Summer Nails! Summery :)

Ok, it's 17th July and it's like the depths of Winter outside - Cold, windy and miserably wet! :(
Needed some cheering up so got an urge this evening to try and 'get back' some Summer....

These are my NOTD!

The blue base is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 440 'Calypso Blue'... Everything else is just some artist's acrylic paint. Used a cheapy top from Color Club to 'seal' it - been caught out way too many times with Seche Vite dragging the colours downwards :(

Been thinking of this design in my head for a while, but only got it down on paper, or I should say Nails, tonight! Quite happy with this one!

Nessie x

Essence Snow White Collection

Haven't posted on this in ages but I aim to rectify that now!
Ok, I adore this collection by Essence - it's SO cute! The collection consists of 1 x 10ml Bottle, 7 x 5ml (dwarf) bottles, 3 x 10ml Special Effect Toppers bottles, a nail file and a cute set of nail stickers. After 2 trips to Penneys, aka Primark, I've finally got all the polishes, and the file, in the set.
Can't find the stickers anywhere though - Booohooo! :(

First up is '01 - Snow White', a bright shiny red, in a 10ml bottle. I thought this would be a one-coater for sure but, no, it took 3 to get it as opaque as in the pic here below and I think I could've really done with one more...

Next up is '04 - Happy', a deep yellow... a 5ml bottle. Nice sunny colour :)

Now, this one is '05 - Sneezy', another 5ml, a brown colour with a touch of silvery/gold metallic shimmer running through it... Not quite sure if I like this or not! :/

Next up is '06 Sleepy' - 5ml. Quite fond of this one! A lovely cool blue - very nice indeed!

I Love this next one, '03 - Doc', also 5ml, a super happy shade of orange! Gorgeous! One to put you in good humour just by looking at it (I really think one should've been called 'Happy'!)
A big fave in the collection for me.... :)

'07 - Bashful', another 5ml. This is a fab green with a gorgeous gold shimmer running through it. Very eye-catching! A must-have for any green lovers! :)

Next on the list is '08 - Dopey', once more a 5ml bottle - they really are teeny!! This is a lovely lilac with tiny flecks of silver. Nice colour when you finally get it on - this is 4 coats here! 

Here we have '02 - Grumpy', the last 5ml in the set. This is a WOW Blue, I think it's fab and it's actually very similiar to Nails Inc Baker Street too! Goes on really nice... I just love this one!

Now, on to the toppers! From left to right: 01 Evil Queen, 02 The Huntsman and 03 Prince Charming... A Lovely trio I think you'll agree?? :)

Regretfully, I did not have time to give the toppers a proper try, so here's just a quick shot of them on 3 nails... I will try come back and do them justice soon!

Well, all in all, I think it's a fab cute collection. The polishes all go on well apart from 'Snow White', the red and 'Dopey', which both took a lot of coats but I can get over that! I'd totally recommend purchasing this set, I think you'd love it! x

Red Carpet Nails by Nessie

Ok... these are my 'Red Carpet' Nails... You'll all have seen the celebs strutting their stuff, I mean nails, on the red carpet - well.... these are mine! ;)
The black used here is Essence 59 'Black is Back', great value cheapy polish! Applied 2 coats of this first and let dry... Next up I taped off on the diagonal, with a skinnier strip of tape about 2mm from that. Then I applied Rimmel 324 'Fever' and let dry. I was going to leave it black & red, but I got some free nail stickers in an ebay purchase and decided to apply one to each nail - too much??? :)

Sneakers Nails by Nessie

Sneakers... Trainers.... Converse... Runners..... Nail art! :)
This is my version! The 5 base colours are from a fab little Color Club set that I got from TK MAXX - it's a 7pc Super bright neon set and I ADORE the colours! The white tips are done using NYC 'Pinstripe White'. The black lines and the white laces were formed using my set of Acrylic paints, applied with an art brush... REALLY need to get a fine nail art pen, as these are a little messy in parts! :(
Loving this design - very cute and fun! x

Cath Kidston Nails by Nessie

I love these and was really happy the way they turned out! I love Cath Kidston's designs and this one is from a mug of her's that I have. The Blue polish used is by Angelica, 'Skylar' (81) - It's a really pretty pastel blue, ideal for this. All artwork is done using my acrylic paints :)

Robin Moses Inspired Nails by Nessie

I saw this design on Robin Moses YouTube page - Pastel Flowers. I just thought it was the cutest ever!
The white I used here is NYC 'Pinstripe White' (Shade 134) and Arcylic Paints for the art work. I like this one! :)

Bumblebee Nails by Nessie

My twist on Bumbleebee Nails! Buzzzzzz!!!! :)
The background is GOSH 'Lavender Love' - looks bluer in the pic, it's more of a purply blue in reality.
The Black, White and Yellow are from a set of Acrylic Paints I have, applied with an artists brush :)

Nail Stamping by Nessie ~ Konad M74

I've looking at some great examples of Nail stamping for a while and been feeling Mega jealous of how cool they all looked! So, I bought myself a little Nail Stamping Kit, from Konad, a few days ago. the pic here is my 2nd attempt - you don't wanna see my first try, trust me! It was one big mess! I still need loads of practice before I really get the hang of it, but I had fun none the less, so all's good! :)
The Blue used here is Sally Hansen Complete Manicure 'Calypso Blue' (440) with Konad white polish stamped using the M74 plate. I urge anyone to have a go at this if you haven't tried it!

Newspaper Nails by Nessie

After seeing this on the internet, I was dying to have a go for myself! ..... And, it wasn't too difficult, to be honest. I used Mavala 'Geneve' (Shade 22) for the base and let that really dry first. They say you are meant to use Rubbing Alcohol for the next stage, but I didn't as I found out it's quite pricey in the chemist. Instead, I used vodka and it seemed to do the trick ok :)

• Apply a white-ish polish to your nails and let thoroughly dry.
• Pour a little vodka in to a small dish/bowl (you only need a little!)
• Get your little piece of newspaper and dip it in to the vodka for 2 or 3 seconds.
• Next, carefully place the newspaper on your nail, and press down firmly for about 10 seconds - please ensure that you don't move the newspaper in any way while you're holding it down for the 10 seconds. 
• Now, gently peel off the newspaper and.... Voila! You should see the design has transferred! 
• To seal your design, apply some topcoat, using as few strokes as possible - to avoid 'pulling' the letters, if that makes sense! 

As you can see from the picture, my top coat messed up the letters a bit. Next time I try it, I'll be gentler!

Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded with Nail Art by Nessie

This was my first attempt at trying out some nail art. Used Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded, Shade 480, for the background - A lovely pink with a little shimmer to it. For the nail art, I used some watercolours, straight from the tubes, applied with a old paintbrush from school days. 

Hey there!

I am TOTALLY new to this blogging biz, so please bear with me! I have a developed a new found love for nail polish, nail art and ...well... ahem, more nail related stuff! :)
I'm just going to be posting up my attempts at nail art, polishes I like, effects I like, fave colours, tips/ideas, inspirations etc etc....