Hamsa Polka-dot Nail Art

Hola everybody!

I hope you're all doing well.

This week has been very draining on me. I think I might be coming down with something, but it's taking its time getting here. It's causing some serious headaches, so I'm sorry if this blog isn't my strongest. I'll try my best, and hopefully my lovely boyfriend/editor will be able to help.

I took some inspiration from a few images on one of my Pinterest boards. See if you can figure it out which one I used, here. I try not to take directly from other people's nail art, rather just draw inspiration and ideas from them. I had a vague idea of what I was doing, I just needed to pick some polishes and a stamp.
I recently picked up some discounted Sinful Colors from the pastel neon matte collection that has been sitting in the "to be used" section of my polish shelf for a little while now. Obviously, I had to use them. I'll leave the details for now, but you can find a list of polishes and tools just below. 

Hamsa Polka-dot Nail Art 

These are the polishes I used:
Under The Inbluence by Sinful Colors
Quick Study by Sinful Colors
Black Stamping Polish by Emily de Molly
Top and Base Coat by Rimmel
Big Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Big Matte Top Coat by Sally Hansen

I also used these tools:
Stamping Plate BP-05 by Born Pretty
Medium dotting tool
Large clear stamper
Scraper
Mani Saver
Sandwich bag

Hamsa Polka-dot Nail Art with Quick Study

I started by applying Top and Base Coat. After drying, I applied two generous coats of Quick Study. I say generous because these polishes have a habit of drying too quickly and then I end up pulling the polish off my nails, which is not a good look. Unfortunately, this dose means a longer drying time, but it wasn't too bad.
Once that was finally dry, I grabbed a sandwich bag and placed a drop of Under The Inbluence on it. Taking my medium dotting tool, I dipped it into the polish and began creating a polka-dot design on each nail. I did this by creating a zig-zag pattern with the dots.
Next, I grabbed Stamping plate BP-05 and my other stamping tools. Choosing 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 onto my middle nail. I placed the image on the lower half of the nail, with it angling to the right. Cleaning the plate with my mani saver and a cotton ball, I repeated this step with my ring finger, but angling the image to the left. As you can see, I didn't place this image quick enough and some of it didn't transfer, but that happens.
I then applied Kwik Dry Top Coat and, once that was dry, finished off with Big Matte Top Coat. 

Hamsa Polka-dot Nail Art with Under The Inbluence & Quick Study

I'm pretty happy with the results of this one. I have always enjoyed a good polka-dot design. These colours are perfect as well; there's nothing better than pastel polka-dots!

I have been trying to use all of my stamping plates; I still have so many with the blue film on them and I haven't bought any in months! The image I used came from one of these plates, which worked out pretty well for me. 

The Hamsa goes well with all the yoga-related designs I've been doing lately. I do realize the last yoga design I did was very similar in the way of stamping placement and that it was also matte. Obviously I liked it though, so why not do it again?
I'll try and be a bit more creative with the next one.

What do you think?

Do you follow me on social media? Check out this page to find me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Chevron Nail Art

Hi all!

I hope everyone is doing well!I didn't think I was going to make it in time for this post today. My computer is slowly on the way out and I have a bad habit of leaving my photo editing until the last minute, which means I was about ready to give up.
But, I got it together and here we are!

This week I was inspired by a canvas I found on Pinterest. It looked so exciting, so I decided to put my own spin on it and turn it into a nail art design. I did keep it a little less messy, simply because I did not want to spend too long on clean up (I'm a bit lazy, ha ha). It's a combination of dry brush and chevron vinyls. Dry brush being my favorite technique and chevrons being my favorite pattern (besides paisleys, but that's a different story).

Chevron Nail Art

For this design, I used these polishes:
In Your Elemelon by Sinful Colors
Wonder Mint by Sinful Colors
Acid Test by Sinful Colors
Lilac Out Loud by Sinful Colors
Lady In Black by OPI
Nail Base & Top Coat by Rimmel
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Big Matte Top Coat by Sally Hansen

As well as these products:
Chevron Vinyls

Chevron Nail Art with Lilac Out Loud

I started this design with Nail Base & Top Coat, then applied two coats of In Your Elemelon. After allowing this to dry, I grabbed Lilac Out Loud. Using the neck of the bottle, I wiped the excess polish off the brush, then swiped the brush across each nail in various directions.
I repeated this with Wonder Mint and Acid Test, taking care not to overpower the In Your Elemelon underneath. I did go back in with Lilac Out Loud to make sure it came through. This dries pretty quickly, so I was able to do one colour after the other.
Once I was happy with the dry brush, I applied a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat. I allowed the top coat to dry completely so I could apply the vinyls without ruining the whole design.
I placed two thin chevron vinyls on the lower half of my index finger (I only had thin ones, but you could use thick ones if you would prefer), making sure there was no space between them. I then applied two on my middle finger, leaving space between them. Skipping my ring finger, I placed two more on my pinky nail in the center, again, making sure there was no space between them. Before moving on, I made sure each vinyl was secured to the nail. Using Lady In Black, I painted over all nails except my ring finger nail, removing the vinyls before moving onto the next nail to avoid making a mess.
After allowing Lady In Black to dry, I applied Kwik Dry Top Coat. 
To complete the design, I applied Big Matte Top Coat.

Chevron Nail Art with Acid Test

I was pretty happy with the final look. It's not exactly like the image I got the inspiration from, but that's how inspiration works!

This one was fun to wear as I love chevrons, pastels and black... so all my favourites were covered in this design!

Most of these Sinful Colors are from their Pastel Neon Matte collection, so they're obviously made to go together. I do wish I had the whole collection, though!

What do you think?

Where do you find your inspiration?

Let me know by leaving a comment below, or find me on social media here.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Namaste Nail Art

Hi there!

Wow, I feel like I'm on a roll!
I haven't posted this consistently in quite a while!
This roll will be temporarily interrupted next week though, unfortunately, as I'll be in Sydney for a family event. I am planning to have something done in advance, however, so I can post as soon as I get back.
We'll see how that goes!

Lately, I have been trying a lot of new things - one of those being yoga. It has been really good for me, and it's fun. When I came across this awesome plate I got from bundle monster, I just knew it was the perfect time to do a yoga inspired design! Keep reading for the polishes and tools I used to create this soothing nail art. 

Namaste Nail Art

I used these polishes:
Lucky Ducky by BYS Cosmetics
As Black As Night Stamping Polish by Hit The Bottle
Ready To Take Off by UNT Cosmetics
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Big Matte Top Coat by Sally Hansen

As well as these tools:
Liquid Latex by Lulaa
Mythology BM-XL405 Stamping Plate By Bundle Monster
Large Clear Stamper
Scraper
Cotton Buds
Mani saver

Namaste Nail Art with As Black As Night by Hit The Bottle

For this design I decided to use Ready To Take Off as my base coat, as I intended to doing another design soon after. Once that was dry, I applied four coats of Lucky Ducky. Due to the paleness of this colour, it requires a few coats to be totally opaque. Once dry, I applied liquid latex around each nail.
I then chose the design I wanted for my pinky nail. After applying a generous amount of As Black As Night over the image, I took my scraper and dragged it cross the design a few times. Using my stamper, I picked up the design and pressed it firmly onto the nail, aiming for the right corner and rolling it back and forth a few times. I do this for larger designs to ensure that the entire image transfers evenly to the nail.
After cleaning the stamping plate with a cotton ball dipped in acetone (using my mani saver), I repeated this for my index finger, applying the design to the left corner. Once again, I cleaned the plate.
At this point, I removed the latex from these two fingers to avoid the polish drying and flaking off as I remove it. Moving onto the middle two fingers, I chose the next image and repeated the same steps, only this time I went for the bottom corners of these nails. After removing the latex and allowing the images to dry completely, I applied Kwik Dry Top Coat. Finally, I applied a coat of Big Matte Top Coat to finish it off.

Namaste Nail Art with Lucky Ducky by BYS Cosmetics

I really love this design!
I had a bit of trouble choosing my colours as I wanted it to be calming, but still fun. I chose this yellow because I hardly get to use it, and yellow is the colour associated with happiness. Once it was done I knew it was the perfect colour!

I decided to go matte because I felt that glossy just wouldn't seem right for this design.
Once again, I made the right choice!

My only complaint is my pinky nail. I wanted to it be more like my index finger nail, but my stamper has a lot of scuffs on the bottom, which makes it hard to see proper placement.
Also, they are just so tiny!
Curse you pinkie nails!
Ha ha!

Does this nail art make you want to do yoga?
Would you try this design?
Leave me a comment with your thoughts. 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Touch of Glamour Nail Art

Hello everyone.

I'm back again for some nail fun! I haven't really been doing my nails as much as I would like, but I do have some designs on hand to keep me going for a while. I'm also struggling with design ideas and inspiration, so I'm trying to work on that. What do you do to find inspiration for new designs?

This week's nail art is simple, easy and fun - with a little bit of glamour, just because. I recently purchased this awesome glitter top coat which I couldn't wait to try. This nail art is designed around the top coat. 

A Touch Of Glamour

I used these polishes:
Go With The Flowy By Essie
Pour Some Glitter On Me! By Essence
Don't Be Too Shy To Shine By Essence
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Big Matte Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Ready To Take Off by UNT Cosmetics

I also used these items:
Make up sponge

A Touch Of Glamour with Go With The Flowy

Creating this mani was fairly quick and easy. I started with Ready To Take Of peel off base coat. There's a lot of glitter in this nail art so peel off base is the only option. After allowing plenty of time to dry, I applied two coats of Go With The Flowy to each nail. Taking a make up sponge, I applied Don't Be Too Shy To Shine to a small section of the sponge and gently dabbed it onto the tips of my nails, avoiding my ring finger. I continued to dab until the very tip was covered, and I also tried to space out the middle section. I applied two coats of Pour Some Glitter On Me!, followed by a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat to all nails, then a coat of Big Matte Top Coat over my ring finger. I don't trust these toppers like this, so I applied the Kwik Dry to seal it, and Big Matte to keep the intended look of this polish. 

A Touch Of Glamour with Pour Some Glitter On Me!

I bought all three of these polishes on the same day. I have a bad habit of needing to create designs with polishes I purchase together, and these seem to go together so well!
I really loved this design.
It might be simple, but it looks so fancy! This sequin matte top coat is fantastic. At first glance in the bottle it just looks like a ton of glitter, but it actually transfers to the nail, and it only took two coats for my nail to be mostly covered with minimal effort. It is a little hard to completely cover the nail due to the size of glitter, but it was much easier than doing one piece at a time - I do not have the patience for that!

Additionally, this was so satisfying to peel off, especially the accent nail. I kept looking at it once it was off, it was just so fascinating!

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

Thanks for stopping by! 

Rainbow Dotticure Nail Art

Howdy everyone!

Well, it looks like it's Sunday again already! These last two weeks have just completely flown by! I can't believe it. I'm really excited because last week's mani lasted about two days, which is pretty devastating. I'm not exactly sure why, but that means it's definitely time for a new nail art design!

Here it is, a basic rainbow dotticure design that's so easy, anyone can do it - no skills required. I love being able to use multiple colours in my nail art and I love doing simple designs, so why not combine the two? Keep reading to see what products and polishes I used to create this design.

Rainbow Dotticure Nail Art Design

For this nail art I used the following polishes:
Status Symbol by Essie
Matte Purple by BYS Cosmetics
Head In The Clouds by BYS Cosmetics
Roller Coaster by BYS Cosmetics
Sand In Your Stilettos by Chi Chi Cosmetics
Blanc by Essie
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
G'day Matte Top Coat by piCture pOlish

Products used:
Medium sized dotting tool
Plastic sandwich bag

Rainbow Dotticure Nail Art Design with Head In The Clouds

I started with two coats of Blanc for my base, allowing sufficient time for each layer to dry. I then took a plastic sandwich bag and dropped a small amount of Pink onto it. Using my dotting tool, I dipped it into Pink and started placing random dots on my index nail. Each time I use it, the size changes due to the amount of polish left. I tried to make larger dots by circling around a dot I'd already created, but things got a little out of hand and they now look like blobs. I only have the one size tool so this is all I could do... I really ought to get a few different sized ones. Once I was satisfied with the coverage of dots, I cleaned my dotting tool by dipping it into some acetone and wiping it on a sheet of paper towel. I then moved onto the next colour. I continued this for all nails, making sure to clean my tool in between each colour. Once I was finished with the dots, I applied Kwik Dry Top Coat, allowed time to dry and then finished with G'day Matte Top Coat.  

Rainbow Dotticure with Status Symbol

So there you have it. A really easy, cute and fun nail art design that anyone can do! You don't even need an actual dotting tool. Years back, before I knew there were such things as tools for nail art, I used a toothpick that I would hit against a hard surface until it became blunt and slightly larger. It works just as well as the tool I now have, and much easier to clean because you can just chuck it in the bin! I was actually pretty impressed with the outcome of this design because I have a bad habit of needing things to be neat and orderly, so trying to place dots in random locations was hard... but I made it through! 

Rainbow Dotticure with G'day Matte Top Coat

That's all for this week. 
What do you think? 
Have you done something like this? 
Let me know by leaving a comment below, or a link to your design, I'd love to check it out myself. 

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!

Autumn Leaves Nail Art

Hey lovely people.

I hope everyone's enjoying the weekend. 

This design is a bit autumn; even though we are in the final month of winter, it still works and it's very pretty!

Autumn Leaves with G'day Matte - piCture pOlish

I really enjoyed creating this nail design. It was fun and turned out much better than I was hoping for. The colours work really well together and the matte effect just makes the whole thing.

Autumn Leaves with Cherry Red - Sally Hansen

For this design, I used the following items:
Cherry Red - Sally Hansen
The "IT" Color - OPI
Sunny London - Essence
G'day Matte Top Coat - piCture pOlish
Camo Coat - Celestial
Stamper
Maple leaf nail stencils. 

Autumn Leaves with Sunny London - Essence

I started with two coats of Sunny London as a base. Once dry, I applied a quick dry top coat. I used Camo Coat around my middle and ring finer nails to protect my skin, then applied the stencils to my middle and ring finger nails. After making sure they were securely adhered to the nail, I dropped a few drops of The "IT" Color and Cherry Red onto a stamper and dabbed it on to the nail, over the stencils. I did this one nail at a time, making sure to remove the stencil as soon as I was happy with the design. After allowing them to dry, I applied a quick dry top coat, then G'day Matte Top Coat to finish the look. 

Autumn Leaves Nail Art Design

That's all there is to it! I am really happy with how the smoosh marble turned out on the leaves. It actually looks realistic, which I am heaps happy about. 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!

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!