Neon Dry Brush Nail Art

Hi there!
I hope you're all well!

I've had a great day doing my nails. I have been having a few struggles with nail art lately, which has been stressing me out and doing no favours for my motivation/inspiration.
BUT, today I was FINALLY able to get past my frustrations and continue without getting disheartened. I must say it felt really good! Hopefully this feeling sticks around because I've missed doing my nails regularly!  

This week I have drawn inspiration from a few lovely little pieces of "art" hanging on my wall. I say "art" with quotation marks because technically they are birthday cards, all with a similar design theme, that I thought looked really cool (see below for pictures).
So, I cut them in half and hung them in the perfectly sized space above my wardrobe. I love waking up and just staring at these cute little animals with all the neon colours surrounding them, and it didn't take long for me to realize that this would be a fabulous look on my nails! Unfortunately I am pretty useless at any kind of REAL art, so I omitted the animals and just went with the colours. As usual, keep reading for the nail polish and tools used in this design. 

Neon Dry Brush Nail Art

I used these polishes:
Blanc by Essie
Lady In Black by OPI
Tahiti by ULTA3
Big Primer Base Coat by Sally Hansen
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Tools I used:
Liquid Latex by LuLaa

Neon Dry Brush Nail Art with Blanc by Essie

I started with Big Primer Base Coat. Once dry, I applied two coats of Blanc; the white base tends to amplify and really bring out the brightness of these neon polishes. Before continuing, I applied liquid latex around each nail. Once visibly dry, I grabbed Lady In Black and wiped a fair bit of excess polish off the brush using the neck of the bottle. I didn't remove too much as I wanted it to still be opaque and dense. I then wiped the polish onto the nail in various locations and directions, making sure not to be too heavy handed with it, as I wanted to keep a relatively even amount of each colour. Once I was satisfied with Lady In Black, I moved onto Tahiti and repeated the process - again, trying not to over power the other colours. I then removed the liquid latex and finished with a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat to seal it all in. 

Neon Dry Brush with Tahiti

I love this design, and I'm just a little bit obsessed with this awesome bright orange!
It's actually a perfect match to the design I pulled my inspiration from, which makes it even better.
I originally intended to incorporate a few different neon colours into this design - one on each nail or maybe just two different colours - but when I went to grab some colours, I found my collection TERRIBLY lacking in neon polishes and I was quite disappointed... So I DEFINITELY need to improve my neon collection!

All in all though, I think this design would work well with any colour; neon or other wise. Black and white goes with everything, of course! (I should know, half our house is black and white - haha)

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts!
Let me know what colours YOU would use to create this awesome design.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Black and Gold Nail Art

Hello everyone, 

I hope you've all enjoyed your weekend. It was pretty good on this side of the globe; bright, sunny, and just PERFECT for that classic jeans and t-shirt look... which just so happens to be my preferred attire - after PJs, of course!

I've got a nice and simple design this week. I have got a bit of thing with triangles on my nails, so this one was fun to create and wear. The best part is, you don't need any super-skilled talent to re-create this design! Don't let the simplicity and ease fool you, though - this design oozes elegance and is perfect for any occasion.

The following polishes were used for this design:
Golden Luster by BYS cosmetics
Lady In Black by OPI
Big Primer Base Coat by Sally Hansen
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

As well as these products:
3mm Striping tape

To create this design I started with Big Primer Base Coat. 
Once dry, I applied three coats of Golden Luster, allowing more than enough time for each layer to dry completely. This shade is very sheer, as you can see (I probably should have added an additional coat in order to hide my smile line more thoroughly, however I didn't notice until I reviewed the photos). 
I then applied a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat and let dry. 
Once it was completely dry, I cut four pieces of striping tape and applied two in the shape of a triangle on my middle and ring fingers, making sure to adhere it well to the nail. I then applied Lady In Black to the inner triangle on my middle finger, making sure it was opaque, then removed the tape. Moving onto my ring finger, I painted Lady In Black on the outer section of the nail, again ensuring complete coverage and removing the tape. Once dry, I applied another coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat to finish the design. 

Simple, yet beautiful.
A perfect example of how black and gold were just made for each other.
I really do love this gold polish, however I just wish it were more opaque...*sigh*... we can't have it all now, can we?
The beauty of this design really is in its simplicity.
It's so easy that ANYONE can do it - all you need are your favourite colours and some striping tape - which is cheap!
So cheap, in fact, that I have bucket-loads of it... I really should incorporate it more into my designs!  

So, let me know your thoughts.
Do you like the black and gold look?
What colours would you try for this design?

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! 

Blues Jeans Nail Art

Hello beautiful people!

I hope all my fellow Aussies enjoyed Australia Day! I am somewhat ashamed of myself this year. I, the creator of the AustraNailian, did not do Aussie nail art! I didn't realize until it was too late and here we are, the Australia day long weekend and I'm not wearing my pride. I am going to have to make up for this next year, with several nail art designs just for Australia. 

Since I am such an unorganized person, you'll just have to deal with what I have got for you today. I've seen heaps of people do similar designs to this one, but I bought this particular polish from Essence that claimed to be 'denim effect', so obviously, I had to create something resembling Blue Jeans. Keep reading to see what I used & how I created this cute design.

Blue Jeans Nail Art

To create this design I used these polishes:

Start The Blue Rebellion! by Essence
Alpine Snow by OPI
Be Happy by Chi Chi Cosmetics
Sun Kissed by Sally Hansen 
Ready To Take Off Peel off base coat by UNT

I also used these tools:

Short striping brush
Small dotting tool
Plastic bag
Acetone
Paper towel

Blue Jeans Nail Art with Start The Blue Rebellion!

I started with one coat of Ready to Take Off and allowed to dry, then applied two coats of Start The Blue Rebellion!. Whilst drying, I grabbed my striping brush, dotting tool and bag. I then applied small drops of Alpine Snow, Be Happy and Sun Kissed to a plastic bag. After making sure my polish was dry, I dipped the striping brush into Alpine Snow and made small lines around the edge of my middle nail. Continuing with Alpine Snow, I made a small pocket shaped outline on my index nail using the same small lines as before. I then grabbed my dotting tool, dipped it into Alpine Snow and made a flower design by applying one dot to the center of my accent nail, then placed dots around it. I cleaned off the dotting tool by dipping it into some acetone and rolling it over a paper towel. I then used Be Happy to place smaller dots over the flower, taking care to not completely cover it. Cleaning my tool again, I moved to Sun Kissed and placed one small dot in the center of the flower. I didn't apply top coat on this design because I thought it might detract from the denim effect of the polish underneath. 

Blue Jeans Nail Art with Be Happy 

This design was super quick and easy, probably the easiest I've done in a while. I really liked the effect of this polish, definitely reminded me of those good old blue jeans everyone seems to own. I felt the design needed a little more than just stitching so I added the flower as one of those iron-on patches. This one feels like a 70's style, totally accidental, but I like it.

What do you think?
Do you like the look of the denim effect?

Thanks for stopping by!

Fake Holo Nail Art

Hello, hello!

Recently, one of my favorite cheap cosmetic brands brought out a new line of nail polish as part of their holographic cosmetics. Despite the name, from what I have seen, these products are actually iridescent and not at all holo. Of course this is disappointing, however, these polishes are so amazing that I forgive them for their lack of knowledge. I did jump on them and purchased three of the seven colours from this collection. I do intend to grab a couple more before they go, but they are a little more expensive than their regular polish.

So of course I had to do some sort of nail art with them. This is the first of most likely several nail art designs with these polishes. The art is pretty simple, but it looks so mesmerizing.
I'll list the polishes I used for this basic beauty below.

Fake Holo Nail Art

Nail Polish used:

Big Primer Base Coat by Sally Hansen

Lady In Black by OPI

Unicorn Magic by BYS

Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Fake Holo Nail Art with Unicorn Magic

After applying Big Primer base coat, I used two coats of Lady In Black. Once dry, I painted two coats of Unicorn Magic on my ring finger. Using the polish brush and a moderately steady hand, I painted the lower half of my pinky and the tip of my index finger. I used two coats for these also, and finished with a Kwik Dry Top Coat. 

Fake Holo Nail Art

I know this was a quick one, but I just had to share this mani. Unicorn Magic in the bottle is a beautiful pastel purple iridescent colour with blue and pink shifting tones. Applying it to a black base really brings out the blue. I love the way it looks!

What are your thoughts?
Have you tried these 'holographic' colours? 

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!

Mint & Orange Nail Art

Hello everyone!

You may have noticed my absence recently. Things have been really busy over the last few weeks. I wasn't even sure I was going to get this one out! But here we are and I'm glad that I have. I've really missed posting & doing nail art. Since this break started I've had one single colour on my nails for far too long! Luckilyy, I recently purchased some amazing holographic polishes, so I got to try those out during this time. 

I have also been having some issues with my nails. Lots of breaking and tearing, which I think is a side effect of my dermatitis, so I have been trying to get that under control and keeping them all even.

Prior to this break, I had done these cute geometric pattern mint and orange nails, which I haven't gotten out yet, and will now be this week's nail design. If you keep reading, you'll see what I used for this design and how I did it. Please enjoy.

Mint and Orange Nail Art Design

To create these lovely mint and orange geometric pattern nails, I used the following items:
South Beach Bling Bikini by Chi Chi Cosmetics
I Feel Good by Chi Chi Cosmetics
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen
Stamping plate BP - 77 by Born Pretty 
Large clear jelly stamper (I don't recall the brand)
Scraper (This came with my stamper, so again I don't recall the brand)
Camo Coat by Celestial Cosmetics

Mint and Orange Nail Art with South Beach Bling Bikini

I started with two coats of I Feel Good and allowed them to dry. This polish is a bit thicker than usual polish so it does take a while to dry (I recommend thinner coats for faster drying time). The best way to know this polish is dry is when it becomes fragrant. Once I was satisfied they were dry, I applied Camo Coat around each nail to allow for easier clean up. I then took stamping plate 77, stamper, scraper and South Beach Bling Bikini, and applied a generous amount of Orange to the stamping plate. Taking my scraper, I dragged it evenly over the design and off the plate. I picked up the image with my stamper and lined it up as best I could with the nail. Unfortunately for me, the bottom of my scraper is scratched, which makes it hard. As the polish turned out a lot lighter than I was expecting, I decided to do a second stamp over the top of the first. I then removed the Camo Coat from that nail and repeated these steps for my middle finger and thumb. As for my index finger, I used a different design from the same plate, using the same steps as my previous nails. And of course, I finished with a coat of Kwik Dry Top Coat.

Mint & Orange Nail Art with I Feel Good

Although I love these Chi Chi flakies, they always seem to jut out, which you can see on my pinky finger above. This is mostly a visual problem, however I do find that they catch on things like clothing a fair bit, which is always annoying and can cause the polish to peel up. I would love to see them do the flakie colours but without the flakes.

Aside from that, I'm pretty pleased with how they look. These colours look so good together and I do love the patterns on this plate. 

What do you think about this simple pastel nail art design? Leave me a comment below. 

P.S. I am looking for a little feedback on what your overall opinion on my posts are, good, bad and/or ugly. You can leave a comment below, or send an email to theaustralnailian@gmail.com. I'd really appreciate it. 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Attempt at Abstract Nail Art Design

Hey everyone.

Hope y'all are well.

I decided to break out of my nail art comfort zone with this one. Having said that, I have used these techniques before, so only a little outside the comfort zone. Haha. Anyway, here's my 'abstract' nail art design. 

Abstract Nail Art

For this design, I used these:

Blanc - Essie

Roller Coaster - BYS

Violet Turning Violet - BYS

Lady In Black - OPI

Thin striping brush
Dotting tool

Abstract Nail Art with Roller Coaster - BYS

I started with two coats of Blanc for the base. Once dry, using Roller Coaster, I wiped of all the excess polish from the brush and swiped it across the nails. I tried not to take it all the way across my nail as that was the look I was trying to achieve. I grabbed a sandwich bag and placed a blob of Violet Turning Violet on it. I dipped a thin striping brush into the polish and made a vertical line down the side of my nail from slightly above Roller Coaster to the edge of my nail. I did have to dip into the polish a few times to get a decent opacity. I then took Lady in Black and dropped it on the same bag. Using a dotting tool, I dipped it into the polish and placed two dots on each nail in the bottom corner. As always, I finished with a quick dry top coat. 

Abstract Nail Art with Violet Turning Violet

I actually really liked how these turned out, the colours seem to go really well together. I might be biased though, as purple and green are my two favorites right now. The cool thing about this design is that it'll work with any colours and it doesn't need to be perfect. What do you think? Have you tried something like this? Let me know, I'd love to see them!

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!

Skulls and Roses Stamping Nail Art

Hello everyone!

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday right now. We are slowly starting to get that awesome spring weather, which is just lovely!

I have a very simple design this week, using one of my favorites... Stamping! 

Skull and Roses with Black Stamping Polish - Emily de Molly

For this design I used these:

Rebel Red - BYS

Black Stamping Polish - Emily de Molly 

Plate 28 - 春の歌 

Large stamper

Camo Coat - Celestial

Skull and Roses with Rebel Red - BYS

To create this design I started with two coats of Rebel Red, then applied a Camo Coat around each nail. After allowing them to dry, I took stamping plate 28, painted Black Stamping polish over the design and stamped it onto each nail. Once I had finished stamping I removed the Camo Coat and applied a quick dry top coat.

Skulls and Roses Nail Art Design

I didn't notice until I moved onto the second nail that the first design was upside-down. I decided to do another the same and do the remaining two the right way up. Since I use regular polish, trying to fix this would have just been a pain. Sometimes, you just gotta go with it. I don't mind though, I think it's a little more interesting this way. What do you think?

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!

Purple Smoosh Nail Art Design

Hey lovely people!

I hope everyone is doing well. 

I did this one a while ago and have been saving it for a rainy day, which it actually is today, or it was...But as you may have noticed, I have been a bit MIA recently so this has come in handy! Haha, pun not intended. 

Purple Smoosh Nail Art

This one was super easy, I used the following items:
Orchid - piCture pOlish
Blanc - Essie
Party Popper - BYS
Violet Frosting - BYS
Matte Purple - BYS
Camo Coat - Celestial 
Nail Stamper

Purple Smoosh Nail Art with Orchid - piCture pOlish

To create this look, I applied two coats of Blanc for the base. Once dry I put Camo Coat around all nails. I took Matte Purple, Violet Frosting & Orchid and dropped small amounts onto the stamper and pressed it onto the nail, then removed the Camo Coat. Once dry I applied a thin coat of Party Popper and finished with a quick dry top coat.

Purple Smoosh Nail Art with Party Popper

So that's all for today folks. What do you think? Smoosh nails are so fabulous & seriously easy! If I could only do one style for the rest of my life, this would be it. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Pink Daisy Dotticure Nail Art

Hello Hello you lovely people!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! 

Just a quick side note, I'll be away for the next few weeks so I may not be able to get posts out. But do not fret, as I will be back as soon as I can.

This week is a deceivingly simple design! I was feeling a little lazy, so I decided to do something quick & easy. This is the Pink Daisy Dotticure. 

Pink Daisy Dotticure

For this design I used the following colours & tools:
The "IT" Color - OPI
Apricot Cockatoo - Essence
Mexican Madness - Australis
Small dotting tool

Pink Daisy Dotticure with The "IT" Color - OPI

To create this design I applied two coats of Apricot Cockatoo for my base. After allowing ample time to dry, I took my dotting tool and dipped it into Mexican Madness, then made small circles by placing four to five dots next to each other, creating petals. I also placed a few loose dots to fill in the space between the flowers. After allowing this to dry and cleaning my dotting tool, I used The "IT" Color to place dots in the center of each flower. Once complete, I applied a quick dry top coat. 

Pink Daisy Dotticure

This is so simple and so cute! It just makes me want to smile every time I look at it! I think using the pastel base makes it look even more floral. Surprisingly, I think these colours all go very well together. 

Pink Daisy Dotticure with Mexican Madness - Australis

I would also just like to apologize for the mess of my cuticles at the moment. I somehow managed to get a paper cut on one of them recently which I just had to wait out. Also, due to the colder weather, my hands have become very vulnerable and I just can't get enough moisturizer or oil on them. 

So that's it for today! 
What do you think? 
Would you do something like this?
I need to do more dotticures!

Thanks for stopping by!