Halloween Nail Art! Bats Emerging!

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying the long weekend - I sure have been!
It has been a while since we had a full weekend of sunshine and with the extra day, we've definitely taken advantage of it. 

Now, I know I'm a little early on this one. I was going to post this design next week but, due to my bad organization skills, you get it this week! Lucky you! Ha ha.
I 'accidentally' purchased several Halloween stamping plates a few months ago, so I have a lot of potential design ideas floating around in my head. But, let's start with something nice and easy; a simple gradient with some stamping. 

Halloween Bats Emerging Nail Art

I used these polishes for this mani:
Matte Purple by BYS Cosmetics
Mellow Yellow by Sally Hansen
Ready To Take Off by UNT Cosmetics
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Big Matte Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Black Stamping Polish by Emily de Molly

I also used these tools:
Liquid Latex by LuLaa
Stamping Plate BPL-031
Stamping Plate Celebration BPX-L007
Clear stamper
Scraper
Mani Saver
Cotton wool with acetone
Cosmetic Sponge

Halloween Bats Emerging Nail Art with Mellow Yellow

I started with Ready To Take Off for the base (this is just quicker than cotton pads and acetone, as I will be repainting my nails for an event next week). Once that was dry, I applied two coats of Mellow Yellow. For some reason, the second coat was taking quite long to dry, so I ended up applying Kwik Dry Top Coat over it to help the process along. While that was drying, I painted liquid latex around each nail.
After allowing that to dry, I applied Mellow Yellow and Matte Purple horizontally onto a cosmetic sponge and began dabbing it over each nail. I moved the sponge up and down to get even coverage whilst creating a slight gradient, reapplying polish to the sponge as necessary. Once I was satisfied, I removed the liquid latex and then applied another coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat before reapplying the liquid latex to protect my skin from the stamping polish.
Next, I gathered my stamping tools. I applied Black Stamping Polish over the design I wanted on plate BPX-L007, scraped over it, picked up the image and pressed it onto the nail. Cleaning the plate between uses with my mani saver and a cotton ball, I also removed the liquid latex after each stamp. I used this stamp on my index and pinkie nails. These steps were repeated for my middle and ring nails, with a different image on plate BPL-031. After allowing time to dry, I applied Kwik Dry Top Coat to seal it all in and finished off with Big Matte Top Coat. 

Halloween Bats Emerging Nail Art with Matte Purple

I'm pretty happy with this design. I didn't want to do another orange Halloween design like last year, so I decided to do purple and yellow because I feel that's still pretty Halloween-y. Plus, they're opposing colours of the colour wheel so you know they'll go well together!
I was aiming for a sort of creepy sunset look, with the bats coming out for the night. 

What do you think?
Do you do Halloween nails?
Leave me a comment below!

Don't forget to check out my social media pages.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunrise and Silhouettes Nail Art

Hello everyone!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Today has been a beautiful sunny day, which is very welcome after a few days of clouds and rain. So, of course I decided to stay inside and do nail art instead of getting out and enjoying it... It did make it a lot easier to see what I was doing, though!

This week's nail art was inspired by a photo I took, or rather a photo I WANTED to take. A few weeks ago I work up early, hoping to get some nice photographs of the sunrise. Unfortunately for me, it was the worst morning for it -so overcast that we didn't get any sun until midday! I did end up with a really cool shot of a skeleton tree with the gloomy clouds behind it, though. So instead, I decided I'd create the sunrise on my nails, since nature didn't want to play... AND I had the perfect holos to create the sunrise look I wanted to achieve. I've called this one "Sunrise and Silhouettes Nail Art".

Sunrise and Silhouettes Nail Art

I used these polishes:
Big Hair Don't Care by Celestial Cosmetics
Mind That Mullet by Celestial Cosmetics
Care Bear Cuddles by Celestial Cosmetics
Black Stamping polish by Emily de Molly
Nail Base & Top Coat by Rimmel
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

As well as these nail art tools:
Stamping plate BP - L015 by Born Pretty 
Larger Clear Stamper
Scraper
Liquid Latex by Lulaa
Cosmetic sponge

Sunrise and Silhouettes with Mind That Mullet

To create this design, I began by applying a Base Coat. After allowing to dry, I applied one coat of Big Hair Don't Care. While that was drying, I applied a coat of Liquid Latex around each nail, making sure to cover the tips of my fingers (my nails being so short causes the polish to flow over the tips and really makes a mess!).
Once that had dried, I painted one stripe of each colour; Big Hair Don't Care, Mind The Mullet and Care Bear Cuddles, across the cosmetic sponge and in that order to create the sunrise effect. I then dabbed the sponge over each nail, re-applying the polish as necessary. Being holo, it took these polishes quite a few coats to get the desired effect.
I then removed the latex and allowed to dry.
Before continuing, I re-applied latex to my middle two fingers, then grabbed my stamping tools, including stamping plate BP-L015. Selecting the design I wanted, I painted over it with Black stamping polish, scraped off the excess, picked up the image with my stamper and pressed it firmly onto the nail, gently rolling it a little to make sure it transferred correctly. I did this for both my middle finger and ring finger nails, making sure to clean the plate between uses. I finished it off with Kwik Dry Top Coat. 

Sunrise and Silhouettes with Black stamping polish

I love this design!
I know, I know, I say that every week. But it's true!
I have a big thing for trees, especially skeleton trees, and the sunrise look is amazing. Using holos added a nice touch of magic to the whole design, and if you've ever seen the sunrise, you'll know how magical it can be. 

These holos are so amazing, I love using them. I should really try to use them more often. I'm still sad that Celestial is no more. They are the perfect blend of colour and holo, I couldn't get enough. Maybe one day they'll return. 

What do you think?
Let me know by leaving a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gradient Garden Nail Art

Hello hello!

I hope my fellow Aussies are enjoying the long weekend. Usually, I'd be away right now. Sitting by the fire, wine in hand, looking over the dam. But, here I am, bringing you more of my nail creations. I'm okay with that though. It has taken me about 4 hours to get my photos ready for today (lesson learnt, I'll be getting my photos edited in advance from now on). Photoshop was being a pain in the butt, but I finally got it sorted, so here we go.

This week, I have a fun gradient with some stamping. I have no idea what to call it... gradient garden? I think that will do. It includes some of my favorite nail things; gradients (obviously), pastels and stamping! Details on polishes, tools and directions are below. 

Gradient Garden Nail Art

I used these polishes:
Rose Libertine by Rimmel 
Roll In The Green by Rimmel
Lovey Dovey by Rimmel
White Stamping Polish by Born Pretty
As Black As Night stamping polish by Hit The Bottle
Nail Base & Top Coat by Rimmel
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

I also used these tools:
Liquid latex by LuLaa
Cosmetic sponge
Large clear stamper
Scraper
Stamping plate 05 by Born Pretty
Cotton ball
Mani saver

Gradient Garden with Purple

I started with Nail Top & Base coat. Once dry, I applied two coats of Roll In The Grass. After allowing time to dry (at least to the touch), I applied liquid latex around each nail, then continued to let dry. Next, I grabbed a cosmetic sponge and applied one stripe of Roll In The Grass, Lovey Dovey and Rose Libertine across the sponge. I then gently dabbed over each nail, making sure each colour was evenly distributed on the nail whilst not blending them together too much. This took a fair few coats for all five nails, and I needed to reapply the polishes to the sponge a few times. Once I had an even gradient, I removed the liquid latex and allowed the polish to dry. I then gathered my tools and stamping plate 05. Picking my design, I painted White stamping polish across the design, scrapped off the excess and picked up the image with the stamper. I pressed the design onto my index nail, making sure to roll the stamper in order for the stamp to completely cover the nail. Then, using some tape, I removed what had transferred onto my skin (I may have forgotten to use latex this time). Remembering to clean my plate between each use with my mani saver and a cotton ball dipped in acetone, I repeated this on my middle finger. I did the same for my ring and pinky finger, only using As Black As Night stamping polish instead. To finish off the design, I applied a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat. 

Gradient Garden with Green

I initially intended on continuing with the white stamping, but after doing two, I decided black would look better. Since I had already done the white, I was not starting again and decided it was more fun with the two different colours. If I were to recreate it, I'd stick with black. I feel like it brings out the pastel colours underneath so much better. These colours deserve to shine! I love this green, I'm a little obsessed with it and I probably have about 4 similar ones. Woops.

What do you think?
Would you try this design?

As always, let me know.

Thanks for stopping by!

Boho Gradient Nail Polish

Good afternoon readers!

I hope you are all well.
As for me, unfortunately I've had a cold for about a week now, but it's slowly working it's way out. Luckily, I am currently well enough to do some nail art.
Let's hope it get better from here!

As you're most likely aware, I didn't get a post out last week... For that, I'm slightly sorry. Only slightly because I was extremely exhausted after my trip. But, I did have fun while I was there. Happy to be home though, always happy to be here.

This week's nail art was inspired by two polishes that I had sitting next to each other...Happens all the time! I love my organization skills, haha!
I decided to do a gradient for this one, but soon realized it was missing something. So I added some stamping!
I present to you now, the Boho Gradient!

Below you'll find a list of polishes and tools I used to create this mani. 

Boho Gradient Nail Art 

These are the polishes I used:

Summer by piCture pOlish 
Orchid by piCture pOlish
Sparkling Cyan-ide by Hit The Bottle
Tipsy Grasshopper by Hit The Bottle
Ready To Take Off by UNT Cosmetics
Big Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

These are the tools I used:

Cosmetic sponge
Stamping plate BP - 152 by Born Pretty
Large clear stamper
Plastic scraper
Cotton balls
Mani saver
Liquid latex by LuLaa

Boho Gradient with Orchid 

I started by applying one coat of Ready To Take Off base coat. Once dry, I applied liquid latex around each nail, then painted two coats of Summer on each nail.
After allowing to dry, I grabbed my cosmetics sponge and brushed Summer and Orchid across it. I then dabbed it on each nail, re-applying polish to the sponge after every few dabs. Once satisfied with the gradient, I removed the liquid latex.
After allowing ample time for everything to dry, I applied Big Kwik Dry Top Coat. While that was drying I grabbed stamping plate BP - 152, a stamper, a scraper and the stamping polishes. I chose the design I wanted, then painted a few blobs of Sparkling Cyan-ide and Tipsy Grasshopper over the design. I then scraped off the excess polish, which also blended them together, then picked up the image and pressed it onto the nail. I did this for all five nails, then finished off with Big Kwik Dry Top Coat.

Boho Gradient with Sparkling Cyan-ide & Tipsy Grasshopper

I enjoyed this design, both wearing and creating it. I did mess up a couple of the stamps, due to the polish drying out a little too quickly. But, that's nail art life for you! Ha ha.
These colours are so fun together. So much holo!

The gradient was a little harder to do than usual. Both of these polishes contained glitter, which meant I was basically just dumping it straight onto my nails.
I did get there in the end though, and turned out amazing, if I do say so myself. 

What do you think?
Do you like this as much as I do?

Thanks for stopping by!

Pastel Chevron Gradient Nail Art Design.

Hello hello!

I hope everyone is doing well. I am still getting over a cold, but I am well enough for nail art, so I am happy. Haha.

I'm not sure that you guys know this yet, but I am pretty much obsessed with pastel colours. So I decided to create a simple gradient with a chevron pattern.

Pastel Chevron Gradient Nail Art 

I used these items for this design:

Coral Silk - Ulta3

Tingle - piCture pOlish

Blanc - Essie

Chevron Nail Stickers

Cosmetic sponge

G'day Matte Top Coat - piCture pOlish

Camo Coat - Celestial

Pastel Chevron Gradient with Coral Silk - Ulta3

I started with two coats of Blanc as a base. Once dry, I applied a quick dry top coat and then painted Camo Coat around each nail. I then placed two chevron stickers on my middle and ring finger, making sure each was securely pressed to the nail. I painted Tingle and Coral Silk onto a cosmetic sponge and dabbed it over each nail. As these colours are somewhat softer, it did take a fair few coats to get them just right. Once I was happy, I removed the chevron stickers and the Camo Coat, then finished with a G'day Matte Top Coat.

Pastel Chevron Gradient with Tingle - piCture pOlish

I left the stickers on a little too long because of the gradient, which caused a little bleeding in the design. But, I kind of like the distressed look that this made. I also wish I hadn't overlapped the colour on the sponge so much as it made this purple-ish-grey tone between them. All in all though, it still looks really awesome. 

Pastel Chevron Gradient with G'day Matte Top Coat - piCture pOlish

I do just love these colours together. This blue-green tone has to be my favorite colour at the moment. 
What do you think?
Let me know below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Boyfriend's Pick - Black and Green Gradient

Hey people!

Hope y'all are doing well.

This design comes partly from my boyfriend. I asked him to pick out at least two colours from my collection for me to create a design with. He chose black and green, and this is what I did.

Black and Green Gradient with Fatal Attraction - BYS

To create this look I used the following colours and tools:
Lady in Black - OPI
Fatal Attraction - BYS
Camo Coat - Celestial
Cosmetic sponge 
Thin Striping Tape
G'day Matte Top Coat - Picture Polish.
  

Black & Green Gradient with G'day Matte Top Coat - piCture pOlish

I started with two coats of Fatal Attraction as a base. I painted Camo Coat over each nail and allowed to dry. I then took a cosmetic sponge and painted on Fatal Attraction and Lady in Black, then dabbed onto the index and middle nails. When I got to the next one, I placed four pieces of striping tape vertically on the nail and dabbed over the top. Once satisfied with the gradient, I quickly removed the tape. I decided to leave the pinky as just Fatal Attraction and painted my thumb with Lady in Black. I finished off with G'day Matte Top Coat. 

Green & Black Gradient Nail Art

I do wish that I had done another coat or two of Fatal Attraction as this colour is rather translucent. I also learnt that I need to stick the tape over the free edge of my nail when doing gradients like this. As you can see, it bled through on the tip and I don't like the way it looks.

This was fun though, not something I would have normally done, so I am always grateful for the input of my partner.

What do you think? Does your partner help you out with designs? Let me know below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Dreams ft. Sinful Colors

Howdy Howdy!

I trust you are all well?

Today it's a little overcast here so I figured it's the perfect time to bring out my first winter mani for the year.

This is a nice, simple design that doesn't take much time and still looks fabulous!

Winter Dreams with Cinderella - Sinful Colors

For this design I used:
Cinderella - Sinful Colors, this beautiful shimmer blue.
Hottie - Sinful Colors, a deep blue jelly with with large colour shifting flakies.
Camo Coat - Celestial 
Blue nail gems 
Big Kwik Dry Top Coat - Sally Hansen

Winter Dreams with Glitter - Sinful Colours

I started with a base coat of Cinderella on all but my ring finger. For that I used a base coat of Hottie. After drying, I applied Camo Coat around all nails. Using a make up sponge I applied Cinderella and Hottie and dabbed onto my index & pinky fingers until the desired opacity as reached. I then took another sponge and painted Hottie onto it and dabbed it once or twice over my middle finger, then used the same sponge on my ring finger to coat the entire nail with glitter. Once I was satisfied with all nails, I removed the Camo Coat. Applying my Kwik Dry Top Coat, I quickly added the blue gems and finished with another coat of Kwik Dry. 

Winter Dreams 

I really enjoyed this simple and elegant design. Also, I absolutely love using any kind of nail studs, gems and all of that good stuff!

What are your thoughts?
Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by.

Spring Inspired Gradient & Stamping

Hello lovelies!

We have had some beautiful spring weather the last few days, so I thought this mani would be fairly fitting.

I really love the way they turned out. I think I could wear this design all year long! At the moment I am trying to break out of my comfort zone a little and try new techniques. This one isn't too far from what I usually do, but I'd never tried a vertical gradient before. I tell you what, I really like it. I think it brings a whole new depth to nail art!

For this one I used:
BYS - Isn't She Lovely
BYS - Matte Violet Frosting
BYS - Matte Mint Candy
BYS - Sky's The Limit
Essie - Blanc
Born Pretty - White Stamping Polish
piCture pOlish - D'day Matte Top Coat
Born Pretty Stamping Plate - BP - X05
Celestial - camo coat.

I started with two coats of Blanc for a base. Once dry I applied Camo Coat around the cuticles. While that was drying I applied three coats of Isn't She Lovely to my pinky nail, and Matte Mint Candy to my thumb. I took Isn't She Lovely and Matte Violet Frosting and painted them onto a makeup sponge, applied a thin layer of Blanc over the Matte Violet Frosting to de-saturate it a little, then dabbed it onto my ring finger, making sure Isn't She Lovely was on the left side. I continued to do this until I reached the right opacity, which was quite a bit due to the pale colour of Isn't She Lovely. I let each layer dry for a few seconds before continuing. Once that was complete, I removed the Camo Coat on that finger. I did the same steps for my middle finger, but used Matte Violet Frosting and Sky's The Limit instead. Same again for my ring finger, except with Sky's The Limit and Matte Mint Candy. Once they had all dried I grabbed my BP - X05 stamping plate and White Stamping Polish, and stamped the same design onto each nail. I finished with G'day Matte Top Coat to soften it even more. 

I really enjoyed this design, but it was a little time consuming. Probably the most so far. But I am okay with that because every time I looked at them, they made me smile. What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by!

Rainbow Zebra Print

Howdy Howdy!

Hope everyone is feeling good!

I recently felt the need to create a rainbow gradient design, so I went ahead and did one! 
This is what I ended up with. I really love the way the gradient turned out, although you can barely see the green.

Rainbow Zebra Print

What I used:
Essie - Blanc
Chi Chi- Barbie Boy
Chi chi - Good Vibrations
Chi Chi - Boys Boys Boys
Chi Chi - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Born Pretty - White Stamping polish

Born Pretty - Black stamping polish

Born Pretty - Stamping plate 16

Celestial - Camo Coat

Rainbow Gradient

I started with a base coat of Blanc. Whilst drying I used Camo Coat around the nails for easy clean up. I then applied stripes of Barbie Boy, Good Vibrations, Boys Boys Boys & Wake Me Up Before You Go Go to a cosmetic sponge and dabbed them onto the nail. Once I got to the opacity I wanted, I applied a quick dry top coat. After allowing it to dry I used Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Boys Boys Boys, Good Vibrations & Barbie Boy on stamping plate 16, then scraped and stamped onto my index nail. After cleaning the plate, I used Black stamping polish 
& did the same for all five nails. I did it once more with White stamping polish on my ring finger nail and finished with a quick dry top coat.

Rainbow Zebra Print with White stamping polish. 

This seems super intricate, but that is why we have stamping plates! These things are so easy and useful! I've not done double stamping before, and I found I did not like the white over black. If I re-did this design, I'd go with the white underneath the black... But, some things are just trial and error. Besides, it didn't turn out all bad!

What are your thoughts?
Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Distressed Sunset

Hello all! 

I hope everyone is doing well! This week has once again flown by! Before I know it, it'll be Christmas again. 


Today I have mixed two of my favorite techniques - dry brush & gradient - together to get this awesome design I call Distressed Sunset. It's edgy and cute at the same time. I love wearing this design.

Distressed Sunset Glossy Top Coat

The photo above is with a glossy top coat, but I ended up using a matte top coat to finish and I love the way it looks, I think it plays well with the pastel tones used and it kind of subdues the black so it's not as harsh. 

Distressed Sunset with glossy top coat & Barbie Boy - Chi Chi

So for this mani I used to the following
Barbie Boy - Chi Chi
Apricot Cockatoo - Essence
Lady In Black - OPI
Big Kwik Dry Top Coat - Sally Hansen
G'Day Matte Top Coat - piCture pOlish
Camo Coat - Celestial.

Distressed Sunset with Matte Top Coat

This was fairly simple. I applied two coats of Apricot Cockatoo & allowed to dry, then applied Kwik Dry top coat. I used Camo coat around my nails for easier clean up from the gradient. Once both were dry, I applied Apricot Cockatoo & Barbie Boy to a cosmetic sponge and dabbed it on all of my nails until a good opacity was reached. I removed the Camo coat once I was happy & cleaned up my cuticle areas with acetone and a clean up brush. Once the gradient was dry I applied Kwik Dry top coat to smooth it out. After drying, I took Lady In Black and wiped off as much excess polish as possible from the brush and applied it sporadically on all but one nail. Finished with G'Day Matte top coat, and voila! Here we have it. 

Distressed Sunset with Matte Top coat & Barbie Boy - Chi Chi

 As you have probably gathered by now, dry brush is my absolute favorite technique, and quite often my go-to. I've done a few others you can see here & here. Be sure to keep an eye out, as you will definitely see more of this. I've not done it like this before as I always thought it looked best over white, but I am slowly and surely expanding my horizons! 

Distressed Sunset with Matte Top Coat & Apricot Cockatoo - Essence

What are your two favorite techniques? Have you crossed them over before? Let me know and leave me links, I'd love to check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Matte Stamping & Gradient with piCture pOlish

Welcome back lovely people!

I finally caved and bought me some piCture pOlish nail polish recently. They have a matte top coat called 'G'day Matte' which I thought was totally appropriate for The AustraNailian! So, of course I had to get it. I also purchased another awesome polish called 'Orchid' - a beautiful purple with silver holo flakes - and that is what inspired today's design.

Matte Stamping & Gradient

I also used Essence - Queen Of The Amazon which is a purple plum shimmer, Born Pretty - White stamping polish, Celestial - Camo Coat & QGirl stamping plate - 035.

This design was fairly simple. I applied two coats of Orchid on four of my nails, two coats of Queen Of The Amazon on my ring finger and allowed them to dry. Using plate 035 & white stamping polish, I stamped the design on top of the Orchid. Using Camo Coat to protect my skin, I applied Orchid & Queen Of The Amazon on a sponge to make a gradient on my ring finger. I applied a quick dry top coat to all and finished with G'day Matte top coat over the stamping designs, leaving the gradient with the shiny top coat.

Matte Stamping & Gradient with Orchid - piCture pOlish

I thought it would be interesting to have two different finishes on this design and I believe I am right. It looks awesome.

This Matte top coat is making me fall in love with matte designs. I have never really been a fan, but I guess I just didn't have the right formula. Keep an eye out, I plan on using this one at lot more.  

Matte Stamping & Gradient Nail Art Close Up

What are your thoughts? Have you done different finishes in one mani? Would you do this?
Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Matte Stamping & Gradient with QGirl Plate - 035

That's all for today, so thanks for stopping by!

Candy Skull Gradient Nail Art

Howdy y'all!

Hope everyone's doing well!

I've got some cute nail art to share with you today. I have this super cute Halloween stamping plate, and I thought "I am not waiting until October to use this!" 
So, I took the least Halloween-ish stamp and here we go!

Candy Skull Gradient Nail Art with Boys, Boys, Boys - Chi Chi

I used Born Pretty stamping plate - 122, Boys, Boys, Boys - Chi Chi (a middle tone blue creme), Good Vibrations - Chi Chi (a purple creme with pink undertones) & Black Stamping Polish - Born Pretty.

Candy Skull Gradient Nail Art with stamping plate

I started with two coats of Boys, boys, boys. Once dry I painted a makeup sponge half with Boys, boys, boys & the other half with Good Vibrations, then dabbed it onto the nails until I achieved the gradient and opacity I wanted. Allowing it to dry, I used the black stamping polish to stamp the candy skull design onto the nail. Finishing with a shiny top coat and we're all done.

Candy Skull Gradient Nail Art

I love stamping designs because you can do so much with them. Here are some links to other stamping designs I've done before 80s retro vinyls nail art, Summer mermaid nails & My first nail stamping.

I love these colours. They feel summery, which I always need in my life, haha. These Chi Chi polishes come in some really awesome shades and I've been using them a lot recently. Keep any eye out for the next one!

What do you think? Do you like this look? Leave a comment and let me know!

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Sunset Free Hand Nail Art

Hello all and welcome!

As I live in Australia, it is currently summer. It's very warm and sunny, so I thought, why not post some summer nail art?
This is my second attempt at free hand nail art (see my first here) and, although they are not perfect, I still like them. I thought this would be a good thing to share with you all. Everyone has to start somewhere no matter what they're doing, so I'm happy to share this experience with you.

Here we go!

 Summer Sunset Free Hand

As you can see, they are far from perfect, and I have some streaking from my top coat. I am not going to lie, I had a lot of difficulty with this mani, but by the end I was happy. I'd learnt a few things, and I loved them.

I bought these two colours (Hot Tamale - Sally Hansen & Mexican Madness - Australis) from Priceline one day and realized they were the perfect shades for this exact nail art. 

Hot Tamale is an amazing, show stopping red-orange colour which I love more than I thought I would. Mexican Madness is a typical Barbie hot pink. I do love this colour in this nail art, but it is not a colour I would wear on its own. Having said that, this was the first Australis nail polish I bought, and I loved it. The colour is so pigmented, which means it's a one coat. I have since bought more Australis because of this. 

Summer Sunset Free Hand

I started with one coat of Mexican Madness, then used a sponge to create the gradient with Hot Tamale. Here's where the difficulties started. For someone reason, the polish was absorbing and drying on the sponge too quickly, which caused small chunks of the sponge to dispense on my nails. I tried using tweezers to remove them but they were already cemented in. So, I carried on. I used a long, thin striping brush with Lady In Black - OPI to draw the trees, birds & the ground silhouettes. Initially when applying Lady In Black, it looked completely solid. It wasn't until I'd finished that I realized most of it wasn't opaque. I have since learnt that I will need to paint over them next time. Lastly, I added a top coat, which you can see on some nails left behind bubbles & caused streaks in the images. 

This nail art has probably been my biggest learning experience. I've done gradients before, but none quite as intense as this. I have done more free handing since this, and I believe I just need to continue practicing.

Have you done any free handing? What were your experiences like? Leave a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!