Pastel Abstract Nail Art - Mani Swap

I asked one of my friends @annkristin0 on instagram if she wanted to do a mani swap with me and she said yes! Ann-Kristin is super talented and is one of my favourite nail artists on Instagram.

I decided to recreate her pastel abstract nail art and she recreated my Cath Kidston nails. I love her take on them, they're completely different but still obviously inspired by my design. So cute!

Glossy

This was such a difficult manicure and it look me a long time to get perfect, but I'm super happy with the result. I used Essie Go Ginza on my pinky and Barry M Sugar Apple on my ring finger. Those colours look so nice together! I used Barry M Diamond Glitter for the gradient, but that's a silver glitter and Ann-Kirstin used a silver and blue glitter. Therefore, I added some extra blue glitters and carefully placed them to create a gradient.

Matte

For the abstract design I used OPI Alpine Snow as a base. I used Essie Go Ginza, Barry M Sugar Apple and Cotton On Body Candy Floss.

I'm really happy with how these look. I think the colour combination is beautiful and the glitter gradient turned out so nice! I am in love with Ann-Kirstins' original design, and I think I did quite a good job recreating it!

What do you think of these nails?
xx Elaine

Abstract Nail Art

One of my favourite style of nail art is abstract. It always looks so interesting and you can do just about anything and it'll look great! For this design I was inspired by the amazing @kt_tk1 on Instagram, but I gave it my own twist.

I used OPI Red Lights Ahead... Where?, Alpine Snow and my black Barry M nail art pen. I also used some chevron nail art stencils from Nail Mail on Etsy.

I started off painting my index finger and pinky red. I love OPI Red Lights Ahead... Where? from the Holland Collection. I'm Dutch so am obviously going to be biased for the whole collection. This is such a creamy red that's super opaque. I painted my middle and ring finger both white using Alpine Snow. Once that fully dried, I taped off half of my middle finger and painted it red. I used the chevron nail art stencils on my middle finger. I carefully applied them and painted over them using RLAW. When the nail polish was still wet, I slowly pulled them off, following the zigzag.

I then used my Barry M nail art pen and drew a diagonal line on my middle finger. I used a tiny nail art brush to draw the design.





What do you think of the result?
xx Elaine

Essie Hide And Go Chic

I have been loving the Essie collections that have come out and have surprised myself with how many Essie's I've bought recently... I bought Essie Hide And Go Chic, a gorgeous covetable azure blue - part of the Hide And Go Chic spring collection. 

This blue is so unique! I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's a very bright and rich colour, but at the same time has a hint of teal? It's gorgeous. 

The formula was so easy! It just glided onto my nail without any problems. I used two coats for the swatch and no top coat. Look how glossy it is! 

Best of all, it didn't stain when I took it off! 

So.. the nail art is a bit of a fail, but I'll post it anyway! I decided to do a gradient using Barry M Huckleberry, Nails Inc Optic Wave and Essie Hide And Go Chic. I then covered it up with some random abstract drawings using my Barry M Nail Art pen. It didn't quite end up the way I wanted it to look, but everyone has nail fails right?? 

What do you think of Essie's new releases?

xx Elaine 

Abstract Nail Art

I decided to set my own challenge this month: go through all my nail art screenshots on my phone and recreate them. I recreated two abstract designs by @trendypolish, I love all her designs but these two really stood out to me.

One of the things I love about @trendypolish is that she does amazing nail art but it's all very simple and easy to recreate.

This first one is a very simple abstract zigzag design. I used Alpine Snow as a white base for the two accent nails, and H&M Serenity Now for the blue. I love that polish, it's a gorgeous royal blue jelly that's opaque in 3 coats. It's also super glossy. I used my Barry M nail art pen in black to draw the zigzags. So cute!

The second design is very similar. I used Kester Black Tutti Frutti for the purple, it's an amazing formula and opaque in 2 coats. I used Alpine Snow by OPI for the white and my Barry M nail art pen for the zigzags.

I really like the nail art pen, but I'd love to have one with an even thinner tip. If I want thinner lines I usually just end up using a nail art brush, but the pen is so convenient and easy to use.

What do you think of these designs? Check out @trendypolish on Instagram for more great ideas!

xx Elaine