Festive Nails #2

For those of you who are thinking of adding a little festive glamour to your Christmas Day attire, but are not sure how, look no further! These holiday inspired nails are super simple; even a nail art novice such as myself can do it!

To get this look I started with a base coat using the Manicare Beginning To End polish. I then applied two layers of my favourite Christmas-sy red - this year my go-to colour is Double Decker Red from Rimmel. After letting this dry well I got myself a trusty bobby pin (it's all about the tools of the trade) and, using the one of the rounded points, applied Sally Hansen's Extreme Wear polish in the colour White On.

This acted beautifully as a dotting tool as i opted for a special accent finger on each hand. However, I also used it to apply the white on the rest of the nails. I found that by dotting to create a line I managed to create something that reminds me of the trim on Santa's suit. I love that this isn't a perfectly polished line as it simply appears fluffy and jolly - just like Saint Nick! To finish off I slapped on a really thick layer of the Manicare Beginning To End again. Make sure you wait long enough before following this step; you want your polish to have dried properly so that no colour smudging occurs as you cross layers! 

This is a super cute and easy way to add some festive cheer this Christmas and is bound to make you look like a pro! For another equally as lovely Christmas look that's even simpler than this one, click here!

Have a merry Christmas everyone! Happy painting!

Rachel x

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Festive Fingers!

 

I'm always a sucker for Christmas. My plans for decking the house out with various shades of tinsel and baubles begin well before December hits. There really is no better time of the year, in my humble opinion. So why shouldn't my festive spirit spread all the way to the tips of my fingers? I recently did a little nail D.I.Y. and seeing as I've received a number of compliments (to which I reply "Don't look too closely") I thought I'd share it with you all! I've never dabbled very much in nail art. I've always found it far too intimidating. Yet, given the time of year, I thought I'd chuck on a bit of extra sparkle! 

 

 

Seeing as I'm very much a novice, I kept it all very simple. Starting with a base coat of the Manicare Beginning to End. This is a great little bottle that acts as a base polish, a hardening treatment and a top coat all in one. I've been loving it lately and have noticed such a difference in my nails. So much so that it'll be featuring in it's own little post in the coming weeks. I digress. Back to the nails!

After applying as base coat, I slapped a couple of coats of Essie's Ballet Slippers and left it to dry well. I then found myself a suitable amount of sparkle - this one is an option from Sportsgirl which was aptly named 'Silver Glitter'. I haven't invested in any decent nail tools yet, but I found a really fine artist paint brush did the job beautifully! I chose to do two accent fingers on each hand - my index and my ring finger. The trick is to go slowly - don't just slap it on or you will make a mistake. I found doing two layers of this created a better, more defined, line. To finish - after allowing to dry completely - I topped it with another thick layer of the Manicare Beginning to End and I was done! Simples!

 

This was ridiculously easy to create and I just love how pretty it looks. It reminds me of snowflakes, or the chilly winter's air. Even though my Christmas entails neither of these things, living in Australia, it still represents the festive season to me!

 

What are your favourite ways of getting into the Christmas spirit?

 

Rachel x

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