Reasons to Pee Your Pants over the New Zoya ORNATE Winter Collection!!!!

Yes this is a yummy collection! Perfect for the season they have packed in the shimmers rich tones which will make this a must have 6 piece collection for my holiday season!

This is the link to the zoya site where you can enjoy their description and bimonthly discounts on the collection https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/014E950A

 

So lets start with Electra! Wow this is an interesting polish! It is jammed packed with holographic microdiamond glitters so give a shimmering textured look to the nail. This is going to be perfect for holiday parties!

This is Ziv - Wow, such a rich metallic gold! A liquid metal base with tiny gold micro glitter is such to keep this a hit for the upcoming season! 

And for the sexy seductress in you, there is Storm. Wow this is a stunner! Its such a party, nightlife kinda polish, I certainly would be pulling this out all year round! A deep black creamy base with micro holographic glitter, its like a starry night sky on your nails!!! Ahhh gorgeous!!!!!

Aurora, Zoya describes this as plum purple, but it doesn't look like that to me. It is like a brighter, more purpley version of Zoya's Nova in my opinion, but with finer holographic glitter. It certainly looks like a full coverage glitter but I would love to see if the holo gives it different tones in daylight... this is one to watch for!

This is Logan - of course it wouldn't be a winter collection without a rich, stable green component, and Logan fulfills our needs for sure!!!! This is a gorgeous green which has depth to it. The gold counter-tones really enrich it but don't make it seem too glitzy. Zoya describes it as, "forest green with dense, foil-like yellow-gold and blue-green duochrome shimmer!" Well thank you Zoya with that statement you have completely won me over - this is a MUST HAVE.

Hats off to Zoya for quenching our desire for that perfect holiday Vampy delicious red! They gave us Blaze.... yes, Blaze. A gorgeous, deep, almost creme-jelly hybrid packed with micro glitter. Its glamorous without being too invasive, not over the top, perfectly fitting for the holiday season day or night. It is the perfect spokesperson or "spokespolish" ;P for this collection, and we are so mouthwateringly happy that Zoya threw this baby into the holiday season!!! 

Zoya has a scaling system of 1-5 for opaqueness, and classifies all of this collection as a 5 (full coverage, most opaque), except Electra which is a 4. Apparently Electra is just opaque enough for two coat coverage, but can also be used as a fun topcoat in 1 coat - this is great versatility, especially as we crack out our crazy holiday nail designs.  

I have ordered my collection sampler, so I'll post some pics when its in - very excited @#$%^!

If you want to check it out for yourself, go here >ZOYA<

J x

DIY: How-To Make Your Own Nail Polish Hair Bows!

Yours truly rocking my first homemade nail polish hair bow!

Made this one for my friend's 2 year old niece, went well with her
Minnie Mouse Birthday theme!

Today I have a "HOW-TO" posting for you, I am very excited to share this with you, it is super simple and super fun! Enjoy!

What you will need:
Bobby Pins (Any particular hair clip that you like, I use pins)
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon
Glass pebbles
Nailpolish
Top Coat

Part I: Polishing Your Pebbles
I got my pebbles from the dollar store, they're the type that people put in vases for decoration. Its important to get the clear ones with the flat bottom. Choose the polishes you want to use to paint your pebbles. REMEMBER: Paint polishes is the opposite of doing nails i.e: glitter first, then color polish second, then top coat. If you put the color on first the glitter won't show through, keep this in mind.

Paint each layer of your pebble, get creative with it, let each layer have time to dry in between, then put a good coat of Top Coat to seal it. (I like to do 2 coats of Top Coat, with plenty of drying time in between!)

Part II: Making your bow
Now there are thousands of blog tutorials and YouTube videos for many, many different bow designs, so go for it, get creative and try your hand at a variety of bows! I used a simple tuxedo style bow and a double bow, and I used my hot glue gun to make them, although if you're handy enough you could just sew them.

Part III: Connecting the parts!
I then used the hot glue gun to glue my pebble in the center of my bow. Allowed this to cool, and then glued the back of the bow to the bobby pin. Be careful because the pin is thin and the hot glue can easily burn your fingers at this point. Allow this to cool.

Voila! You now have your nail polish hair bow! 
Get Creative and Have Fun!!
Peace&Love
J x

Summer Mermaid/Fish Scale Nails!!!!

I was inspired to do this from an Instagram contest and pretty much loved the outcome. So I will let you know how to recreate this look (please excuse my ring finger, nail break :'( RIP)

Things you will need:

So basically 3 different blues going from light to dark. Light blue and darker blue transparent glitter hex, and tool for placing glitter, Q-tips, your favorite polish remover, base coat and top coat (I advise using Seche Vite because it is thick enough to encapsulate the glitter, although you risk shrinkage, make sure to cap your tips) - and lastly PATIENCE! lol


Now I know for gradients most people use sponges or similar things unless you have an airbrush machine (big $$$), but for this you don't actually need to sponge because the gradient is going to beneath the glitter therefore a perfectly even and precise gradient is not necessary.


HOW TO:
I started with 2 coats of Milani Pool Party as my base, after drying I took Spoiled Deeper Dive, making sure that the brush only had little polish I dabbed it from the tip to half way up the nail bed. Finally I took the Color Club Cold Metal from the Foiled Collection and capped the tip and merged up to a quarter of the nail into the Deeper Dive. 


NOW WE NEED TO USE THE PATIENCE! :P
I put one coat of top coat, dipped my placing stick into the top coat then tediously picked up each glitter hex and placed it on the nail. I did half in light blue and the half towards the tip in the darker blue hex. I suggest that you paint only half the nail with top coat, fill it with hex, then paint the other half, because the top coat at the tip will be dry by the time you are ready to place the glitter, which means you will have to reapply the top coat and just make the whole thing look thicker. Truth is you get quicker at it as you go :)


Now you encapsulate the whole design with a thick top coat such as Seche Vite, make sure to cap edges to reduce shrinkage :) and enjoy your fishy or mermaid fingers :*

ENJOY!!!! :) x

HOW -TO Do Diamond Jubilee Nails With A Summer Twist!!!!

In honour of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years of reign, we celebrate her Diamond Jubilee!

So although I would do anything to be there in my home country celebrating and waving flags, I have to celebrate from afar. So I start here with my nails...

I switched out the navy blue and red on the Union Jack for baby blue and hot pink!

Items Used

Sinful Colors - Cinderella - this is a gorrrrrrgeous blue with pink hued flecks, just drop dead gorg.

White and Pink stripers

Top Coat

(simple huh!)

How-To

1. Ok so to do this I suggest you have everything you need ready. 
2. Paint your base color - whatever it may be (don't be afraid to switch it up!)
3. Then paint a fairly thin white "X" across the nail. Let it dry.
4. Take your red/pink and paint a thinner line within the white one. Let it dry COMPLETELY!
5. Get your white again and make a thick cross "+" through your current "X" (this will be roughly double the thickness of your white "X" lines) Seriously let it dry, it tends to be thicker and takes longer than the first lines you did.
6. Finally, take your pink/red again and paint a cross "+" within your white one, making sure to leave a white border of the white "+"
7. Let dry fully and add top coat, if you add a TC too early it will drag your design and mess it up (lesson learned!)

To all wonderful Brits, I hope you have a fabulous holiday weekend, and have a drink for me!!!!

x

Salon Express Nail Art Stamping Kit

We Love To Play With Our Tips! lol

Alrighty then, so we love to play with our tip, we have French, American, Chevron, Gradient, Ombre etc. So I decided to play up my new hot summer orange for an elegant but seasonal look, with a 2-color chevron mani with hex accents.


Items Used
Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro - Sunset Orange (this is fairly translucent, almost a jelly)
Nicole By OPI - Not A Gold Bigger
Milani Jewel FX - Red
Color Club Top Coat
Dotting Tool
Tape

I prepped as for any normal mani, and buffed nails (get rid of any yellow or ridges). Applied a clear base coat, I use CND Stickey (I know its green but it goes on clear!). I then taped diagonally across the tip for the orange. I paint across the tip and edge of tape and then remove the tape and allow the orange to dry. I decided last minute that I would free-hand the gold and it turned out ok, I'm lucky. But in future I will just use the tape as I would a normal Chevron mani not a stripe and wish for the best :)
I then used a dotting tool to pick and apply red glitter hex from the Milani polish to the nail. I finished with a good coat of top coat and voila! I likey these ALOT!


Enjoy,
x

My Nail Colours For The Season!

As a Licensed Nail Technician, I see colours all the time and can tell when seasons change or colour trends come and go.

For this season the following (or picture above) shows some great colours for the special holiday time!

* Beiges
* Deep blues
* Burgandy through rich/deep red with sheen/shimmer
* Graphite with silver accents are also super hot for holiday nights out! :)

Alternatives to polish:

What about the acrylic??? Well tis the season for glitter and sparkle! So go for it!!!!! Recently I've been experiementing with glitter and colour fades and I have to say they are HOT! :)

Go for it ladies, Get Glitzy Gals!
:) peace x