Mermaid Nail Art Born Pretty Store Review - Monthly Challenge

Today I have another nail art design to show you from #clairestelle8sept monthly challenge!

This month I'm taking part in a nail art challenge where every couple of days there is a different theme. To make it even crazier, I decided to do bestie twin nails for every theme!

The theme for the 12th of September was Mermaid and I collaborated with Bethany from @bnailedtoperfection. We decided on doing the mermaid design on the middle and ring fingers and using shell studs on the pinky and index finger. And our general theme was blue.

I loved how both of ours turned out!

I didn't create a tutorial on these, however I have something very similar on my channel already here!

Check out all my other designs for this challenge here!

I started off by painting my outer 2 fingers black and my middle 2 fingers white.

I applied a fast drying topcoat to my middle and ring finger and waited for a good 10 min before doing anything else.

I applied some liquid latex around my nails (Charming Tale Practical Magic) and once that was dry I placed the mermaid scale stencil onto my nails.

I first sponged black polish over the stencil. The black base will really make the shimmery polishes pop.

I used a cheap Primark cosmetics sponge and applied Charming Tale The Huntsman and Frightfully Spectacular Orinoco Flow in random positions on the sponge.

I then dabbed it onto my nail, like any other gradient.

I applied 2 "coats".

When the nail polish was still wet, I gently pulled the stencil off, the liquid latex barrier will peel off at the same time.

For the studs I used this set up studs from Born Pretty Store (#20312). This comes in a case and has all sorts of different studs including stars, hearts, seashells, pointed studs, square studs and much more! Most things come in both silver and gold!

I love that it comes in a little box instead of little plastic bags. It's incredibly easy to keep organised this way!

I used the silver seashell studs. They're super cute and worked perfectly with the mermaid scale design.

I applied a dot of topcoat onto the base of my index finger and pinky. I can carefully picked up a seashell stud with a pair of tweezers and applied it onto my nail.

That's it! I really like how this design turned out! I love the subtle mixed gradient of the mermaid nails and the studs really help bring the look together.

xx Elaine

Frightfully Spectacular Autumn Swatch & Review

Today I have some swatches from the UK indie brand Frightfully Spectacular. I have reviewed a polish from this brand before, click here to check it out!

Frightfully Spectacular is a UK based indie brand created by Lolly, a fully trained nail technician and (like us all!) passionate about anything nails! Frightfully Spectacular is a little bit more of an alternative indie brand, you won't see any classic pastels, but instead Lolly creates polishes with a bit of an edge. All of her polishes are 5 free and they retail for about £5 for a full sized bottle.

I received these two gorgeous shimmery polishes for Autumn.

As always, I have LIVE SWATCHES of these polishes on my YouTube channel.

First up is Orange Blossom Lane.

This is a stunning bright orange pearlescent polish with tons of silver shimmer running throughout.

It's a perfect Autumn shade, but I think it's something that could be worn all year round. I'm normally not the biggest fan of orange nails, but this was really flattering on me.

I used 2 coats for the swatch and no topcoat.

The first coat was a little on the sheer side, but the second coat covered up my nail line. It does dry to a matte finish, so I would recommend adding a topcoat. A topcoat will also make that shimmer stand out even more.

The second polish I received is Orinoco Flow.

This has that same shimmery pearlescent finish, but it's a bright aqua. This shade is just the most gorgeous colour.

It has the same formula. It's a little sheer on the first coat, and there is still a definite visible nail line. A second coat, however, covers everything up perfectly.

When the polish is wet you can see some brush strokes, but as it dries they disappear.

Again, I didn't use topcoat for the swatch, but I would recommend adding one as it will make the shimmer pop.

Those are the 2 polishes I received from Lolly at Frightfully Spectacular. I can't wait to see the other polishes that will be released in this collection!

Check out Frightfully Spectacular's shop here! And for more info check out Lolly's Instagram!

Frightfully Spectacular Swatch & Review

Lolly from Frightfully Spectacular asked me to swatch one of her nail polishes. This is a brand I hadn't heard of before. Frightfully Spectacular is a brand new UK based indie nail polish brand selling alternative and steampunk inspired collections. I love the fact that this is a bit more of an edgy brand, you definitely won't see any of these cute pastel neons. Instead Lolly has created stunning duo chrome shimmer polishes and glitter combos.

Check out her shop for all her polishes here!

All of the polishes are 5 free and cruelty free. They retails for £5 for a 10ml bottle.

Lolly asked me what my favourite polish colour is. I told her anything but I love blues and purples the most. The polish she sent me is both blue and purple! Perfection!

This is Story.

It's a dark dusty blue base with a gorgeous purple shimmer.

I wore this polish two different ways. The first few photos show 3 coats on its own, and the later pictures show it over a black base.

For these first 3 photos I used 3 coats on its own.

The first coat was very sheer. It almost made my nails look very badly stained by a blue polish. The second coat really deepened the colour but there was still a bit of my visible nail line.

The third coat again deepened the colour and made it completely opaque.

The purple shimmer is very apparent and it almost makes the polish look like it's glowing from within. A really beautiful effect.

I added a topcoat to the swatch. The polish dries with a dull shine, definitely shiny, but I love mine to be even more glossy. Adding the top coat also enhanced the purple shimmer.

Here is one coat of Story over a black base. The colour is completely transformed!

Instead of the blue dusty base with the gorgeous purple shimmer, it's now a bam in your face bright purple shimmer polish. It looks like it also has a hint of blue shimmer too.

I love the polish both ways, but I think it's more unique without the black base. It's a very soft colour whereas with the black base it's much louder.

Story has an incredible formula.

Although it is quite sheer, it's very easy to build up.

It was a dream to apply. There was no streakiness or bald spots. It dried very quickly too making it easy to apply the three coats.


To find out more about Frightfully Spectacular, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.