CND Shellac Nail Art - Pink Bikini Glitter Fade

Last one for this weekend. A good old glitter fade for Stacey using Pink Bikini. For a newly released colour (see this post) I'm a little surprised that I've not had many requests for this shade yet?!

Stacey wanted a glitter fade like her Autumnal nails from last year (here) but in Summer colours of course! So we had a little play around with my glitters to see which would work best. In the end she opted for Gosh Nail Glitter in Rose Quartz and some pale pink glequins from the Born Pretty Store.

Much like her Autumn nails, this one was quite simple to create - base coat and two coats of colour in the normal Shellac fashion - then a glitter fade using a glitter paste and finished off with top coat. The glitter paste was made from a mixture of CND Shellac in Mother of Pearl, Gosh Nail Glitter in Rose Quartz (available from Superdrug stores) and the pale pink glequins.

Et voilà! Pretty pink nails.

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail Art - Princess Glitter Fade

Princess Glitter Fade. Well I just can't think of any other way to describe these lovelies, can you? The beautiful Carys (last seen here) requested these for her bridesmaid manicure and I have to say, I love her choice of glitters.

Carys went for the ever popular CND Shellac Grapefruit Sparkle as her base colour - a gorgeous sheer pink with a subtle silver glitter - as seen in a previous post here. I used two coats and then a silver glitter mix for the glitter fade. To make the silver glitter mix, I used CND Shellac Mother of Pearl and GOSH Nail Glitter in Silver. I mixed the two together in a ceramic palette and painted the glitter fade in two coats. I finished it off with CND Shellac Top Coat and there you have it, perfectly princess-y nails.

I particularly like the sheer base colour with the glitter fade over the top, it makes it look like the glitter is built into the gel and not just faded over the top.

Gosh Silver Nail Glitter is available from most Superdrug stores (although online I can only find the Gold one here).

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail art - Tropix Glitter Fade

You must start to recognise these fingers by now? Stacey fancied a bit more glitter following her last manicure (Freehand Geometric) and went for a good old glitter fade. Stacey's last Tropix glitter fade remains one of her favourite manicures she's ever had (here) so she decided to replicate it with a different coloured glitter.

This is two coats of CND Shellac in Tropix followed by a glitter fade in two coats. The glitter mix used for the fade is a glitter paste made up of CND Shellac in Mother of Pearl and GOSH Nail Glitter in Topaz Lavender. 

I love the colour clash!

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail Art Gotcha Glitter Fade

'Tis the season for a pink manicure it seems! I've had so many requests for pink-based designs this Spring and there doesn't seem to be any let up.

Rachel loved her pink polka dots so much (here), she continued the pink theme with a good ol' glitter fade. Well who doesn't love a bit of sparkly bling on their fingertips?!

The base pink here is classic Gotcha - a beautiful bubblegum pink - but it's so hard to photograph! The first photo is without flash and the second with, but the first is too pale and the second is too bright. It's probably best to say it's in between the two.

I used two coats of CND Shellac Gotcha and then mixed some of my Gosh Silver Nail Glitter with CND Shellac Mother of Pearl and painted on the glitter fade with a nail art brush. I normally do two coats of the glitter and then finish off with CND Shellac Top Coat.

Gosh Silver Nail Glitter is available from most Superdrug stores (although online I can only find the Gold one here).

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. Once you Shellac you never go back!

CND Shellac Nail Art - Black and Gold Glitter

Oh I have missed a good ol' glitter fade! Say hello to Gemma who last sported some Christmas nail art (here) and penguins (here) on her fingers.

She wanted glitz and glam all rolled into one, so out came the glossy Blackpool which we teamed with Gosh Nail Glitter in 01 Gold. I painted two coats of the black and then painted on a glitter paste in a fade up the nail. The glitter paste was made up of Mother of Pearl and the gold Gosh glitter. I sealed it all with top coat and voila!

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. I might not be a professional, but I sure love me some Shellac nail art :)

CND Shellac Nail Art - Rock Royalty, Skulls and Glitter Fade

This is another one from a while back... October off the top of my head... and Gemma's friend Becky. Becky has an affinity for skulls so out came the stamping plates and the Konad polish.

She loved Rock Royalty on my swatches so we vamped it up a little with a purple glitter fade using the Gosh Nail Glitter in Amethyst Purple (I think I mixed it with CND Shellac Mother of Pearl for the glitter paste). Before adding the top coat and without removing the sticky layer, I stamped a skull and crossbones onto Becky's ring fingers and thumbs. I used the design from the M28 plate using the Konad Special Polish in White.

It's a shame that the glitter fade didn't photograph so well, it gave a really subtle purple shimmer, but I've included a flash and no flash photo above so you hopefully get the gist.

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. I might not be a professional, but I sure love me some Shellac nail art :) 

CND Shellac Nail Art - Autumn Rust in Glitter

 

Ah, good ole Stacey... this was her seasonal choice for Autumn last year following her Super Chevrons.

She was feeling the rusty tones of Fall and was keen to try out some of the other new colours I'd bought that month. So in steps Masquerade and some burnt orange glequins from the Born Pretty Store.

This one was simple - base coat and two coats of colour in the normal Shellac fashion - then a glitter fade using Gosh Nail Glitter in Ruby Red (available from Superdrug stores) and some orange/rust coloured glequins. Topped off with top coat and ta-dah... Autumnal nails.

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. I might not be a professional, but I sure love me some Shellac nail art :)

CND Shellac Nail Art - Glitter Fade Mermaid Style

Aaahh, now this was one of my favourite manicures I've done since I started doing Shellac. This is of course Fudge, you met here back here when she had her WAH inspired nails, and she likes to test my abilities with requests for new and challenging nail designs.

She can make Shellac hold on her talons for up to 4 weeks (God knows how!) so the practicalities behind this one were that nail growth had to be less obvious. She also missed the glitter from her old acrylic days, so this incorporated both. Now, before you question me, these are her REAL nails, I promise! No tips were used in the making of this manicure...

She opted for CND Shellac in Negligee as a base colour (two coats) and a glitter fade using CND Shellac in Mother of Pearl and Gosh Nail Glitters in Blue Sapphire and Amethyst Purple (available from Superdrug in store). To add some extra sparkle I mixed into the glitter fade, some glequins from the Born Pretty Store in a pale pink, blue and turquoise. I painted the fade on in two coats to make sure I got a solid looking glitter tip and I also placed some extra glequins onto the top layer before curing it. I finished off with top coat and there you have it, nails a mermaid would be proud of.

This has inspired me to look for a navy blue glitter as Fudge would have preferred this slightly darker if we had a deeper blue. But overall she was very happy... and I was very proud :)

Disclaimer - All products used for this manicure were bought myself, for more info about myself and CND Shellac please check out my disclaimer page here. I might not be a professional, but I sure love me some Shellac nail art :)

New Year Eve Nails - Chanel Glitterfied

And a Happy 2013 to you all :)

Just a quick one to show you my NYE manicure.... and yes, for once it's not Shellac!

I had a real hankering to try out a free Collection polish that I got on a trip to Superdrug. It's part of their Bedazzled Nail Effects range and I opted for the shade Razzle Dazzle. It's made up of fine silver glitter and silver/gold/blue hexagonal glitters suspended in a clear polish. The best way to show off this glitzy number was to layer it over a nice dark colour and what better polish to choose than Chanel's Le Vernis in 219 Black Satin. I used my classic Seche Base then two coats of Chanel Black Satin followed by two coats of Collection Razzle Dazzle in a glitter fade, topping it all off with a generous coat of Jessica Brilliance top coat.

 Et Voila, Happy New Year Nails!

Disclaimer - I have not been compensated/sponsored in anyway by this post. I just fancied a bit of normal polish nail art. The Chanel Le Vernis was purchased on a whim at a Chanel counter and the Collection Bedazzled was a free gift with any other Collection purchase in Superdrug stores..

CND Shellac Nail Art - Purple Purple & Glitter Fade

Hello and apologies, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and the photos are starting to backlog, so this evening is dedicated to offloading them for you to read!

Another Shellac manicure, another glitter fade, but this time for my friend Kate. She wanted something very pink/purple to go with a fancy dress outfit for our mutual friend's 25th birthday night. So she chose Shellac Purple Purple and Gosh Nail Glitter in Ruby Red. And was very pleased with the results...

If you want to know how to do the 'glitter fade' effect, then check out my previous post here.

Keep reading for my next post which showcase some fabulous Rockstar Toes to match this manicure!

CND Shellac Nail Art - Glitter Fade Barbie Style!

So off came the Christmas manicure in red and I pondered what to do next. I wanted to go back to Shellac again as it really gives my nails a chance to grow and I'm a terrible 'picker' with normal polish, so gel polishes help me to break this bad habit! I decided to try one of my Gosh Nail Glitters that haven't been used yet (yes, I own all 10, I got stuck deciding in Superdrug and they all just accidently fell into my basket! Oops!). So I opted for a very non-Christmassy lilac, in fact it is 13 Topaz Lavender - why it is '13' I really don't know as there are only 10 colours in the range??!! And the best CND Shellac colour to team with this had to be good old Strawberry Smoothie.

Cue: Barbie style Glitter Fade...

It's so girly! And I love it!

I only had the desk lamp for the photo this evening, so in real life the pale baby pink of the Strawberry Smoothie is more prominent and the glitter is more lilac, but the photo shows a pretty good representation of the final look.

To achieve this look, I did the following:

1) prepped the nails the recommended CND way
2) applied Shellac Base Coat - cured for 10 seconds
3) applied 2 coats of Shellac Strawberry Smoothie - curing for 120 seconds in between each coat
4) mixed a glitter paste using Shellac Zillionaire and Gosh Nail Glitter in Topaz Lavender
5) used a nail art brush to apply the glitter paste in a 'fade' on the lower half of the nails - cured for 120 seconds
6) applied Shellac Top Coat - cured for 120 seconds

and there you have it, nails that would do Barbie proud!



What do you think? Would you try this colour combination? How are you going to wear your nails for NYE 2011?

Christmas nails - it's all about the Red...

I know it's a bit late, but better late than never! I thought I'd quickly show you some Xmas manicures I did for the festive season before I blog about my latest manicure, ready for New Year's Eve!

Jenni, an old school friend came up from London for the Christmas holidays and when she heard that I was doing Shellac she asked if I could do hers too in red and gold, so naturally I obliged and bought in a red colour for my collection as all I have so far are pinks and darks. I took awhile choosing the best red that would suit Christmas and opted for the slightly metallic looking Red Baroness in the end. I'm pleased with my choice too, it's just on the right side of dark so that it's not too bright or too 'pillar box' - I would describe it as a very elegant shade of red.

She loved my cousin Nat's nails in the blue and silver glitter fade, so she went for the same effect but with CND Shellac Red Baroness as her base and Gosh Nail Glitter in Gold as her glitter fade. She loved the finished look, they suit Christmas perfectly and I was really pleased with how the Red Baroness applied - it went on very smoothly and not streaky like similar metallic colours can (I typically find Strawberry Smoothie difficult to get 'smooth').

I was also really feeling Jenni's idea of a red Christmas mani, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought to change my leopard print mani that I showed you a couple of posts ago. Then my December Glossybox arrived and in it was a mini Deborah Lippmann polish in Razzle Dazzle. Sold! That was to be my Christmas manicure, so on Xmas Eve, off the leopard print came and on went my new glitter polish (see my sister blog Brush up and Make-up! for review soon of the December Glossybox).

I've never tried Deborah Lippmann before so thought this was a perfect opportunity to give it a spin. I liked the glitter colour and it applied OK but I have to say I wasn't wowed. It was a little gloopy for my liking and it took 3 coats to get the perfect amount of coverage - 2 would probably do, but I hate holding my hands up in light and my nails looking patchy or streaky). I then finished off with a coat of Seche Vite, my favourite topcoat.

If I'm honest I probably won't buy the full size of this, I'll use this bottle up and then find a similar one that's easier to apply. It won't stop me from trying another Deborah Lippmann polish though as I know glitter formulae are very different to cremes or metallics. But the look was perfect for Christmas and it lasted 4 days before tip wear was obvious and the inevitable chipping started - to be fair 3 days involved no hand labour what-so-ever and then the 4th day was quite intensive so it would have lasted longer had I been more... lazy, shall we say!

What colour did you wear on your nails for Xmas?

Deborah Lippmann Nail Varnish is £14-16 RRP for a full size bottle and is available from House of Fraser

CND Shellac Nail Art - Glitter Fade & Shellac Layering

Well last weekend was time for Nat's fourth CND Shellac manicure and low and behold, the glitter hater wanted more glitter! So a glitter fade was the obvious choice and perfect to make her nails a little more Christmassy!

She chose a blue this time, a result of some clever Shellac layering with Blackpool and Purple Purple. And glitzed it up with a silver glitter fade and some snowy nail art:

For the main Shellac colour I used the 'layering' technique - of applying two different Shellac colours to create a new colour. I used first a coat of Blackpool and then a coat of the Purple Purple, from their 6 new 2011 colours, curing for 120 seconds between each coat. The result was a purple toned blue, that looks a bit more Royal blue in photos (as above and below).

For the nail art I did a simple glitter fade with a glitter paste of Shellac Zillionaire and Gosh Nail Glitter in 01 Silver. And on the accent nail, I used my Orly dotter tool, at the smaller end, to dot some 'snow' onto the nail in Shellac Studio White.

Above photo - the base colour formed from 'layering'

Right photo - the finished result

Nat loves them! Another glittery idea for your nails, perfect for Christmas!

I want to experiment a little more with Shellac layering and I hope to do a post with some of the colour combinations, in the future, but I still need to invest in a few more basic colours, like Fedora and Tutti Frutti first... when the budget allows of course!

What do you think? Have you tried a Shellac layering before? What colour combinations have you tried?

CND Shellac Nail Art - Studio White & Glitter Fade

This is the second CND Shellac manicure that I did on my cousin Nat and this time she was after something a bit more glitzy for her week off work. For someone that hates glitter she seriously oooo'd and aaahhh'd over my collection of Gosh nail glitters. So I showed her how I could do a glitter fade and she was hooked!

I have to say, I was quite impressed with my first full attempt at a glitter fade, I'd done it before as an accent nail, but never as a full set.

For the main Shellac colour I used Studio White from their 6 new 2011 colours. And the glitter used for the glitter fade was Gosh Nail Glitter in 01 Silver and 09 Ruby Red for the accent nail.

The great thing about this look is that it can be done with a gel polish or a normal polish. Just follow the quick step-by-step guide below according to your tools:

You will need: A base coat, a block colour polish in your chosen colour (preferably a creme - so no glitter or shimmer), a pot (or pots) of nail glitter in your chose colour, a clear polish, a ceramic/glass mixing palette or dish, a medium size nail art brush (or artist's brush), a top coat - it is best to have a separate bottle of top coat for layering over glitters in case there are any stray particles that make it back into the bottle.

Step 1: Prepare the nails (cuticles, file, prepare the nail plate etc.)

Step 2: Apply your base coat and let dry (or cure if using Shellac)

Step 3: Apply two coats of a your colour and allow to fully dry (I used Shellac Studio White, curing for 120 secs in between each coat)

Step 4: Create a glitter paste in your dish by mixing together some clear polish and your chosen nail glitter colour (I used Shellac top coat and the silver and red Gosh nail glitters)

Step 5: Create the glitter fade by using the brush to paint a rough french manicure 'tip' onto each nail with your chosen coloured glitter paste and brush the remainder up the nail, from tip to base, to create the faded look. Allow to dry (I cured the Shellac for 120 secs)

Step 6: Seal everything with your top coat  (I used Shellac top coat and cured for 120 secs)

Et Voila! A glittery addition to your nails, perfect for the Christmas period!

What do you think? Have you tried a glitter fade before? What colour combinations would you go for?