Summer Nail Art Ideas

Hi Everyone,

In my attempt to try more things, and do more nail art (and use more polishes) I put together a mix and match mani, with a few different things going on!

First of all, if you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen this before. If only briefly. This is from about two weeks ago, but trust, those were a hectic two weeks. I've had meetings away with work, I've had a mess up with my wages, I've had favours to give, training to plan for new starters, and more things I've probably actually forgotten. The air con is very broken in work, and the recent heatwave has left the shop like a sauna. And working 8 hours days, fully clothed in a sauna is not good. I've been coming home very tired, and very forgetful. My concentration is gone! Luckily, I'm off for a week, leaving me in a position to catch up on 'me' things! And to try and get over this evil summer cold...

Anyway... sorry for the rambling... here we go!

This is China Glaze For Audrey - one of my original lemmings, and currently, tragically underused. And it is so pretty! I have also used a Nina Ultra Pro white creme called French White, and my trusty old Barry M Gold Foil. I went with a simple, but pretty line of dots on my thumb nail, (I love the gold on white combination) and then - something new on my ring finger. I tried the fan brush method, using For Audrey and the Gold Foil over a white base. Whilst I'm sure my next attempt will be better, I love this. I'm kinda proud of this mani! And it really was easy to do!

What do you think? Let me know!

Love Charlotte x

Collection Lasting Gel Colour in Stormy Grey

Hi Everyone,

This is a mani from a few weeks ago now - so forgive me if you've seen it before on my Twitter or Instagram (@charnailsntails) but I really liked it - so it's worth a share!

After seeing so many people talking about them on Twitter, I really wanted to try the Collection Lasting Gel Colour Polishes - which are a snip compared to other gel based ones at around £3.20 each! Bargain.

As Summer has been a slight fail for me so far (come on sunshine - don't be shy) I am leaning towards more nudes than usual! Neons need sunshine!!

This colour is called Stormy Grey - which is apt given today's weather. I'm not sure if I agree with the grey part - this leans more brown in my eyes, but the name is not the important part. At least it's not just a number!

This is two coats. I probably could have done with three, or a white base. As a gel based polish, I was really hoping for something a bit more pigmented to be honest. For me though, this just hits the acceptable shade for avoiding mannequin hands, and therefore is a good nude in my opinion!

I decided to also go with a LE Barry M polish from Superdrug, from Christmas 2012 - a turquoise foil! I really loved the contrast of the colours, and how simple, but stylish this mani is! I got a lot of compliments for this one!

Unfortunately, I do have an issue with this is the name of the Collection polish. No, not the Stormy Grey part - we've already covered that! It's the 'lasting' part. It didn't - well not for me anyway. So far... Let me explain!

I have been using OPI's Nail Envy for over a year as a base coat (and to strengthen my nails) and it's always done a good job. Recently I'm starting to think it might be the NE causing mani's to fail (I've tried the matte version and it seems a LOT better as a base coat) but I can't be sure. So... I don't know if it's a bad reaction with the NE, or if it just doesn't last, but this one chipped and peeled. I haven't had that happen for a long time.

Either way, it's a fab colour, the brush and formula is gorgeous and I will be using it again! I'll try a different base coat next time though... And at that price, I may have to try a few of the other shades too. In the interest of a fair trial of course!

What did you think of Collection's Gel offering? Have you tried them yet?

And does anyone else still think of them as Collection 2000, despite the re-brand? I'm probably just showing my age there...! Haha!

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

More Random Nail Spam...

Well hello there,

How are you all? I hope you're better than I am! I seem to have done something funky to my back. (Yes, I am like a walking medical issue - there is always something lol!) Alas, it means I've had to have a few pain killers now and then - and they do a really good job of making me drowsy and sleepy - so no computer time for me!

It probably has something to do with the entire week we spent having a good spring clean! I never thought of my house as messy, just a little cluttered in places. So I roped the Mr. into helping me have a good sort out. Very therapeutic! And, dare I admit, maybe my house WAS messy. (Three car's full to the local tip/recycling centre...) There's still some stuff to do - like things to eBay, things to donate to charity, and a final run to recycle an old TV. I didn't realise we had acquired so much junk! Ooops! Also, during this epic tidy-a-thon, we discovered that we've had a leaky pipe for a while, which has caused much stress, and will probably cause more before its completely resolved! Oh well...!

As a result of our hard work, there were a few casualties in the nail department. Which sucks, but at least my house makes me happier! Whilst I'm getting back into a better shape, here are a few old pictures again - as the title suggests, some random spam!

(I know, I know, but still, who doesn't like looking at nails?!)

Model's Own Jade Stone - So pretty... so very pretty...!

A bit of nail art using Angelica polishes from Primark! And yes, terrible cuticles :(

Stripes and swirls using Sinful Colors, China Glaze and Chanel

A late photo - hence the tip wear - but this is my fishtail attempt for the few days of summer we had.

Be still my beating heart - Essie Jamaica Me Crazy. Insta-Love with this one! Oh yes!

I loved this wrapping paper - I used it for pass the parcel for my sister's hen party. It's so cute! And so, I had to do a mani inspired by it!

Finally, a terrible photo, but it shows the pink shimmer in the blue. Sinful Colors Cinderella and Pinky Glitter. <3

What do you think of the mani's and polishes? Any of your favourites in here? And where do you get inspiration from? Anything stranger than wrapping paper?

Let me know!

See you soon,

Love Charlotte x

Recent (*cough*) Manicures.... Christmas (*cough cough*)

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I know you're all rolling your eyes at this one. Me too.

I'm rubbish.

But I wanted to share these pictures anyway, and I'm not waiting another ELEVEN months. Although, when I say it like that, it doesn't sound so far away... eeek!

First of all, I'm going to show you Sophie - my sister-in-law's nails. I loved doing her nails, and to be fair, she let me go a bit wild with them. Her nails are so tiny and delicate, it was hard to get the exactly how I wanted them, as I'm used to doing nail art on my own nails! But to be fair, I was pretty happy with the result!!

 For this mani I used China Glaze's Ruby Pumps (PERFECT Christmas red), MUA's Fairy Dust Nails in Glitter Wings and my white nail art pen. Oh, and a LOAD of gems and topcoat!!

Thumb to Pinky: Candy Cane Stripes, Shimmery Gold with red diamond gems, Red and White snowflake with diamante accent, free-handed red heart, and finally - Ruby Pumps and 'rubies'!! A bit of extra bling for Christmas haha!!

My own mani was a bit more muted as I was working all over Christmas, and there was no way I would be able to keep the gems in place! In fact, I only managed to take one measly picture of it. Hectic work = blogging mojo gone!

Anyway, This was Ruby Pumps over a base of Barry M's Gold Foil!

 

Simple, but sparkly and satisfying! 

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

Nails and Tales Favourites: Barry M Gold Foil

Hi Everyone,

Today I would like to share with you, one of my favourite polishes for nail art and colour manicures. Barry M's Gold Foil has been around for a while now, but it is one of my firm favourites.

It's a metallic finish, which despite having a few brush marks, dries to a lovely bright golden colour. It's a very versatile shade too, which will look great all year round - I have used it for Christmas manicures, and worn it with a tan in the Summer. The formula dries very quickly, and looks great in two coats - one is normally enough, but an extra one for luck never hurt anyone!

I find that this polish is also fantastic when used with a dotting tool too, like in this nail art example.

I have quite a considerable collection of Barry M polishes now, but this is definitely the best for me! It's the only Gold colour I go back to time after time, and recommend it to anyone!

It normally retails for around £3.99, which is an absolute steal. It can be found in Boots, Superdrug and Asda, as well as in various online retailers.

Do you have any trusty nail art polishes? Any recommendations??

Let me know!

Happy polishing,

Love Charlotte x

China Glaze Street Chic +

Hi Everyone,

You might remember that the last time I went to my local Sally's store, I indulged on some discounted polishes. Let's face it, it would be rude not to... I mean, who can resist??

One of my bargains was China Glaze's Street Chic, which you may remember from this post back in June. It's a gorgeous smokey brown, which is beautiful on it's own...

Or, with a little something extra! As you do, because, well... why not?!

 

I used two of my current favourite polishes to accentuate the gorgeousness of Street Chic - Accessorize Soft Jade, and Barry M's Gold Foil. I think that this is a great combination of colours! Jade and Gold together are stunning, but the brown just brings it closer to being a great transitional mani from Summer to Autumn!

I love how simple, but effective dotted manicures are. I used the pointed end of an orange stick for mine, but I have also used the end of an old kirby/hair grip before now! (Of course, you can pick up proper dotting tools relatively cheaply, but every time I go to order some, I spend the money on polish instead.) It does help to have a steady hand though...!

What do you think? Are you a fan of polka-dots? Let me know!

Love Charlotte x

Summer V Mani

Hi Everyone,

I hope you have all been enjoying the sunshine we have intermittently been having! It's sunny, it's rainy, it's sunny again! To try and tempt the sunshine to stay a little bit longer, I used some rather Summery colours on my nails. Even if it didn't improve the forecast, it definitely improved my mood :)

 

I used Nicole by OPI Shop Around The Clock for the white base (alas, not a polish I am massively impressed by...) and then added a layer of Barry M's Gold Foil. I painted it on freehand in a slight curved V, just, ya know, cos I felt like it! After this had dried, my last little V was also a Barry M polish, this time in Peach Melba.

I really loved this combination of colours - it was fresh and Summery, whilst still being a bit glam!

What do you think of this simple Summer mani? Do you like the combination of colours?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Blue Gradient Nails

Hi Everyone,

Today I am going to show you a mani which I can't wait to try again - only next time, with a tan!

I love gradient manicures - they look awesome and can be relatively simple to do, however, sometimes they can be a bit hit or miss for me.

This mani has a few faults - but I know exactly where I went wrong and will try my hardest not to make that mistake again.

My base layers would not dry. The colour I used (2true Glossywear Polish in shade number 49) would not dry within a reasonable time, and it hated a quick dry top coat. The colour itself is lovely - a bright and bold shimmery blue. And if I had given it 10 years to dry, it would have been gorgeous. But, I was slightly impatient.

I know, nail fail!

I sponged on a new polish from Barry M - well, one I haven't seen before anyway! This one is called Denim and I got it as part of a little haul from my local Superdrug. They had a buy two, save £1 thing going one. And then there was the three for £5 on the 2true polishes. Yes, yes, resistance is futile.

Anyway, I digress! Back to the nails!

Unfortunately, you can see where the sponge ripped up some of my base layer, and I have tried to fix it. And unfortunately, I think I made it worse. But if you ignore that teensy bit, this manicure will surely make you want to go on holiday! There is just something about those blues that make me think of a bright summer sky and a tropical sea begging for someone to swim in it!

I love the mix of colours here. I don't often wear blue. I'm not sure why, I just prefer it's cousin purple. But these two blues have really changed my mind. Bring on the Blue!!

What do you think - is this a great holiday manicure?

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x