Video: Konad snowflake nail art tutorial

As I write this the sunshine is cracking the pavements here in the UK so I am aware that today's post is somewhat out of season. However, there are no rules in blogging or beauty, right?

In the middle of summer I bring to you a snowflake stamping manicure.

I am terrible at art of any kind so when I give myself a manicure I need a bit of a helping hand when it comes to nail art. That's why I have been such a fan of the Konad stamping system for several years now. 

The snowflakes are just one design on the M59 while the nail polishes are Beth's Blue by Models Own and For Audrey by China Glaze. 

So while everyone else is rocking their neon colours at the moment there is little old me in the corner using snowflakes.

Here is my video on how I created this manicure.

                           

Tiffany blue nail polish: For Audrey by China Glaze

We all know what that signature Tiffany and Co colour looks like. A gorgeous spring shade, a more amped up duck-egg/seafoam blue colour. 

For Audrey is the best Tiffany blue colour I have come across and it is from China Glaze's core nail polish line. 

I have been a fan of China Glaze polishes for around six years, they are affordable, have a great core line and the company brings out some brilliant seasonal collections. The polishes themselves are mostly good to go in two coats and last for a goof few days before any hint of tip wear or chipping. 

Have you tried any China Glaze polishes?

Cheers to You Konad

It has been a long time since I did any form of nail art. Partly because I relapsed into my old nail biting habit. Now I have finally grown them back to an acceptable length. They aren't super long, but because my day job involves typing on a computer (I am a newspaper journalist by the way) they can't be too long.

Since having moved house in May my nail polish collection was unloved. I have now reorganised them, ideally I would like to buy some wall racks for them, but that isn't high on my house to do list right now.

For my nail art come back I used China Glaze's Cheers to You and stamped with Konad Special Polish in black. To finish I used Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

Cheers to You is from China Glaze's 2010 winter/Christmas collection which was called Tis the Season to be Naughty and Nice. This polish is a standard silver foil polish, pretty but not unique, there are a lot of other high street brands which carry a shade similar.

I find when stamping with Konad's black SP you need a light base for the print to show up. Seche Vite's fast dry top coat is also perfect for stamping because the polish doesn't smudge the design.

Take A Trek - China Glaze Holographic - A bit of a let down

I was in my local Sally's store in Devon when I spotted the recently released Hologlam holographic collection from China Glaze.

They only had one of each polish and a few colours had already been snapped up. I bought two colours, Take A Trek and When Stars Collide.

Take A Trek is a deep blue holographic polish and When Stars Collide is a deep plum/maroon shade.

With a bit of summer sunshine over the weekend I tested out Take A Trek.

I have to admit, I am a little bit disappointed, it doesn't seem as holographic as their  other collections.

The holographic look in this particular polish is weak compared to others in my collection. However, it is still very pretty. 

Have you tried any of the Hologlam polishes out? If so, what did you think?

18K Midtown Magic

I bought Midtown Magic from Sallys a while ago but never got round to using it. It is by one of my favorite nail polish brands, China Glaze and at a glance it just looks like a black polish in the bottle.

However, in the right light it shows its true colours - a very dark plum base with a hint of chocolate-brown. It also has very fine golden shimmer running through it.

This polish was in the sale and I bought it a few months back but it's from Metro collection for autumn 2011.

I painted two coats of Midtown Magic then used one coat of OPI's The Man With The Golden Gun - 18k gold flakie top coat. 

I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of the OPI 18k topcoat (which I bought from Sally's in the sale) The clear base is quite thick and the gold flecks are so sparse. It takes a lot of effort to get the flecks in a noticeable place. I am glad I didn't pay full price, I would have been very disappointed.

Stars For Audrey

I heard so many great things about China Glaze For Audrey nail polish that I had to try it out for myself. Like the name suggests, For Audrey is a Tiffany blue shade. Two coats was perfect and it dried fast. I stamped a snowflake design from Konad plate M59.

 

 

I haven't done anything to my nails in a while but I have some time off work at the moment. My new job as a trainee reporter is pretty full on and I haven't had the time to do the nail art I used to do. I need to get into more of a routine and make time.

 

How do you fit in 'me' time with a hectic work schedule?

Jolly Holly Rainbow

With all the bright polishes around at the moment I was craving a darker vampy colour, two coats of China Glaze Jolly Holly with one coat of Rainbow by Gosh.

The flakies became copper in colour over the dark green, I tend to prefer this Gosh polish over darker colours, I find the effect is more obvious.

I am still on the look out for Finger Paint flakies, I keep checking ebay....

Accessorize do 'pocket bacs'

If there is one thing I love when shopping, it's a bargain: I picked up a few things recently, most of which were on offer or in a sale.

Ever since Nicole at Noir Lacquer sent me some pocket bacs from Bath and Body Works a while ago I am never without one. I was in Accessorize over the weekend and saw cupcake hand sanitisers, complete with the rubber holder to attach to your bag or keys.

It cost £3 and is the same size as the American B&BW pocket bacs. This was the only scent in the shop, I don't know if they have others. I don't think it smells of cupcake though, for me, it smells more like sun tan lotion, mixed with coconut, which I really like, it reminds me of being on a summer holiday.

Midtown Magic from China Glaze for under £4 from Sally's.

Cooling head stick containing menthol to help sooth and calm, in clearance from Boots for 99p. I will try using this before bed to unwind.

High Impact Lash mascara from Famous (by Sue Moxley) at Superdrug. I admit, the packaging, which isn't obvious from the picture, is what caught my attention. It is a silver holographic. I think full price is about £6 but I think I paid £2.99. I haven't tried it out yet but will do a review soon.

Denim is a new polish by Barry M, £2.99 I believe. It is light blue with lots of silver shimmer in it. I have read from other bloggers they can get away with one coat of this polish, so we shall see.

Blistex Relief Cream, ok, not very exciting, but I find this is the best lip care. I only use it at night before bed and it soothes dry lips. I like the tingly sensation but some people might find it a bit too harsh. I guess the same sort of feeling you might get from a lip plumper gloss, takes a bit of getting used to if you haven't used it before.

Rimmel pressed powder in translucent: I always use a translucent powder, for work I can get away with a bit of concealer and some powder (as long as my skin is behaving itself!)

Dotty - "Amusingly Eccentric"

I dug out one of my dotting tools to create this manicure: Dotty "Amusingly Accentric."

This is two coats of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha then dotting with a medium dotting tool in Nina Ultra Pro in Punki Pink and Barry M in Black over the top.

Simple manicure but I think quite eye catching.

What is your fav simple manicure?

AHOY! SaGreena The Teenage Witch

Two coats of China Glaze AHOY! on my ring fingers and two coats of Wet n Wild's SaGreen The Teenage Witch followed by one coat of NYC glitter topcoat (Starry Silver Glitter) and finally one coat of Rimmel Matte Finish! Phewww, a bit of a list of polishes but I like how this manicure came out.

At first glance I think this is such a Christmassy manicure and not so spring appropriate but then again, this is exactly why I like it. I have never been one for wearing trends which are 'in' for certain seasons, I just reach for whatever polish I fancy at the time.

Pelican Grey with Purple Crackle

I hadn't used my one and only grey polish in a while so I dusted off my China Glaze Pelican Grey and painted Saffron London's purple crackle over the top.

I bought the purple crackle from my local pannier market a few months ago and this is only the second time I have used it. It makes a nice change from my usual black crackle and was really cheap.

China Glaze Let's Do It In 3D - Kaleidoscope Collection

Another exciting ebay buy is China Glaze Let's Do It In 3D from their Kaleidoscope collection. I paid around £7.99 and a couple of pounds for postage. Overall, a good price for a discontinued holographic polish.

I will let the pictures do the talking: these are three coats.

My holographic collection is slowly but surely getting bigger. I am always keeping my eyes open for them. What is your favourite holographic polish?

Cheers To You on this Holly-Day

I hadn't done a sponge gradient manicure in a while so I whipped out Holly-Day from China Glaze (2011 Christmas collection) and Cheers To You, also from China Glaze (2010 Christmas collection)

I am loving this Holly-Day green shade, I applied two coats, I did find it a little runny, so I was careful, but it is such a gorgeous dark green.

A little messy but you get the idea of the colour.

I do like these two polishes on their own, but I am not so sure how I like this manicure on me, my sponging isn't great and I feel like their is something missing, another element, another colour to go on after the silver? Hmmm, I just am unsure, thoughts please?

It's My Turn with Black Crackle

Using my latest holographic polish, It's My Turn from the Kaleidoscope collection by China Glaze and Andrea Fullerton's Mock Croc shatter polish.

I do love this polish, but it is so sheer, it took three coats to build it up, but on its own it is stunning. 

Sorry, I didn't realise the second picture was so blurry until after I loaded it! As I mentioned in a previous post about this polish, some of the black text on the bottle has worn off, but I heard this is quite common for older CG polishes.

Such a wonderful polish on its own, but I wanted to see how it look under black crackle, here is Andrea Fullerton's Mock Croc without a top coat. 

Crackle tends to dry to a mat finish, but I prefer it shiny, so one coat of Seche Vite to complete the look.

I normally wear a bright colour as a base for black crackle (just so it doesn't look like just black nail polish that has chipped!) but I quite like the way the holographic gold shimmers underneath.

It's My Turn - China Glaze Kaleidoscope Collection

I managed to track down another holographic polish, this is my first one from the China Glaze Kaleidoscope Collection. It is a light gold holographic, I had to apply three coats to get a solid finish. I think in future I might layer it over a normal gold base. 

On to the pictures:

As you can see from the bottle some of the black writing has worn away but I hear that is quite common for these older bottles of China Glaze. I think this would be a gorgeous summer polish and can't wait to try it out once we get some sunshine here in the UK.