Nail Art: Animal Print

Animal print is really not my thing, but I fancied something patterned and quick enough to do while my baby is asleep. This design is intentionally irregular so I could do it with ease, even on my right hand.

As I was in a hurry I didn't take photos of each step. I'll describe them below, in case you want to do it at home.

I painted:

• My nails with base Save The Nail Eau So Hydrated Base Coat
• My nails with my base colour, Nubar Classic Camel
• Irregular spots using Models Own Pro Fall Brown (the brush tip is enough, no additional tools are required)
• I then partially framed some of those spots and added new ones using Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick in black, but you can do this with a thin brush and any black polish 
• I sealed everything with two coats of Save The Nail 45 Second Topcoat (If you look carefully, you will notice that it dragged some of the black, but as this design is very irregular it didn't actually bother me for once!)

The results:

As it was very easy, I went a little bit crazy and did my 3-year-old daughter's and my friend's teenage daughters' nails too! I've had it on since Saturday and I must say it's growing on me.

Have you done animal print designs before? Will you be having a go?

a-england - She Walks In Beauty

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of a-england. Adina is celebrating her brand's second birthday today and I thought it was the perfect time to introduce one of the most recent shades, from the Heavenly Quotes collection, to all my readers: She Walks In Beauty.

I am not into gold or pink, but for some reason, after seeing the first swatches of this nail varnish, I felt it would be a nice addition to my ever-growing collection. Maybe it's because I don't actually own many glitters, but it appealed to me straight away.

The base is packed with an antique gold shimmer, which flashes a little green in certain light, and it has hexagonal pink glitter pieces in two different sizes.

I have The Knight base coat, two coats of each nail varnish (where applicable), a coat of She Walks In Beauty and The Shield top coat on on the many photos below.

On its own: 

 

 

Over Iseult: 

Over Guinevere:

Over Avalon:

Over Perceval:

Over Dorian Gray:

I aimed to show you a variety of options, but quickly realised I prefer how it looks over light colours. It would take two to three coats to achieve full opacity on its own.

Since the brand was launched, a-england has realeased many well-loved polishes to the market and I wish Adina and her team continued success!

Orly - Plum Noir

Continuing with the very few Orly polishes I own, today I am bringing you one my husband got me for Christmas: Plum Noir, from the 2007 Neue Neutrals collection.

Now I'm running the risk of repeating myself. If you follow this blog, you are probably familiar with my taste. Since my good friend Caro is aware of my likes and dislikes, she sent me Sally Hansen Plum Luck, which happens to be very close to Plum Noir, so I did a very quick comparison of the two.

As you can see on the pictures below, colour-wise there isn't a huge difference. Strictly speaking, they are not dupes, but if you own one you don't need the other one. I have found the SH has more of a blue tone to it, but it's not very noticeable. 

Plum Luck is my first SH and I have to say I did not like the brush in the slightest. I love OPI and their flat brush, even Nicole by OPI's brush works well for me, but this one is SO wide I had to be incredibly careful not to paint all over my pinkie. Formula-wise, SH is slightly thicker.

On the photos below I have Orly Plum Noir on my thumb, index and middle fingers and Sally Hansen Plum Luck on my ring and little fingers:

Now, going back to Plum Noir, it's a very glossy dark purple creme. The formula was good, it dries quickly and evenly and looks classy, at least in my humble opinion. I have noticed that after a day on my nails there is minor tip wear, which is a shame.

All the photos above are in natural light; I am using OPI Natural Base Coat, two coats of each nail varnish and no top coat.

Which of the plums wins for you? Do you own either/both?

Orly - Naughty Or Nice

Happy 2013 everyone!

I recently discovered that this nail varnish addiction is pretty contagious, and even my dear doctor friend Caro was not immune to it. So when my younger sister came to visit last November, my friend kindly sent me a number of polishes for my stash, most of which I have been too busy to even try. (Having a 3-year-old daughter, a newborn and being ill whilst recovering from a C-section over Christmas doesn't help!)

One of those beauties is Orly Naughty Or Nice, from the 'Tis The Season 2010 collection. I was very confused by the name, since their Christmas 2012 collection is called the same, but thanks to Google images I found what I was looking for. 

Caro knows I have a soft spot for vampy shades, so she chose this almost black burgundy creme which was really easy to apply and dried glossy. I don't own many Orly polishes but was pleased with this one: the formula was not too runny and the brush was extremely easy to use.

All the photos below are in natural light; I am using OPI Natural Base Coat, two coats of Orly Naughty Or Nice and no top coat.

I think that Naughty Or Nice is not the most unique of nail varnishes but it is nonetheless a very good one. I can't comment on its lasting powers but Orly is a reputable, B3F brand, much loved by many bloggers. I would have probably bought this myself if I didn't already have so many almost black polishes; if you are starting your collection and can get your hands on this, be sure to give it a chance.