Cartoon nails

Nail art is a fascinating hobby to have - it's amazing what some ladies can do with their nails with a bit of inspiration! I'm nowhere near the level of most bloggers and have yet to design a completely unique mani, but in the meantime it's good practice trying out some of the popular manis that everyone has in their repertoire.

One of the popular manis I like best is the ever fun 'cartoon mani'. I've seen so many variations on this and different techniques, so I decided it was high time I had a go myself!

with flash inside

 I actually purchased the red nail polish on my thumb nail specifically for this mani, but decided to use a variety of colours at the last minute. The polishes are;

• OPI 'Big Apple Red' - red polish
• Sally Hansen 'Fairy Teal' - teal polish
• Barry M 'Shocking Pink' - pink polish
• Sally Hansen 'Grass Slipper' - green polish
• Rimmel 'Marshmallow Heaven' - purple polish

Inside light

I started by painting on a few coats of each colour and let them dry. I then used my Barry M black nail art pen to draw the outline on each nail - although I have tried painting on black polish before which worked equally well. I then used my Barry M white nail art pen to draw on the accent.

front on view

After everything was dry I applied a coat of Seche Vite for strength, then used Rimmel 'Lycra Pro Matte Polish' top coat for the matte effect. I must admit I was torn between a matte or glossy finish, but my husband was adamant the matte was 'better' and 'more authentic' (like he knows anything about nails?!).

polishes used (sans matte top coat)

What do you think, do you like these kinds of manis? Have you tried them before?

My next post will be the guest post I mentioned before - it should be a good one!

fx

Jigsaw nails

So, as predicted I haven't been posting much lately due to prolonged study. I still haven't sat my exam (long story!) but have a few manis up my sleeve to post over the next week or so.

I painted this mani a few weeks ago while watching 'The Faculty' one Friday night - which is a truly awful film I have to say!!! I've seen quite a few variations on this type of design and decided to have a go.

daylight

 

 

I started with a few coats of OPI 'Did You Ear about Van Gogh' and let this dry thoroughly. I then painted and dotted on OPI 'Anti Bleak' and let that dry. Finally I dotted on some of the beige to make more obvious jigsaw shapes.

inside light

After all of that I finished off with the obligatory coat of Seche Vite. I'm really happy with how it turned out, except for my thumb nail which is a little messy!

side on view

I quite like doing an accent nail as well - generally on my ring finger (although need to mix that up a bit I think!

Have you tried any new nail designs recently, or watched any daggy films?

Keep tuned for a guest post from my friend later this week - she doesn't have her own blog but loves nail art too - she better not put me to shame though!

fx