Summer Nail Challenge - Day 10

I'm back after a few technical glitches and today is Day 10 of Makeup Savvy's Nail Challenge and todays theme is gradient nails, if you don't know what I am talking about then you can see more info on, or if you want to get involved yourself you can find all the information HERE.  I also did the challenge on day 6 and 7 so if you want to see my glitter nail post then you can HERE or if you want to see my neon nails you can HERE.

This was quite a tricky theme for me because I did not want to do a design using glitter because I recently did a summery glitter design, and I am not to good with the gradual change of colour from dark to light on a single nail.  But at the same time I wanted to challenge myself and not just stick to a plain colour on a nail.  So whilst reading through some blogs last night I found this gorgeous design that Lacqueerisa created, it added some texture to her nails and the design was very eye catching, so I decided that I would have a go myself but using a light colour underneath a brighter shade, and when the design was completed I hoped it would give a different sort of gradient of colour.

10 nail polishes later this is the design I created and whilst it did not go quite to plan I think that it is a different technique that after a few goes will probably be a lot better, but in the mean time this has challenged me to try a new design I probably otherwise wouldn't have done, so its a learning curve.  If you want to see what inspired me to do this design, and how the design should look then you can see the lovely Lacqueerisa's design HERE.



So instead of giving you little reviews of the colours I have used for each nail I'm just going to explain how I did this design, as otherwise this would be a very long post.  Although, I have already done reviews for some of the polishes which I will link, but if you want to know anything about the colours I used then leave a comment below and I can always do some reviews if requested.

Okay so here we go... First of all I chose the base colours for my design which I wanted to be slightly lighter shades so that I could create the gradient effect that todays theme required.  I also tried to do a a gradient effect going along the nails starting with yellow and white right down to blues on my little finger.  To start with I painted my thumb a white colour to then be topped with yellow as I didn't have 2 shades of yellow, but actually in the end I quite liked the colour difference between the yellow and white.  This white was a basic white colour that I got in a Primark manicure set a couple of years ago.  



On my index finger I then used in colour 452 which is a peachy orange colour by Miss Sporty which is very pretty and summery colour that I have been wearing a lot this summer.  On my middle finger I have used this baby pink colour by 17 which is called Cupcake which I think is the perfect name for this extremely girly colour.  On my ring finger I have used this gorgeous light purple colour called Purple Sherbet from Ciaté which I have done a full review on which you can see HERE if you wish.  Finally on my little finger I have used this light blue colour from Barry M called Blueberry Ice Cream number 306.

After letting these colours dry I then chose colours that were similar but a shade or two darker so this would create the gradient effect that was required for todays theme.  For my thumb I chose this bright yellow colour by Miss Sporty number 453 which I also used in my neon nail challenge on day 6 and a few other reviews and designs.  On my index finger I used this bright neon orange from Miss Sporty number 303 which I also used on my neon themed nails on day 6.  On my middle finger I used this bright pink colour from 17 which again I used in my neon nails so if you want to know anything else about these 3 polishes you can see more on my Neon Nails post HERE.  




On my ring finger I used this bright purple colour from Barry M, suitably called Bright Purple number 303.  And finally on my little finger I have used another Miss Sporty polish in the colour 060 which is such a beautiful colour and has been a firm favourite of mine both last year and this year for summer, so I may be doing a review of this soon, so keep your eyes peeled.




Once I had painted my nails I waited for a few seconds so the polish begun to set on my nails before using a cocktail stick to create the textured pattern on the nails.  I ran the cocktail stick across my nails scratching some of the product away revealing the colour underneath.  This may have not worked perfectly on all the nails but I think that you can see some of the lighter colours coming through from underneath and so I think it does qualify as gradient I just wish it had worked as well as I thought it would.

Overall I am pleased that I have tried this design out and it is something that after a bit of practice will be something to do, that will be extremely eye catching and that people will ask how you have created the design so look out for some more designs from me using this technique as I love it!

If you have entered todays challenge feel free to leave a link to your blog in the comments section below, or feel free to email or tweet your photos to me, all information on how to contact me can be found on the right side of my blog.  If you haven't entered today feel free to head on over to Makeup Savvy's page to see tomorrows category HERE and see if you are up for the challenge on Day 11.

Summer Nail Challenge - Day 7

Today is Day 7 of Makeup Savvy's Nail Challenge and todays theme is neon nails, if you don't know what I am talking about then you can see more info on, or if you want to get involved yourself you can find all the information HERE.  I also did the challenge yesterday so if you want to see my glitter nail post then you can HERE.

Today's theme is Neon which I think is a perfect theme for the summery months because I always think that those girls who can rock a neon nail look on holiday or just during the summer months in general, always looks amazing.  But I have been a little resistant to try this out because I am always afraid of them looking to over the top, but I have tried this design as a way to try and break myself into the bright coloured nail trend for this summer and future summers to come.

I tried to stay away from the typical highlighter shades of orange, yellow, pink and green as I wanted to try out some other colours and show that neon nails can be worn, even if you are slightly afraid of the fluorescent colours that are traditional worn as neon.  Instead of using one neon shade I have opted for a few different colours and shades because I think this adds an extra bit of interest to the nails.  Also the design sort of combats the bright colour (well in my mind anyway) because the pattern is a bit more eye-catching than the bright colours themselves, if you see where I'm coming from, as you notice the pattern and multiple colours rather than simply being overwhelmed by one neon colour.

On my thumb I have used this bright pink shade from the 17 vintage collection which I got ages ago, but I love this colour because it is such an unusual shade of pink.  Not the traditional neon or bubblegum pink put a softer bright pink which I haven't found anywhere else.  This is a very girly colour but I think it is also a very good alternative if you are not into the pastel pinks that are in at the moment because it is a nice compromise between a pastel and a neon.  This applied very well and within 2 coats was completely opaque, so that is a definite bonus in my books.

On my index finger I have used this bright orange colour, which is probably the brightest colour that is in this design, and in my collection.  It is from the Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours range number 303 which can be found in Boots and Superdrug.  I Miss Sporty polishes because they have such good pigmentation and last a really long time on the nails, and the best part, they are extremely affordable as they are only £1.99 and for that price you get 7ml of product.  This also applied amazingly as it dries really quickly and only required 2 coats, after being nearly opaque enough to leave it after 1 coat!

My middle finger is a bright corally pinky orange colour, which I don't think is being show up true to colour in the photo as it is even brighter in real life.  This is colour is by Nails Inc and is called Copacabana, but unfortunately I don't think this is still available to buy because it was part of a deal in Boots last summer where you brought 2 products and got this free.  In my opinion it is the perfect summer shade, being a bright coral I would have thought this would only look nice on tanned skin, but in fact it looks gorgeous on any skin tone and I think this is something really nice about this product.  This required 2-3 coats as it is a slightly thinner product, but again it dried relatively quickly meaning it was not too much of a problem.

My ring finger is in this bright canary yellow colour, which is another Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours Nail varnish number 453.  This is a bright yellow, but not the kind of highlighter neon yellow which I like because it is much more wearable than that fluorescent yellow colour.  When I first bought this I was worried about when and wear I would be able to wear this but actually I was pleasantly surprised when I wore this a couple of weeks ago and got lot of complements about the shade of yellow and how unusual it was, so maybe check this out if you are interested in a new yellow nail varnish.  Again the application on this was really quick and easy and only required 2 coats at the max as this product is very opaque.  But I would warn you that it applies a slightly stronger colour than in the bottle so not be afraid if this happens when you first apply the product.

Finally on my little finger I have used the Sally Hansen nail varnish in colour Orange you Cute number 450 which is a bright pink, but this is a slightly red pink so it is not your typical pink colour.  This means it is slightly brighter than your average pink but not too over the top, instead it is just a really nice colour that is the perfect summer shade.  I have to admit that when I bought this Sally Hansen was not really readily available where I live, but I now know that they have started to stock this in Superdrug when I last went in.  But this nail varnish was actually brought in Poundland, for £1! It is such an unusual colour and an absolute bargain, so when you are next in your nearest pound land keep your eyes open for any nail varnish.  This applied well too and only required 2 coats to get this opacity.

Today's challenge has been a bit more of a challenge for me than maybe a few others as I don't often wear these kind of neon colours but this combination has really inspired me to wear more bright colours this summer without feeling worried of looking over the top.

If you have entered todays challenge feel free to leave a link to your blog in the comments section below, or feel free to email or tweet your photos to me, all information on how to contact me can be found on the right side of my blog.  If you haven't entered today feel free to head on over to Makeup Savvy's page to see tomorrows category HERE and see if you are up for the challenge on Day 8.

Summery rainbow nails

Today I decided to create a bright and fun nail design that will cheer you up and is an eye catching design without using complicated designs.
The colours that I chose were a minty green, peachy orange, sky blue, candyfloss pink and banana yellow as I thought these were a nice variation on the traditional pastel or ice cream shades out this spring/summer.


The first colour I used which is really popular at the moment was the mint green colour from Barry M number 304 called "Mint Green" which is a beautiful colour as it is not too wishy washy and after 2 coats is completely opaque.  You can pick up Barry M in Boots and Superdrug and with a price of £2.99 how can you not afford to pick it up.  It is fresh and very appropriate for spring/summer and is a very versatile polish that I know will last me all throughout the summer time.


Another Barry M polish that I used is the sky blue colour, number 306 called "Blueberry Ice Cream" which is a perfect blue that is brighter than a pastel blue such as a baby blue, but is still not as vivid as a turquoise.  It is the perfect summer colour that is great on toes as well as fingers and whenever I wear this I get complements on the colour, so for £2.99 why not pick yourself up one?

The pink colour on my nails is a 17 polish called "Fairy cake" which I bought a couple of years back but is currently part of the Candy Collection from Boots.  This is a little brighter, again, than a traditional baby pink however, it is a very girly pink that is not fluorescent and so is a very flattering shade. I would say it is more of a candy floss pink which I prefer because sometimes some pinks can look a bit young and childish on.


The peachy orange shade that I used on my index finger is by Miss Sporty and is number 452, which is a very unusual peachy colour.  I searched up and down the aisles to find the perfect peachy shade that was not too pink or too orange and I think I finally may have found it.  Although in the bottle the polish looks to be more of a pastel peach shade when applied it turns out slightly darker than I expected however, I think that is still a gorgeous colour and I think I will have a lot of wear out of this shade and for £1.99 I can hardly complain!

The final shade of my rainbow nails is the banana yellow on my little finger again by Miss Sport number 453.  I would describe this colour as more of a banana or sunshine yellow than a strictly lemon or pastel yellow but I think this shade of yellow is very summery.  This colour would also probably look amazing as the summer goes on and your skin starts to get a bit of a tan, so at just £1.99 these are definitely something to buy up and if you are not confident enough at the moment maybe you could bring it out as we head further into the summer months.


I think these polishes are very pretty and summery without being over the top or too bright for the duller days that still occur in summer.  It is a very easy combination that looks very interesting and can be redone in any colour combination, even different shades of the same colour would make an interesting gradient rainbow effect.

Thumb - Barry M 304 Mint Green, Index finger- Miss Sporty 452, Middle finger- Barry M 306 Blueberry Ice Cream, Ring Finger- 17 Fairy Cake, Little finger- Miss Sporty 453

Models Own Ibiza Mix

As today is such a nice day that I wanted to reflect on my nails today and give you some ideas.  I picked up the Models Own Ibiza Mix nail polish the other day in Boots for £5 but you can also get it from the Models Own website.

This polish as you can see is a multicolour glitter polish with big and small glitter shapes in every colour under the sun so will be great this summer to go with any outfit day or night.  I also like the fact that the glitter is chunky and gives a interesting textured effect on the nails.

But like most glitter polishes it is relatively sheer so it requires quite a few coats if you wanted it completely opaque, but layered over any other colour is very effective.  

I chose to use a sunny yellow colour from Miss Sporty number 453 as summer has finally decided to arrive but any colour will be nice underneath because of the multicolour glitter, you just can't go wrong.

If you wanted a different look then you can easily layer this over a dark polish to make it more of an evening look. 

This is  a really good purchase for the bank holiday and BBQ season coming up or if your lucky enough to be jetting off anywhere, more exotic anytime soon this polish screams summer, by the pool or beach with the sunlight hitting the glitter, and with a slight tan.

I can't speak highly enough of this polish and it is amazing for the price as you get 14ml for £5 which is incredible, so go and pick up one soon, but I warn you these are quite popular and so are quite hard to get your hands on.