NOTD : Konad Stamping

A Nail Art post today as I am quite happy with how both these turned out and I got a lot of compliments at work for these nails...

Zebra Print Nail Art Using Kiko 316 and Konad m57 plate

I guess I love this nail art so much is because I love all the individual items that have been used in this.

First, the absolutely gorgeous plum shade that Kiko 316 Red Violet ... If you haven't tried any Kiko nail polishes yet, then you must absolutely try one. I picked this up from their Westfield store and I think it was on offer at that time...I remember it being ridiculously cheap. However, they are always available on Kiko website here for £3.90. I am currently lusting after their 389-Mint Milk shade and new Limited Edition Colours of the World collection.

Formula on this polish is amazing, applies very easily, is highly pigmented and is opaque in 2 coats. I applied three though. The brush is good too.. wide enough for nice coverage... It is long lasting with just one/two minor chips on the 6th day...

Secondly, one of the most popular Konad plate ever..m57.   This plate has got 3 full nail designs, 2 lacy borders and one with 3 separate flowers.I used Konad special polish in black. I am yet to find any other black polish which can be used for stamping. If you guys know of any, please leave a comment.

There are lots of video tutorials on you tube to help with stamping. It is delightfully easy to use and you can create some very complicated nail art and enjoy compliments ;). 

My tips for Konad stamping : 
1) Make sure while scraping, you don't scrape too hard. I used to get a little carried away first couple of times.
2) Similarly, while picking up the stamp , don't stamp too hard. The softly you do it, the better it will pick up.
3) You will have to work quickly from the point of scraping onwards, otherwise the stamp will not transfer.

This above design is another one of my favourites to do. Both Stamps are from the same plate as you can see. I used one of the Miss Sporty shades as base ( I think it is called Fall in Lasting colour range) and stamped the fish net design first followed by the flowers stamp...

Let me know what you think... :)

NOTD : Grey Gradient Nails

Hello everyone....We have been having some lovely weather in last few days... Have you been doing anything special off-late?

I thought I will do a quick NOTD post. I am not particularly happy with the result, but then...I don't think that it looks that bad either.

I have used Essie Power Clutch and Revlon Lunar for the gradient effect. Then I finished it off with a 17 brand glitter top coat. The gradient effect is achieved using the sponging technique. The glitter top coat helps hide all your mistakes. As you can see from the above pictures I managed to ruin my index finger..but as I was running late for something, I left it alone... I am sure we have all had days where we ruin all the nails eventually while trying to fix one.. ;)

Let me know what you think...

Movember Nails

As you all probably know, Movember is a charity event held every year during November where guys grow their moustaches in order to raise awareness about Men's health (particularly Prostrate Cancer) and raise funds. Few of my team mates at work have become "Mo Bros" and convinced me to be a "Mo Sister".

Here is a picture of my effort to join in.

I don't normally do free hand nail art, but since moustache water decals that I had ordered from e-bay had not arrived , I decided to go ahead after watching a couple of you tube videos. Here is a link to a great video. I have used Model's Own Nail Art Pen in black for the tash and base colour is from Miss Sporty. I don't think I quite got it right, but I know what to do differently the next time... :)

Striping Tape Nail Art

I guess I was not quite ready to give up on summer when I did these nails. I started with painting Model's Own Jade Stone. But then I felt that it was a little too bright for the weather we are having. So I decided to add a really wintery colour (Revlon's Plum Night). I love both these shades on its own, but I think together they look even more beautiful. This was done using striping tapes (ebay - £1.95 for 10 pcs here). This can be time consuming and sometimes fiddly....but perfect for while catching up on some TV shows....
Formula on both these polishes is great. First coat is a bit streaky, but nothing that can't be evened out in the second coat.
Tip : It is best to cut all the pieces of striping tape in one go and sticking on the edge of the table, as you don't want to be using a scissor or trying to find the end of striping tape with freshly painted nails...

Let me know if you would like to see a detailed tutorial on this nail art....