Freehand Rainbow and Rain Drop Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you are doing great!

I've been doing my best to reorganize myself, I'm normally not too bad at it and while I still have a whole bunch of manicures to keep sharing with you I sort of lapsed on the editing side. Never mind, all caught up and ready to go now. I think! 

I finally updated the 'About Me'  - I've always been honest about myself but I always 'held back' there are things there you may or may not have known about me. If you fancy, I'm not forcing you to read it, ofc haha!

Today's manicure is one of my entries for the Facebook community, Tiny Canvas - if your on facebook and have not joined... You should! Its just a lovely bunch of ladies all sharing their passion for nail art!  They used to throw a weekly challenges however now Dani (@Stormysway) has changed it so you can see the next few upcoming prompts in one go, which fits in perfectly with my OCD planning and scheduling, it means I have been able to take part in more of the challenges – yay!

The prompt for this challenge was weather.You guys know me by now.. I'm a sucker for a good rainbow!

For this manicure I began with my with my OPI's 'Nail Envy' and once dry I applied three coats of Essie's 'Bride To Be' to all my nails except my ring finger.

On my ring finger I applied a blue polish from a new up coming indie brand called Mezmris Nail Lacquer. (I've been lucky enough to be a first trial tester of her polishes. If you follow me on IG You'll know I am insanely in love with her base and topcoat already - I'm pulling out the Nail Envy less and less) Omg the silver shimmer...love love.

I applied a layer of Pro-FX because I like a barrier between my polish and art and then proceeded to create a rainbow ruffian to my nude nails. I applied some water drops and sealed everything in with a final coat of Pro-FX. On my pretty blue ring finger I added a stud from the Born Pretty Store (Here is my stud review)

I think this is a pretty simple manicure but I kinda like how it turned out. I redid the ring finger about three times, first I was painting the sun but was too unsatisfied so I decided to just go with the stud and I kinda like how it worked together even more! What do you guys think?

Have you had nails influenced by weather types before? What do you think of this manicure?

I hope you have a wonderful day, if you liked this nail art please be an angel and share using one of the buttons below (I'll be super grateful!) I'll be back Tuesday for more nail fun!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Water Dragon

Allo polish Pals!

I hope you darlings are having a good weekend! Tell me one good thing about it so far! I can tell you that I had a nice Saturday, I painted and didn't like what I did but Mr Bravo and I went out to the local mini mall and I picked up 6 huge tubes of acrylic paint for only 2.95 euro. I have no idea of the quality yet but I always like to make sure I have white backed up as I use it soo so much to lighten other colours!

Today I have a manicure that came randomly. I sat down to paint with an idea in mind.. but I had a mental block and hated what I had began painting so I decided to start over. This little guy is inspired by these* really cute little dragons! 

I began with Essence's 'A Girl With A Pearl' and began to create a acrylic-gradient on top, leaving my middle and ring finger as they where and painted my little dragon friend (Lets call him Nimrod) and

finished off by adding some studs to my other nails; I sealed everything using my Pro-Fx top coat. I added Barry M's top coat because I just felt that matte suited it better!

Do you like to play with matte top coats? What do you think of my dragon friend?

Have a wonderful day, Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Donut Bunnies And Sprinkles

Allo polish Pals!

How ya doing? Did you have an awesome weekend? I can't say I got up to much, really. I've still been recovering from sickness but I am getting myself back in order, I feel more hopeful that this will be a good week.

Of course with the sickness came extreme artist block and when I did paint I couldn't be content with anything I had painted... That's also on its way out I hope - I don't deal with artist block! Hah.

So a while ago I found this adorable pin on Pinterest and I just knew I had to try it on my nails!

Now... Rabbits are not something I am particularly good at painting but you never know until you try and I do like a challenge :)

I began with my usual and most loved base coat, OPI's 'Nail Envy' and once dry began to apply my polishes. The pink is from Guylond, there is no name or number but it was part of a mini gradient set. The blue is Barry M's 'Huckleberry' and finally the nude is NYC's 'Classy Creamy'.

Once everything was dry I turned to my trusty bamboo brush and acrylics. I topped everything off with my Pro-FX top coat (Its a massive salon bottle, I love it but I was still getting used to the 'correct amount' when I did this manicure! Hence why bunnies ears look abit...bleh)

I wish I had done a better job of the rabbits and don't even get me started on the pinky. What was I thinking? Why didn't I just carry on the sprinkles?

What do you think of my sweet treat bunnies? Do you prefer food or animal themed nail art?

Have a fabulous day!

Love

Ithi

Sweater Argyle With a Sugary Pop - Glow In The Dark!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing? Today I have a manicure to share with you that was actually intended for a group challenge. A few months ago I was invited to join a nail art group on Facebook called Tiny Canvas - You can hit join if it interests you! It has been such a wonderful experience. Its one of the groups online where everyone is just so friendly, the moderators do a great job and keeping it a nice place to be - I'd put it this way.. its a grow up environment with not so much drama because at the end of the day we're all there enjoying the same thing..Nail art! Special hats of to Dani and Debi the hard working mods :)

For one of the weekly challenges they decided to go for a plaid theme, I figured I would join in because a little practice with straight lines seems like a good idea. In the end I actually entered in two designs, You'll see the other one another time. This really makes me think of clowns; And golfing... Yes, a golfing clown.

Bridal Nail Art - Is Less More? A Nail Art Discussion

*Sponsered Post

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today?  Yesterday was Mr Bravo's birthday and today is my Niece's 5^th Birthday! Happy birthday guys! Today's post is going to be a little different. I'd like to discuss with you special occasion nail art! ~ There's still nail art pictures for those of you who live for visuals!

Bridal nail art

I'm really curious to know if this is something that has crossed your mind before. If you are already married, or been part of a bridal party did you do anything special with your nails? For nail art lovers, isn't it fun to think of pairing a beautiful manicure to the perfect wedding dress or bridesmaid dresses? A specially picked look that is unique and individual to a perfect day.

If like me, you are still waiting for that special question then have you dreamt of what would grace your nails on the big day? As soon as I saw Twinkle by Picture Polish I always thought it was the shade I wanted on my nails for my future wedding (look at the confidence in this day happening, ha!) I'm the kind of girl who loves more for nail art but after considering my tendency to have such strong nail art, maybe something more simple and elegant would suit me fine too. Of course, me being me...it does mean there would be glitter!

As a bridesmaid for my sister's wedding on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini I wore the most beautiful flowy purple/blue bridesmaid dress. Looking back now, there could have been some really beautiful nail art to compliment that dress.

  

This is a look that I wouldn't mind for my wedding, it's got the touch of sparkle I love without being too full on. For this manicure I used two coats of Catrice's 'Bel-Air' and once dried added a limited amount of Essie's 'Set In Stone' to the entire nails. I created a ruffian border with silver acrylic paint and finished off with my Catrice top coat and a few lightly coloured circular and heart shaped studs to the center. I took these pictures with my phone camera, I love how there is a light sparkle to this manicure without being too glitterific.

We could talk about prom dresses and manicures, but when I was 15 I was going through my rebellious goth stage, so I probably had half bitten off black nails! Nice...

I've talked a lot in today's post, so I'll leave you with two lingering questions -

Have you considered bridal nail art, or even nail art for other formal occasions before or in the past?

And what do you think about bridal nail art – is less more or should we make a statement equally as big as the big day?

Have a fantastic day,

Love

Ithi

Pink & Purple Waves With Sweet Little Daisy Studs – Born Pretty Store Review

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you will have a fantastic weekend! I'll be off to Brabant, a province in Holland. Mr Bravo's niece has been staying here for six weeks and now its time to take her home and also to celebrate her 8th birthday with all the family, are you doing anything nice?

Today I have some really cute little studs to show you from The Born Pretty Store. This is an unofficial review as I picked these up around a month ago, I just thought they looked so pretty! These are 'Sweet Little DaisyStuds'. I decided to pair these with another style I did recently, that odd looking acrylic gradient wave, I quite enjoy painting these even if they do take me just about forever to complete!

Don't forget you can get 10% off your Born Pretty Store order when you use the code 'DRX31'

These cute little resin studs come in two colours, black with a gold center and white with a gold center. They come in a little baggy containing three studs – it may not seem like a lot but they are totally reusable and when I think about it, two was enough for one manicure for me. I don't think I'd wanted them on every nail! They are approximately 5mm in size and fit quite happily onto the nail bed. I really like them and may even consider picking up the white version!

For this manicure I began with two coats of Rimmel's 'Let's Get Nude'. Next I blocked out my coloured area with white acrylic paint and smoothed it out with my Catrice top coat. I then used Oumaxi pink and purple paints to attempt a colour blend. I then added some small white dots and applied my flower studs using a dot of top coat.

What do you think of these sweet little studs? Do you like the mix of black and white with bright colours?

Have a great weekend!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Mousey Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend? Did you do anything nice? Today I have some more animal nail art for you – I like my animals :) I have to warn you this is one of the manicures I created while my eye was puffy so I had very blurry vision! I know I say it a lot... But I really really really, most certainly hate this manicure. It's not even a small amount of dislike..

 

I began with my thumb, middle and ring finger by applying two coats of Nails Inc's 'Colville Mews' and created my mice with acrylic paints and my bamboo brush. On my remaining fingers I created a gradient using Catrice's 'My Yellow Fellow' and NYC's 'NY Taxi'. I then used my acrylics again to create some holey looking parts and chewed edges to hopefully look like cheese.

I do wish my whole mouse had come out a little neater looking but is he at least a tiny bit cute?

Do you like having animal inspired nails? Do you prefer animal patterns or whole pictures?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love

Ithi

Festival Of Colour

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you have had a good week so far.
Do you know what one of my favorite nail art style is? Gradients of course! I don't think you can beat a good gradient. THIS is not a good example of 'good' gradients. This manicure was created in my 'eh, meh, bleh' period. None the less, its here! I love this glitter polish from Essence, Mr Bravo and I went to the opening of our local drug store that opened up a few weeks back - it was two small drug stores that got knocked down into one rather fine, fairly large 'kruidvat' which is a big chain here in Holland. When I saw this glitter and I 'oohed and ahhed' he very kindly insisted it was to live in my collection.

Today I have a very bright and 'interesting' manicure to share with you, probably not for those who prefer subtle nail art!

For this manicure I began with two coats of Catrice's 'Honey Blossom' on all my nails. Once dry I began using striping tape to section off triangles on the upper part of my nail and filled it in with Barry M's 'White'. I then used a mixture of rainbow polishes to create gradients on top – using regular tape to stop my colours from going onto the nude polish. I then used Essence's 'Festival Of Colours' on top of the nude polish and finally added a white line to separate the two with white acrylic paint. I finished it all off with Catrice's top coat.

Rainbow Noodles - Freehand Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you are all wonderful little rays of sunshine today – Basically I wish that today will bring you lots of smiles and happiness.  I have some more freehand nail art to share with you today. Its a little bit unusual... I guess that's not a first for this blog :) This kind of happened shortly after my return from England when I was a little...uninspired. Non the less, it was...interesting. Who wants some of my rainbow noodles?!! My inspiration came from *THIS* pin on pinterest, I thought it looked fun and unusual!

For this manicure I began with Catrice's 'Honey Blossom' from the Kaviar Gauche collection. A lovely nude base. Everything else was created with my acrylic paints and my bamboo brush. There's not really a lot else to explain. I wish my lines had looked so much neater but unfortunately it is what it is.

What do you think of my rainbow noodles? Have you had food related nail art before?

Have a wonderful day

Love

Ithi

Simple Black & Nude With White Freehand Flowers

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you are having a great day so far – tell me a random fact about your day? Things are still very up and down here but I got a good start to the day by going out walking. Sometimes fresh air and exercise really help to clear the mind, don't you think? I'm still wondering how I will ever make a manicure that lives up to the Pegasus nail's since it was  my favorite manicure I've done.

I have a more subdued manicure today, something subtle but still quite striking, I think. Sometimes I feel like more simple art after doing really big pieces of nail art :)

Only one polish was used for this manicure which is Catrice's 'Honey Blossom' from the Kaviar Gauche collection. The rest was freehand with black and white acrylic paint. I finished by added a few little dots and some pretty studs. I had these studs lying around but I know The Born Pretty Store has some very similar ones on their website.

It's pretty simple but a little more elegant and wearable than my more...'out there' designs.

What do you think of this simple manicure? Do you like pairing black and whites with nude bases?

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Glamour In The Nude

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today?  Today I have a really glitzy and glamorous manicure which was actually inspired by my bestie Andreea from Ditta Nail Art. Andreea created the most gorgeous purple manicure where one of the nails was accented and entirely filled with studs. I'd seen the style before but had never been a fan... Until I saw Andreea's manicure. Then I knew I had to try it out at least once!

I hate to ruin the lovely positive note but I feel like I should share this...

I really want to apologise to you guys for not commenting as I should, or used to. Things are not so great here and even my passion for painting has taken a dive – I just can not get anything right. Luckily I have at least 12 posts backed up. My Granddad back in England who is 99 is very sick - The plan was to go back to England in September for his 100^th birthday. For now I'm stuck here in Holland... There's not a lot I can do if something happens, I don't have the funds to travel back and I am pretty sick with worry. My eyes have done that weird thing where they swell up and my IBS is increased with stress. My love for painting... where is it? I thought I could at least use that to take my mind off of things.. but its not there for me. I really hope you can understand that I am not myself right now, I'll get things into order and hope I can be a better blogging friend soon.

For this manicure I began with three coats of Nails Inc's 'Colville Mews' and once completely dry I added my Barry M top coat. I began frantically adding studs with my trusty pointy tweezers to my ring finger quickly before the top coat dried. I also added a few flower shaped gems to the other nails just to tie it all together.

Do you think I did Andreea's manicure justice? How do you like this studded mani with a nude base?

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Summer Swirls And Butterflies - Freehand With Foil

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? Do you have any nice plans this weekend? I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family – I'm making the most of it while I can! Next weekend we fly back to Holland. Today I am showing you some nail foils (in c-09) from The Born Pretty Store. I actually purchased these myself at the beginning of the year and if I am honest, I was scared to use them; I had a few attempts and it didn't go too well but I am so happy with this manicure! If I had to wait to show them to you then I am glad because this turned out way better then my previous attempts!

Don't forget you can get a 10% discount on all your orders at The Born Pretty Store when you use the code 'DRX31'

Yes Love: Neon Glitter G1-5 Swatch & Review ★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you had an awesome weekend. I am back in England for three lovely weeks seeing my family. I had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and eating my Mum's delicious home cooking - She also surprised me with some beautiful new nail polishes, she is always so amazing. Thank you all for your kind words about my recent loss too, you guys never fail me, you are always so kind. Hopefully posting will continue as normal and I'll do my best to keep up with commenting. Today I have Yes Love's neon glitter to share with you.

Colour ~ This neon glitter is a light nude base with neon glitter (sorry to state the obvious) the base itself is very sheet and glitter comes in three sizes in hot pink, green, orange and yellow. I am wearing three coats for it to appear as it does on my nails.

Application ~ Application is fine, there is plenty of glitter within the polish so that I didn't need to fish. Of course if your really strict with glitter placement that might be tricky with this polish. It dries fairly quick and I have no trouble with streaking or bubbles. I feel that if you want less layers then perhaps try pairing it under a nude.

Texture ~ The formula appears to be somewhere between a crème and a jelly. Because of the glitter it can feel a little gritty but it's nothing too off putting; Of course you can always apply an ample top coat for a smoother finish.

★★★★/5 I really like this polish and I don't find the three coats (instead of my usual two) too much trouble. I love the bright pop, it reminds me of birthday cake and all things happy. That said, to those with a wide range of indie polishes there may be something really similar out there. I was happy to find this on the store shelf as I don't have much access to indie polishes at the moment.

I think if you are looking for a unique glitter then this one may be for you.

What do you think of this neon glitter? Do you have a favourite glitter?

Have a great start to your week!

Love

Ithi

Sinful Colors: I'm So Nude Swatch & Review ★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals!

Happy weekend to you all, do you have any nice plans? Today is party day in this house, celebrating the birthday of my Dutch mother-in-law and sister-in-law so the house will be full. So today to give myself a little break (and less panicking to get some nails finished) I have a swatch I did ages ago – Look, even my old nail shape! So excuse how different my nails look here.

This is 'I'm So Nude' by Sinful Colors.

Colour ~ 'I'm So Nude', as the name suggests is a gorgeous creamy nude with a slight peachy tint. It has made its appearance on the blog a few times as it is a great base colour for nail art.

Application ~ I had no real issues with applying this polish however it is quite thick/creamy so be aware of how much polish you have on your brush. It is easy to end up with too much and having a very thick looking nail. If you keep this in mind you can end up with a beautiful manicure and a very flawless finish. Dry time is not too bad either.

Texture ~ This is a crème and is pretty workable with application.

★★★★/5 I really like this as a full opaque nude polish. If you want something more natural I would suggest trying China Glaze's 'Nude'. For girls like me who want a nude looking polish but have stained nails this is a brilliant choice. I actually love how it looks on my nails.

Do you have an all time favorite nude nail polish? What do you think about this shade from Sinful colours?

Have a great weekend my friends!

Love

Ithi

Nude Sparkle Meets Black & White

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Sorry for my short absence, I'd like to say I am all settled back in to my Holland life but I'm just not. The puppy grew a lot in five weeks, she's gorgeous. The only sucky thing for me is that even though she has a huge sleeping pillow in our room she is jumping on me all through-out the night so I am so exhausted... I have for you today a manicure I did while I was still in England – excuse the bumps on my nails, I still had my nail rehab tea bags on!

This manicure looks so terrible, I know. But I'm in such a mani-mojo-lacking position right now...And I still wanted to share something with you guys. For this manicure I used only a few polishes, Barry M's 'Matte White', Yes Love's 'Black', Sinful Colors 'Nude' and finally OPI's 'Snowflakes In the Air'. I finished off with a heart, a simple cloud design as acrylic borders.

What do you think of this mix-match manicure? How do you feel about cloud designs?

Have a great evening, Hopeully I'll have something more interesting to show you soon!

Love

Ithi

Bright And Arty Floral

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Friday again, woo the weeks are going fast which means the days are counting down until I and Mr Bravo go back to England in December. I have some huge news to share with you too! I'll share this at the bottom of the post! Today I have a very sketchy/arty floral manicure to share with you. The inspiration can be seen here.

For my middle and pinky finger I used two coats of Catrice's 'I'm So aNude' and on my other fingers I applied two coats of Rimmel's 'Tutti Frutti' which yeah... You can barely see it! I then created some rather messy and sketchy flowers using my Oumaxi Acrylic paints in the colour and style (Sort of!) of the inspiration picture. I finished this all of with a coat of OPI's matte top coat.

Now I'd like to introduce you to someone rather special! This is Luna and she's 14 weeks old!

On Wednesday Mr Bravo and his Father went to look at some dogs and they feel in love with this little girl. She's doing pretty well with training so far, there are the odd accidents which is to be expected with any puppy but she has really brightened all our lives already. She is extremely affectionate and cuddly and loves to follow me around while I do housework.

What do you think of this floral manicure? Do you have any pets; Are you a dog lover?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Water Decal Transfer Stickers Bird Floral Pattern- The Born Pretty Store Review

*This item was sent to me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion :)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? Are you having a good weekend so far? I'm having a great time in England. (duhh) Yesterday I popped into Boots for the first time in over 7 months and I was so amazed to see that our store now carries Nails Inc, Orly, Mavala, Butter London and more... I was like a kid in a candy shop! I had limited funds but let me tell you, I could have gone crazy! I started today with another productive work out - I'm feeling so alive! Later today I'll be going to watch my three year old niece go swimming and tonight Mr Bravo and I will be going out with my parents for a meal ~ Life is good! Today I have these beautiful Nail art water decals with floral and birdpattern from The Born Pretty Store to show you.

You can get a 10% discount on all items from the Born Pretty Store, Just use the coupon code: DRX31 at the checkout. :)

This gorgeously designed water decal comes on one sheet which measures 7.cm which means there is plenty of pattern for you to play around with. I am simply in love with the design which is incredibly eye catching. The decals have no background colour (Its completely transparent) which means you will need to pair it with a suitable light base colour polish to really show off the design.

I had a real easy time with these decals, application was really easy also.

I started by carefully cutting out two squares of the pattern large enough to fit my nails. I then painted my base coat of Hema polish in Nude, once dry I dunked the patterns under room temperature water for around 30 seconds. Once the pattern was easy to slip off the backing card with tweezers I then lay them onto the nail. The instructions claim you need to finish drying the decals with a hair dryer but I skipped this. I'm such a rebel... They dried onto the nail very fast just like regular decals so I don't think that step is necessary. I finished up by applying my top coat.

For my other nails I applied Hema 'Nude' and created a large ruffian style design with Barry M's 'Meadow' and 'Mist' from the Silk collection. I finished up by applying a few candy studs which are also from The Born PrettyStore. Don't forget you can use my store discount which is displayed to the right.

What do you think of these spring-y flower and bird water decals? Have you tried full nail decals?

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Love

Ithi