Spring Piggy

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you had an amazing week – tell me your highlight from this week. Today I am off to work but I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

This will be my last weekend at home as I have agreed to work Sundays. Its all day but its extra hours which is good. I'll also be pretty much on my own in the fragrance department and apparently they wanted me to do it as they know that I know my stuff. Quite flattering.

Because of this I have decided to cut my posts down to twice a week. I want to be as organised and as well planned as always so I feel that changing my post days will help me achieve that and keep the blog flowing as well as it has been (obviously more hours = less painting time but I feel I can keep up if I switch it a bit) My new posting days will be Monday and Thursday which will start next week and into the beginning month.

Today's nail art is summoning up all the visions of spring one could possibly want – where did our sun go by the way?! Look at this little piggy enjoying a nice mud bath! He looks pretty happy, don't you think?

Freehand Soot Sprite Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope your week is going well. I'm working most of this week – means I get Saturday off, wahoo! I'm already trying to work out what I'll be painting on my days off although when it actually comes to it I find my oompf is lacking. Just like on Sunday, I started painting some beach hut nails and I just couldn't make myself finish it. My heart wasn't in it..

But today I have some cute little soot sprites to share with you, I used to love Studio Ghibli films such as Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away.. And I always thought those little soot sprites were so cute! So I've captured them!

Freehand Crocodile Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing, I hope your week has been awesome and your weekend will be even better!

I've had a pretty full week but that's great because it means I am learning the ropes quicker so to speak. Tomorrow I plan on doing very little, haha! I've had no time to paint (until today, wahoo!) We had our black Friday sale yesterday and it was busier than I had imagined. I feel like I am settling in well now, I make a few hiccups on the til when I am given vouchers but I am getting there – and enjoying it for the most part!

Today's nail art is one I had been excited to share with you as I thought it turned out pretty cute. It is back on my old nail shape (it's sort of frustrating me to keep seeing it) but we'll focus on the nail art!

Freehand 3D Gel Cookie Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

I hope you all had an awesome weekend? Did you get up to anything fun?

Today's nail art comes with a little secret. While I've been working out hard and keeping up with all the healthy lifestyle changes I made recently.. sometimes while I am painting and working on blog post creations I take a little pause for coffee and biscuit time.

Its the perfect break when I am working on a really intricate and lengthy design. You gotta enjoy some things, right?

So today I have for you some 3D cookies on an equally dotty base! Funnily enough Maryland Cookie's started following me recently over on Twitter. I wonder if they'll approve of this nail art!

Freehand Alien Nail Art - Into Space!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope the weekend was kind to you?

I feel like I wasn't kind enough to myself, too many late nights and deep thinking, sometimes deep thinking is great but you need to be aware of when its not helpful.

Anyway, today's nail art is one I am hesitant about showing you. I'm not really feeling it, I hope that maybe you guys will like it at least. The feeling of being displeased with my work has lessened than how it was a year ago. Back then I would hate everything I had created, I'd create a manicure three times over and still be unsatisfied with the results and not post any of them – I credit my turn around to you guys because while I was always so hard on myself you showed me nothing but kindness and encouragement. So.. I'll share it because you guys always seem to like what I hate. Ha.

Today's nail art was created for the weekly challenge over on Tiny Canvas, our current running theme is 'Into Space' – I had big hopes for this nail art.

Freehand Pirate Ship & Hidden Treasure Cove Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

Happy hump day to you all, I hope the week has been kind to you so far. Anything new with you?

Sadly still no news on when I'll have my passport back.. it doesn't look like I'll be able to go on the nail course in November but I wont dwell over it. Instead I'll aim to find any sort of work and hopefully I can then reconsider my options in the new year. Never give up hope my friends, whatever isn't going right will turn itself around. Life has a funny of working :)

Grab yourself a sexy little tea or coffee and let us begin...Are you ready for a little nail art fun?

Yaaar! All aboard, maties!

We've been sailing the mighty GimmyMcgee ship for the past 30 days, we've endured the roughest sea's the our crew have ever endured. Endless storms and the cruellest waves. We're two shipmates down and running low on supplies. We have one crate of rum left and a sack full of corn kernels left to feed our shipmen. We almost lost our way, sailing out of the storm we were embraced by a blanket of fog. Not only did the fog slumber our common sense's but our minds controlled by the lulling song notes of the most hideous siren the earth has ever seen. Thankfully, at the last minute we realised we were able to snap out of trance and steer our ship back in the right direction.. After a short while we rejoiced, crying with tears when we saw a small island coming to into view..

Freehand Loch Ness Monster Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you've had a fantastic week, cheers to the weekend ahead!

Today I have another freehand design for you. I've wanted to do this idea for quite sometime but I couldn't quite work out how I wanted it to look. My idea was to feature the mighty, magical and often debated Loch Ness monster.

I decided not to really follow any references (or theories, rather) and to paint my Nessie as I would like to imagine her, I'm saying 'her' because I really think mine looks rather feminine. I've also painted her to look quite kind and friendly!

Glossy version.

Freehand Video Game - Pikachui, The Sims, Mario + More Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you had a great week but yay for the weekend, am I right? I hope you'll have a great weekend, be it a chilled or busy one.

Still no news on getting my passport back, the likeliness of doing this course seems to be dimming a little but I'm thinking about the 'what if's' just in case. Even if I can't start the course in November I'll still need to be doing something in terms of work or training.

Anyway! Back to another Tiny Canvas theme prompt, this weeks challenge I picked because the 12^th of September is video game day and I thought the members would have so many possible ideas for this theme.

I myself decided to go for a scramble with this nail art. A bit of everything!

Freehand Back To School Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

I hope you are all doing wonderfully today, my loves?

Monday was a bank holiday here, so everyone was off of work. We went down to Exmouth in Devon and had a beautiful sea-side day! We went on the beach, paddled in the sea. Had a lunch out, went to the amusement arcades and had ice cream. EVEN ME! I normally have to be so careful about what I eat as my stomach condition is triggered by stress but I've been so much better since I came home.. so even I had an ice cream when I'd normally miss out!

As we polish off August and head into September, what better time to crack out the 'Back to School' nail art?

The final Tiny Canvas for this month is indeed back to school.

Pencil cases replenished, back packs filled. Pencils sharpened and thinking caps on! I decided to combine a few different things for my design, of course all the basic necessities of the classroom and a healthy snack! Are any of my readers heading back to school soon? I hope you will have a fabulous term!

Freehand Fancy Summer Ice Cream Nail Art On Pastel's

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doo'dling? I hope you are having a fantastic week so far? I can hardly believe the summer holidays are almost over. I feel like a big kid having had the past two months to just settle in and adjust to life. It's almost like I've had a summer break too!

Today's nail art is perfectly summery, even if it doesn't fit the weather we've been having in England – did my return curse the weather? I always love how bright nails can make you feel summery even when the weather refuses to comply.

For those of you who are basking in the sun, help yourself to one of my summer treats!

Freehand Abstract Nail Art With 3D Elements

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? Can you believe we all climbed to the top of the week and now we're all sliding down the weekend slide?! Wahoooo. I hope you all have something fun planned.

After a week of feeling a little up and down and banging my head against the wall I *may* have found a college course for nails! It seems perfect, 1 night a week for 16 weeks to get a lvl 2 certificate. Wahoo, I hope luck is on my side and it is possible!

This month in Tiny Canvas the weekly challenges are all thought of my moi, I had fun coming up with themes I thought everyone would enjoy. I tried hard to think of themes that everyone would feel comfortable in taking part in. I love it when lots of members join in, its fun to see everyone's designs.

The first prompt I thought of was abstract & 3D elements. I told them to all go nuts, there's no wrong or right in abstract art!

Summertime Swimming Pool & Rubber Ring Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? Hows the weather where you are? Its been so erratic here in my part of England. Sunshine followed by unpredicted down pours! I just wanna sit in the garden under the parasol but its not looking likely!

Today's nail art is actually an idea I've had for years. However I never tried it. I just didn't think I could do it..I didn't really believe I could get it to look exactly how I wanted. For some reason, this time it was finally time to do instead of just thinking about it and putting it off.

And I'm glad I did. I honestly wish I was one of these girls though, so chiiiill.

I started this manicure off with my trusty OPI Nail Envy and once dry I began with two coats of a beautiful shimmery blue from Boulevard De Beaut to give my swimming pool a little sparkle. I then used my Pro-FX top coat to create a nice smooth base to paint on top of. Next I used my acrylics to create these two besties..or sisters?? Both! I finish it all off with another lick of top coat and finally applied my matte top coat to see how it would look.

I'm glad I finally went ahead with this design, sometimes its good to wait until you feel confident enough but its also terrible to let lack of confidence hold you back! I'm totally envious of them though, they look so content and chilled!

What do you think of my pool sisters? Have you created any manicures you were scared to attempt?

Have a fantastic day, guys. Thank you so much for stopping by. I'll catch you again on Monday for some more nail art fun :)

Love,
Ithi

6 Colours Luminous Graffiti Glow In The Dark Nail Art Powder - Born Pretty Store Review

*Press Sample* This post contains an item(s) which was provided for reviewing purposes however I will as always give my full and honest opinion.

Allo polish pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope the weekend got you recharged and ready to go for a happy and fun week ahead?

My parents came home and had a whole bunch of lovely polishes and delicious olives for me from Greece and I surprised my mum with a lovely bouquet of flowers. I also got to spend more time with my niece and nephew which is always lovely. I got my nail polish and nail art storage ordered! I'll update you with pictures when its all finished!

Today I have another item from the Born Pretty Store to share with you; This is '6 Colours Luminous GraffitiGlow In The Dark Nail Art Powder' and let me tell you... these don't only glow, they burn through your retina's!!! ..in a good way of course.

It looks pretty normal worn alone.. ;)

These arrived all in individual little bags and contained the following colours, one white, two pink shades, a green, yellow and a powdery blue. Each little pot contains approximately 3.8g-5g which is actually quite a lot – you'd get quite a lot of use out of these. I was AMAZED with how glowy these really were, I hadn't know what to expect but this
far exceeds the glowability of any glow in the dark polishes I've ever tried.

To get these babies to be super charged I merely held my hand/pots under my photography light for a few seconds, the glow is SUPER intense and so, so cool. I wish I had come up with some kind of clever design but I was having a brain-fart kind of day and unluckily I couldn't see what I was painting properly as I did these in the evening. For that reason I am unhappy with my acrylic-gradient...it doesn't even look much different between red/orange :C Note to self, buy desk lamp.

Application wasn't overly complicated. I knew I'd be using gel so I went ahead and applied my NYC peel off base coat first. I applied two coats China Glaze's 'White On White' (my new favourite white) and once dry I got to work on adding the powders.

To add the powders I mixed a small amount of the powder on a piece of foil and mixed with a small amount of my Born Pretty Store UV Soak Off Gel Top Coat. I then proceeded to brush this onto my nails and cure with my UV lamp. I repeated this step two or free times. I finished it off by adding a thin coat of gel top coat and cured a final time.

Final Feels? What do you think of this powder? I feel like Born Pretty Store are really showing us that gels can be so much fun and not quite as scary as people think! I really like these powders and I can't wait to think of more ideas where these will rock a design so hard! 

 What do you think of my glowy pin wheel? Have you tried glow powder before?

Thank you for stopping by, have yourself an awesome day. I'll see you again on Wednesday for what looks like booby-nail art. Niiiice.

Love,

Ithi

Flying To England Nail Art - Canadian Geese

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are having a fantastic week so far :)

I've got a little announcement! (and its not the only one!) On Friday I'll be flying back home to England to spend some time with my family. There's so much more to tell you. The past few weeks there has been a lot going on but I think I am going to update you on all that in Saturday's post.

Today though you can see how I am choosing to travel home this time! In case you are new to the blog, on my previous travels back home I've travelled by.. hanging onto an aeroplane, I sat on a whale, I flew on a magic carpet and most recently I went by submarine.

This time I decided it was time for some more sky fun!

I actually have two version of this manicure to share with you since I didn't like the first one.. However I didn't like the thumb on the second version. I'm really hard to please, huh?

The only polishes I used for this manicure are OPIs 'Nail Envy' base coat, Barry M's 'White' for my clean blank canvas and my Pro-FX top coat to seal everything in. Everything else was created with my fave Whatsupnails brush and my acrylic paints.

I have enjoyed painting all these travelling nails so far. Which one did you like best?

Which version do you guys like best? Are there any countries you'd like to go to?

Thank you for stopping by today!

Have a beautiful day my friends, I'll catch you on Saturday and I'll explain what's been going on.

Love

Ithi

Drag Marble Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you had an awesome weekend. Did anything exciting happen?

I have not told you yet but I am going to England again this Friday! I am super excited..but I'll tell you more about that in more depth a little later on.

Anyway... for today I have some more nail art that was created for the weekly Tiny Canvas challenge (Why do I always take part? The themes are fun and push me to try new challenges plus I feel as a moderator its good to join in to encourage other members) Our theme at the moment is drag marble nail art.

Sadly I can't tell you what nail polishes I used in this design as.. stuff is everywhere.

I can tell you about this design though even without knowing what polishes I used! I decided to go for a elemental themed manicure, creating a drag marble decal for each nail – we have wind/air, earth, fire and water.

On my thumb I used one coat of Barry M's 'White' polish to create a clean canvas for my acrylic-gradient. I did this using a thick brush and black, grey and white acrylic paints. I'm hoping I can make a video soon to show you how I do these. I added some small symbols to represent the elements. I finished everything else off with my Pro-FX top coat.

Have you done a dry marble before? Which marble nail do you like the best?

Have a wonderful day my sweeties, I'll catch you again on Wednesday for another freehand design! 

Love,

Ithi

Freehand Windmill Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you all had a fantastic, fun and productive week?

I wont say too much about what's going on here (yet) but I know the end of the month is going to be really stressful and hectic so I am just going to enjoy the weekend and relax as much as possible.

Today I have some nail art that I've been holding off posting for months. Not for any particular reason, every time I was about to post it review items would arrive or I needed to swap posts around for the weekly challenges on Tiny Canvas. I honestly think I may have painted these in.. March? Jeez! Anyway.. I'll stop talking before its another month until you see it! 

In some ways you could say this is a little tribute to Holland. This country and its people have treated me well since I moved here and it will ever hold a little piece of my heart. Its a beautiful country and I am glad I got to see and live in it.

For this manicure I began with my usual OPI Nail Envy base coat and once dry applied two coats of my Barry M 'White' nail polish.
I again allowed it to dry before applying a thin coat of my Pro-FX top coat and swiftly moved on with my freehand design.

I created an acrylic-gradient using my fave brushes and yellow and blue shades which I think gives it a really sort of.. warm summers morning hazy look, don't you think? I finished off with a coat of my Pro-FX top coat and finally my Barry M matte top coat.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. I also love the touch of glitter on the grass! Its subtle but I like it.

On another note, something that happened which is kinda cool.. scra2ch featured me on Facebook! 

What do you guys think of this nail art? What is one of your most favourite countries you've visited?

Thank you for taking the time to visit, I hope you have a wonderful day! I'll catch you again on Monday for some more nail art fun.

Love,

Ithi