fav. I have it on my toes as well! It applies really well the only problem was that one of the bristles  was longer than the rest so I had to cut that first. Apart from that, and the unimaginative name, no complaints with this polish!

The colour of this polish is hard to describe. All pics were taken with the same setting on my camera, just in slightly different light. Sometimes, it’s a cherry pink type color, other times it looks almost red? I don’t know!

Of course I had to mess with it! It looked great, but I wanted to see what my black and white Modi topcoat would look like over it. I really like the effect.

Ciate: Fit For A Queen & Hologram

How pretty is this?! It’s bright, sparkly, and really classy at the same time (I think). I love how perky it is.

Fit For A Queen required multiple coats. It was really easy to miss bald patches otherwise. I think I used about four or five light layers and a little cover up as well. Worth it though, and it dries really fast.

I think that Hologram really adds oomph to this look. However, I was really disappointed at how badly the caviar stayed on my nails. I’ve bought nail caviar online before and it has stayed on for days. Almost immediately after application these beads started falling out. I’m hoping it was just the topcoat that I used.

Estee Lauder Lilac Leather – and then some lace! :)

Ha, I think Greg is trying to tell me he’s gonna miss me! He came home with another  Estee Lauder polish yesterday! Perfect timing as I was ready to take off Narcissist. This time I used almost four coats because I wanted it to be really even across the nail. I love the color, but I didn’t want to do a straight up swatch so I decided to add french tips (Essie – blanc) and some lace nail stickers and oh yeah some jewels! I was really in the mood to decorate my nails last night! 🙂

Sheets of these lace stickers are on sale in most beauty stores here in Seoul, I love them! Tonight I’m heading out for dinner and a few drinks  so I’m glad I have girly nails for the occasion! 🙂

My cuticles and skin are really suffering in this weather! I’m moisturizing but it’s just not enough! Maybe the weather in Ireland will be kinder to me.

My Easter Manicure

These are my Easter nails. They go with my Easter chocolate! I like the cheerful yellow. I already blogged about this style of ombre nail art in light blue here, but I just love this design so much I wanted to do it again! (that doesn’t happen me very often!) I used Sally Hansen, Lightening and Essie, Blanc and a dotting tool too.

Tonight Greg and I and a few friends are having a going away party in our local. It’s happy/sad!! I’ll miss everyone I’ve gotten to know over the last four years but I’m really keen to get on with my life and get the wedding organised, go home to Ireland etc.!

I’m not going to think about it too much tonight I’m just going to have a good time with friends and wine! (and shots!)

These are the perfect nails for my evening, cheerful and bright!

Have a good weekend everyone! 🙂

Nicola xxx

 

 

 

Which topcoat is best?

I was shopping yesterday and while in Aritaum I saw this beautiful nail polish. I’m no stranger to Modi polishes. I’ve blogged/reviewed them before here and here and here. But I’ve never owned this shade before and I fell in love! It’s not as dark as I thought it would be but it looks great on. I was really excited to try it out. It took three light coats to get it perfect. Sometimes the polish kind of separates on the nail. It’s like it’s reacting to the base coat or something. But it’s really easily fixed, just like streaky polish.

When I had it on I couldn’t decide how to glam it up a little. So I picked my four fav options. Modi Matt TopCoat, Modi Golden Glitter, Modi Black and White TopCoat and Revlon regular TopCoat.

I have a favorite but I really want to know which one YOU (my beloved reader)  think is best! Plz let me know. 🙂

Nicola

I’m now a .com!

Happy Friday everyone! (well it’s Friday here in Korea anyway). I just wanted to share my news,  I bought the domain name for nailartforfunn. It’s    now a .com 🙂 I thought about this for a while and I really want to continue improving my blog and I feel like this is one of the first steps towards that. 🙂

I have a few other ideas in mind that I want to put into place in the future. I’ve been so happy with my blog ever since I started it. It really has been a great outlet for me and a way to be creative at my own pace.

Soon I will be moving home for the first time in years. It’s gonna be very busy with lots of changes  and it’s nice to know that my blog will be there when I need to express myself! Which might be a lot considering I have a  wedding to plan and a new fitness routine to master.

I can’t thank other bloggers enough for their help/comments/advise/humor ! I haven’t had one bad experience since starting nailartforfunn! In fact I have made some friends and learned A LOT and not just about nail art. I’ve tried new recipes, new make-up, I’ve learned how to apply make-up a lot more professionally! I’ve learned how to use wordpress more effectively (I’m not that great with computers so I’m pretty proud of that!) I love checking my reader and discovering new products, and styles. 🙂

Take care everyone, have a great weekend! Maybe even have a gigantic margarita or two! Nom!

Nicola 🙂

Henna Style Stamping

How much do I love stamping manicures? A lot! For this manicure I wanted the stamping polish to really pop. I think Barefoot in Barcelona matched up really well with my red Konad stamping polish. It reminds me of henna art. I used Bundle Monster stamping plate BM 306.

It’s a little strange not having to do a specific manicure every day now that the pre-spring challenge contest is over! Congratulations to the winners Short and Sweet in Texas and Up Close and Polished. Both girls created beautiful manicures throughout the contest. 🙂