Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Tie Dye Nails!

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Tie Dye Nails!
The main problem with fashion trends like loud coloured prints is that it tends to be something you wear for a short amount of time and then it really doesn't fit in with the next passing trend, this also means that you may end up splashing the cash and not really get your moneys worth of wear from your fashion purchases! Well I have a small solution which will help you stay on trend but with out having to spend the money!

Use your nails as fashion accessories, you are more than likely going to already have nail varnishes and I have the designs so problem solved!

This Tie Dye design is the perfect way to add colour and be completely on trend

 I have used three colours to create my look, Catch me in your net, Fiercely Fiona & Shorts story all from OPI. I also used Nail Eny as my base coat and Start-To-Finish as my Top coat.

To get this look simply apply your chosen colours in lines and whilst they are still wet use a nail art tool or coctail stick and drag the colours through each line which creates the tie dye look!

With this design is you can use what ever varnishes you want to go with an outfit or just pick out your favourite colours. Another thing you could do is paint a thin layer of colour as a base, this will show through ever so slightly if any gaps appear where you have dragged the colours through.

If you want to see exactly how I did this design please take a look at my tutorial!

I hope you like this design and if you do recreate it I would love to see so send me some pics on facebook or twitter!

 

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Jessie J inspired Aztec Nails!

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Jessie J inspired Aztec Nails!
 Although this is not the best picture in the world (my photography skill need some work!) you can see the Aztec design Jessie J is sporting on her super pointy talons! With Aztec prints being a key trend this season I thought I would take this inspiration and create my own version!

I have used pretty much the same design but have changed the colours so rather than being black and white I've used red and white instead! The red base I have used is Chick Flick Cherry from OPI and for the detailing I used a white nail art paint. It was actually really easy to do, all you need is a fairly steady hand and your well away! In the original picture Jessie J's nails are shaped into a point which makes the look slightly more edgy but as you can see mine are more on the square side so it works with all nail shapes. The other great thing about this design is that you can use any colour combo to achieve the look!

If you want to see how I achieved this look take a peek at my video!

Are there any key trends giving you inspiration for your nails this season?

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design French Leopard

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design French Leopard
Its such a great colour for summer and coral is one of my all time favourite colours!

I had intended to just paint my nails in the coral shade but I decided that wasn't much fun so I came up with this design instead!

I used the Diva Coral shade for my base, then using Konad plate M57 I stamped on a leopard design with a black nail art paint, then to create the black french tip I used Obscurity from OPI.

This is a super easy design to do, you can put your creative spin on it and change the colour.  If you give it a go I would love to see the results so send me some pics!

If you would like to see how I achieved this look take a peek at my tutorial video.

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Bridal Nails

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Bridal Nails
Over the past ten years I have helped many brides get ready for their special day whether its doing their hair, make up or nails, It is an honour to be part of the festivities especially when people are telling them how beautiful they are or looking at the photos, you know you are partly responsible!  Now with that honour comes quite a big responsibility as what you do for your bride will be held against you forever in the evidence that will be the wedding photos!  The Hair and Make up in my opinion is the easy part, as it will be such a focal point you know what you need to do for it to look great on camera but sometimes its the smaller details that get a bit forgotten......the nails!

Over the past few years it is a common theme to have a photo taken of the newly weds hands interlocked to show off their sparkling rings, but if you've had a bad shape and paint or your husband has bitten his nails away with nerves it will be there for all to see!
So this is where I can come to the rescue!  The most simple and obvious thing to do is have a manicure, this will ensure your nails are freshly shaped, elegantly painted and not a dry cuticle in sight, but what about the polish?
Well most brides do tend to keep their polish very simple with either a nude or light pink colour or a french polish, but for those of you who are slightly more adventurous I have come up with a few designs that are the perfect finishing touch for your photo ready nails!

For this design I have taken the classic french polish and simply added a row of nail gems along the tip on the ring finger, you could choose to add the gems to all the nails if you preferred. I used one coat of Heart throb for the base and Alpine Snow for the tip both from OPI 

For this alternative french polish I used Konad plate M56 to give a lacy finish.  For a more subtle look I just used the stamp to create the effect and to make it more definite I used a white nail art paint to add a line under the lacy tip.  I used Suzy and the lifeguard from OPI for the rose colour on the nail.

 This design is perfect for some one who wants to have a simple look as the detail is really delicate. I used Suzy and the lifeguard for the base colour and then using a dotting tool created the flowers using a white nail art paint and then a gold glitter to add the dot in the centre of the flowers.

This fancy french polish is slightly more extravagant but I love it! The white tip is shaped into a point where I have placed a pearl and then using a white nail art paint I created the detailing of curved white lines and then tiny dots starting from the outer edge of the pearl. I used Heart Throb and Alpine Snow from OPI for the varnishes. 

Hopefully these designs have given you some inspiration.  Did you have nail art on you nails for your wedding day? if you did I would love to see what you had.  Or do you have some ideas you would like to share?

One last thing for you to do..... book your groom in for a MAN-icure, you cant have him missing out on all the fun!

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Royal Wedding Nails!

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design Royal Wedding Nails!
I thought I would do a nail design in honour of the royal festivities, its very patriotic and simply just a bit of fun!

A perfect match for my Kate Middleton ring!

A bit of added sparkle!

To get this look I used Alpine Snow from OPI, Indigo (312) from Barry M, Red and White nail art paints and some nail gems.

Take a look at my tutorial to see how to get this look!

I wouldn't normally have union jacks on my nails but if ever I was going to do it now seems like as good a time as any!

Have you guys done any wedding inspired nail designs? let me see if you have!

If you are celebrating the Royal Wedding I hope you have a great day full of festivities!

Oooooh Prety - Nail art Design HairSpray

Ooooo Prety - Nail art Design HairSpray
Psychedelic is one word that pretty much sums up a lot of the patterns that were used in the 60's, one of the designs I have created is taken from a black and white mod style dress that is a well know design from back in the day!  Using colour in blocks and creating a reverse mirrored effect with them seems to have been the trend, so that is the look I decided on!

The first design was created using a black and white nail varnish and black and white nail art paints. If you wanted to make it slightly more festive you could use a glitter nail art paint too. The nail varnishes I chose were Alpine Snow and My Private Jet both are from OPI.  With this design you can do each nail the same of make them all different, as the key trend was a bit zaney if you make any little mistakes it will probably add to the design!  Take a look at my tutorial to find out how to recreate this look!

For the second design I used Konad design plate M63 (take a look at my Konad blog for more info) to create a colour blocking effect, I used a white nail art paint on top of Big Apple Red from OPI.

I hope that you all like these designs, If you try them out or have any of your own 60's inspired designs I would love to see them so please send me some pics!

Oooooh Prety - Rock the Colour Block!

Oooooh Prety - Rock the Colour Block!
With Colour Blocking being majorly on trend at the moment I find myself completely panicked by the thought of bypassing my black top in exchange for an orange one and then popping on a pink blazer so I can consider myself part of the fashion craze sweeping the nation this spring, so I thought I would find another way to stay at the fore front of fashion!

My inspiration for colour blocking my nails came from reading Kandee Johnson's blog!  One of her friends Romee had painted her nails and they looked great so I decided I would put my own creative spin on this design and place myself back with in the fashionable crowd (whilst wearing my black top of course!).
 

To get this look I used OPI's Suzy and the life guard (light pink) and Shorts Story (dark pink) and for the detailing I used a white nail art pen.  This design would work with any colour so you could switch it up and experiment!  For a tutorial on this look take a look at my YouTube channel!

I hope you all like this design, and if you try it out i would love to see!

Oooooh Prety - When I grow up i'm going to be a Princess!

Oooooh Prety - When I grow up i'm going to be a Princess!

The countdown to the Royal Wedding is upon us (22 days and counting BTW), and it's hard to flick through a magazine or watch the TV with out seeing coverage about street parties, wedding dress predictions or which palace will they live in!

Some people may think 'who cares' but the majority of Brits, and it seems most of the world will be tuning in on April 29th to see the lavish nuptials of our potential future King, and I will be one of them!

I cant wait to see what dress Kate Middleton swishes down the isle in, will she come in a horse drawn carriage, how will her hair be styled?? The questions (and speculations) are endless.

The 'Kate Middleton' style seems to have swept the nation, and with homage's to her style in all the shops I guess it is fairly easy to feel a little bit like the modern day princess, especially with the little beauty i found!

This replica of Kate's engagement ring, was from Primark and cost £2.00! its a bright sapphire blue (the picture doesn't pick that up so much) and sparkles so much its hard not to feel royal whilst wearing it!

One of the things I've noticed about Kate's style is that it's elegant but simple, and that carries through to her nails.  I have picked out two nail colours from OPI that would be a perfect accompaniment to keep the focus on your bling!

'Heart Throb' Is a natural pink which works really well for the barely there look with one coat or becomes more baby pink with two. 

Tickle My France-y' is a nude colour that is very on trend

Both these varnishes work well and will suit everyone, and are very 'Kate Middleton'!!  So if like me you are still waiting for your prince charming to come along, why not pop to primark and pick up one of these gorgeous rings to wear until you get the real thing!

Oooooh Prety - Nail Design - Hounds Tooth Check!

Oooooh Prety - Nail Design - Hounds Tooth Check!
Last week I painted my nails with a Hounds Tooth Check, which I think looked really striking!

Traditionally this check is black and white, but I chose a dark plum colour from OPI in 'Black Cherry Chutney' and then used a white nail art paint to stamp the design on top. I used a Konad Design plate M63.

Hounds Thooth Check using 'Black Cherry Chutney' from OPI

This is all you need to recreate this design!

For a step by step guide to recreating this look take a look at my tutorial video!

I hope you like this design, if you have any design ideas let me know i would be happy to try them out!

Oooooh Prety - konad nail art

Oooooh Prety - konad nail art
For those of you who don't know about these little beauties, I can almost guarantee you will want them after you read this!

I love nail art and have been doing free hand designs on my beauty clients for about ten years, but there is always the odd thing i can picture in my head that I can't quite perfect on peoples nails......that was until now!!
I discovered Konad Nail Art at the beginning of the year and am now obsessed with doing my nails with different designs!

Konad Nail Art is a stamping tool which enables you to create stunning nail art designs that are as simple or as detailed as you like, it is really easy and doesn't take much time either.  You can can get these products directly from Konad or you can source them from other sites ( i got mine from eBay).

This is the double ended stamping tool and scraping tool that are the essential pieces of kit that you need.  You can also get a image plate holder but i personally don't think you need to have that.

 These are the three design plates that I chose to get first but I'm more than certain I will be purchasing a lot more!

As you can see from just this one plate you have six separate designs, the possibilities are endless!!

The best thing about using this form of nail art is that you can achieve results that look very much like Nail wraps such as minx but with out the cost!

If any of you already use Konad please send me some pictures, I would love to see your designs or if any one would like to see a specific design let me know, i would be happy to try them out and show them on here!

The Daily Nail - Surf's Up, Dude!

The Daily Nail - Surf's Up, Dude!
My first time in a MAC store EVER was in January 2005, and it was at the Pro Store here in Las Vegas - before I even moved here! I even remember my first eyeshadow that I purchased - Melody! My love affair began way back then, and since, my collection has grown to a ridiculous amount - over 70 full-sized pigments, 5 15-pan palettes full, quads galore, almost every color of fluidliner, and pencils, paints, lipglosses, glasses, sticks, etc. galore. It's a tad ridiculous, honestly. I'm a makeup hoarder, though I've gotten much better about passing up most or all of a new collection, even if it's LE, because generally I have a color that is so close that the layperson wouldn't be able to tell the difference, or because it's merely a repromote in different packaging. :-D (I do fall for them on occasion - can we say Wonder Woman Ruby Woo?!)

Needless to say, I fell for the new Surf Baby collection, taking home Short Shorts e/s (I'm forever on the hunt for a Pollen dupe - my fav MAC e/s ever), Surf the Ocean pigment stack, Hangin' Loose nail polish, and Surf Baby! Cheek powder with the amazing gold hibiscus flower on it. The only thing I'm not loving is the pigment stack - SO difficult to work with!! (Was the gold supposed to be mousse-like?)

Anyway, because I LOVE the colors of the packaging and the hibiscus in this collection, I HAD to do a nail design based off it! :) Hope you like it!!

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Lotus Herbals in Code Orange for the stripe as well as the hibiscus on the ring finger. For the yellow I used CND Bicycle Yellow, and for the grey/taupe, I used Essie Chinchilly. For the gold on the hibiscus, I used China Glaze Hi-tek. Topped everything off with two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

The Daily Nail - 2011 Las Vegas Weekly Awards!

The Daily Nail - 2011 Las Vegas Weekly Awards!
 This past Wednesday I was invited to attend an event held by the Las Vegas Weekly, a weekly magazine here in Las Vegas. I was selected as the recipient of the 2011 'Best Blogger' award in the 2011 Weekly awards!! SO exciting!! :) Of course, since I was going to the event, I had to do Las Vegas Weekly nails, so I used one of the copies of when the story about me was in the Weekly last May to work into the manicure. (I was a tad overzealous in getting spare copies to keep, so I had a few issues to spare :-P) Check out the blurb about the award here!

Forgive me for not including my thumb in the picture- I swatched another color over it without thinking before I got around to photographing it. Stupid me. For the texture in the background, I transferred bits of the original article using alcohol onto the white background, then painted the Las Vegas WEEKLY logo over it. :)

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with Claire's Stiletto for the red, and American Apparel Hassid for the black. Topped it all off with two coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Oooooh Prety - Texas baby!

Oooooh Prety - Texas baby! 
 Calling all urban cowgirls and city slickers..... this is who OPI had in mind when launching their latest range of nail varnishes, The Texas Collection!

This collection consists of 12 juicy colours that are perfect for staying on trend this spring time!
OPI describes them as
Big Hair....Big Nails and Guy Meets Gal-veston - the sunniest peaches and corals
Y'all Come Back You Hear? and Too Hot Pink To Hold 'Em - Vivid orange and honeysuckle
Do You Think I'm Tex-y? and Houston We Have a Purple - beautiful berries
San Tan-Tonio and Suzi Loves Cowboys - rich neutrals
Austin-tatious Turquoise, I Vant to Be A-lone Star, Dont Mess With OPI and Its Totally Fort Worth It - bodacious blue, green and lavenders.

All the colours are super shiney and a few of them have a "sorbet like" finish which gives a slightly sheer look to the varnish once on the nails.

 

Out of the whole collection these are my two favourites, Austin-tatious Turquoise and Guy Meets Gal-veston!

So for all you stylistas out there who are loving the colour pop trend, make sure you are using your nails as the perfect acessory!

So to sum up the Texas Collection gets a Yee-Ha from me!

See Y'all soon!

Stay gorgeous

Grace x

Oooooh Prety - Pink Leopard Print!

Oooooh Prety - Pink Leopard Print!
I never used to be able to paint my nails for a couple of reasons! One, it's slightly impractical for work and two, i would become obsessed with them! I would literally look at them all the time, i would even brush my teeth holding the tooth brush so i could see my nails in the mirror! But now that I seem to have grown out of that phase and can handle the excitement, I have gone completely the other way, i don't like not having my nails painted and the brighter the better!

My nails are currently Pink Leopard Print!

To get this look i used OPI's Guy meets Gal-veston, a bright pink varnish from their most recent range 'Texas'. Once i had applied two coats of the varnish and gave it time to dry i used the Konad stamping kit with plate M57 with black varnish to apply the leopard print design, so simple but looks really effective, so much so i feel a YouTube tutorial coming on!

You can use any base colour to achieve this look, and it looks great on long or short nails!

Hope you give it a go!

Stay gorgeous

Grace x

Oooooh Prety - Shatter!

Oooooh Prety - Shatter!
I just wanted to tell about one of my favourite nail products.
Black Shatter is from OPI and is so simple to use.

With nail art making a come back this season, using this product is a great way to achieve an on trend look with out much expense or spending hours trying to get your nails looking perfect!

The idea behind Black Shatter is that as it dries on the nail it gives a crackle effect and the colour you used as your base will pop through. You can use any colour you like or even use it as part of a french manicure to get a different look!

The key to using this product is to work fairly fast with it as the varnish dries very quickly and once its on the nail it doesn't have much movement, i have put a tutorial video on my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LclWeTh0Yw if you want to see a demo.
Because its a crackle effect no two nails will look exactly the same which is great as it will never show any mistakes! I have added a few photos to show you the kind of things you could do but just have fun with it and add your own creative spin! 

I hope you like this product as much as i do, its definitely an essential item for my nail kit!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace x

The Daily Nails - ZOYA CAITLIN & DOVE PROMO

The Daily Nails - ZOYA CAITLIN & DOVE PROMO 
Get Zoya Dove and Zoya Caitlin FREE with ANY** purchase on Zoya.com

Limited time only

Special Promotional Offer*!

Try the Zoya "French Twist" manicure created by Haven Spa for the Joy Cioci presentation at NYFW! For a limited time with any** purchase (excluding Zoya Color Spoons) on Zoya.com you get Zoya Nail Polish in Caitlin and Zoya Nail Polish in Dove for free!! Just enter the code ZB52 when you check out! These trend setting spring colors are MUST have in any collection! This offer is only good until Monday May 23 (11:59PM EST)! Act now and try the "twist" everyone is talking about!

*Online only, cannot be combined with any other offer , promotion or coupon. US ONLY. Promotion ends Monday May 23 at 11:59 PM EST. Offer good for 1(one) open stock .5 oz bottle of Zoya Caitlin  and 1(one) .5oz bottle Zoya Dove with the purchase of any NON-SPOON item on Zoya.com. Art of Beauty Inc. will not honor promotions that are submitted after promotion has ended - No exceptions. No exchanges. No returns. Worst case scenario please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Comments, videos and pictures posted about this Zoya Nail Polish Exchange outside of Zoya.com or zoyanailpolish.blogger.com are not representative of the opinions of Zoya Nail Polish, Art of Beauty, Inc., Qtica and Qtica Smart Spa and we do not confirm the accuracy of any postings. Customers are responsible for maintaining active accounts. If username or password have been lost we (Art of Beauty, Inc.) are not responsible for restoring accounts or giving out any account information. S/H not included. 

**offer excludes Zoya Color Spoons.

The Daily Nails - The Real Dill

The Daily Nails - The Real Dill

I used butter LONDON Dosh as a base for all nails, and over top of the nail pearls on the bumpy nails. On the bumpy nails, I used Dare 2 Wear Rio De Janeiro, Icing True Beauty, and RBL No More War, and MAC Dry Martini to sponge over butter LONDON Dosh. For the pickle inside nails (thumb and ring) I used Dare 2 Wear Rio De Janeiro over the base color, then mixed with American Apparel California Trooper and some Icing True Beauty to make the highlights and shadows of the seeds. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.