Freehand Pretty Cactus Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing? I hope your week is going well? Has anything exciting been going on for you – I love it when we share things!

Today's nail art is actually one I did when I was back in Holland – yep..another on with that annoying old nail shape. I actually liked this one except the writing on my thumb. Every time I do nail art with writing I feel like it lets the entire thing down but I'll still share it with you guys. You are always less harsh about my work than I am!

3D Wooly Yarn & Sweater Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

Are you ready for fall/winter 2017?

Coming to a high street near you this season, stock up on your winter knit wear and cosy apparel. Be ready to rock the cold and shimmy away those shivers.

All geared up? Not quite. Don't forget your nails, who needs cold nails this winter?

Baaaha you guys, I had this idea in my head and I really wanted to make it come true. Before the comments come in about how disgusting this is I just want to remind you that this is really more of an extreme 3D nail art, I would never wear this on a daily basis or for casual wear! I wanted to create something that was simply interesting to look at.

This survived on my nails for all of 10 minutes. I hated the feel of it! Even my cat gave me a disappointing look upon inspection!

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!

5g Soak Off Fur Efrfect UV Gel Polish - Born Pretty Store Review

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


Allo polish Pals!
How are you all doing? I hope you've had a great week, do you feel like lots of positive things happened?
I'm doing well. I'm generally really happy. I've slid into my pattern with a breeze. This past week I've been on my own as my parents have been away (they came back last night) and it was actually nice to have the house to myself – after the past few weeks it was like putting on the breaks. I've kept myself extremely busy with all sorts of jobs around the house, blogging, being Auntie Ithi. The highlight has been getting up at 6.30 to work out and going going to bed every night with my little black cat. Every day we've started and ended our days together this past week. Missed him so much! I'm finding the beauty in the simplest of things.


My ikea helmer came!...And then it returned. It was bent and damaged and now I don't think I want to go with a helmer as the metal seems so thin.. so the nail polish storage hunt continues. I'm limited with sizes due to built-in furniture but I'll figure something!


Today I am showing you another item from The Born Pretty Store. I've been excited to show you this one! Sadly the nail art is a little..hrrm.. but this stuff is pretty fun! This is '1 box 春の歌5g Soak Off Fur Efrfect UV Gel Polish in #10' – D'awww check out the packaging!

I was so intrigued after seeing this in the Born Pretty Store that I decided I wanted to try it! You know my gel experiences are fairly limited and really tame so I had no idea what to expect or really even how to apply it.

I absolutely love this stuff. Can I have the entire collection? If you see the picture of my nails with just the UV gel on.. I really like how it looks there. It was so shiny, so smooth. I wouldn't say it makes me think of fur right away but I love the effect it gives. Its subtle and gorgeous.

First of all my heart was captured by the packaging, I love how this isn't just a boring round pot, instead it has a sort of mock-antique look to the design which is really cute – and then the bear.. Oh isn't he adorable?! Paws up!

How did I apply it?
Upon opening I was a little surprised by the gooey contents (although what was I really expecting if not gooeyness?!) but I got to work. I applied my NYC peel off base coat because the idea of anything gel-like being stuck on my nails terrifies me! I then took an old rounded eyeshadow brush and began to gently dab/brush on the UV gloop. At this point it wasn't looking like much and I thought this would be a really embarassing review but I did a thin layer and cured it under my lamp. I repeated this twice more and did a double take. Somehow it had come together beautifully and once the colour had built up a little I was smitten. I applied a coat of Born Pretty Store's UV Gel top coat and voilà!


conclusion? I personally really like it. I don't really like a lot of fuss when having to apply a coat of colour but I wouldn't say this was too much hard work, certainly not enough to put me off. I love how glossy and smooth it looks and I would certainly buy more of these based on my experience with this one. For those of you who are not into gel perhaps its not for you – or if you worry about gels on your nails try the peel off approach as I did but I highly recommend this fun little bear pot!


Have you worn a liquid gel like this before? What do you think of my twinning bear?



Have an awesome weekend my friends, thank you for stopping by! I'll catch you again on Monday for more nail art fun!..

Love,
Ithi

Freehand Cadbury Cream Egg Nail Art With 3D Gel Drips & Spoon

Allo Polish Pals!

I hope you are having an awesome day! Do you have anything nice planned over the weekend? Are you celebrating Easter in any way, or is it just a normal Sunday for you?

Sometimes holidays can be hard to post as I hate the idea of upsetting people who may believe in different religions. I'm absolutely not religious but I hate the idea of offending people..

So today I am going down the chocolate route and actually giving myself a taste of nostalgia as I used to eat Cadbury Cream Eggs when I was a child, I would get so excited when the shops would start selling them. I can't really eat chocolate any more nor would I really enjoy eating it but I thought it would make a fun idea for nail art!

For this design I began by using my OPI 'Nail Envy' base coat. Next I applied two coats of Probelle's 'Textured Purple' polish to all my nails. I then used my brushes and acrylic paints to paint the freehand Cadbury cream eggs and ruffian in white and yellow around my cuticles.

I then took a little of my Bluesky gel polish to create some 3D drips to my middle and ring fingers, once this was cured under my lamp and wiped clean I painted them in white and yellow to look like the sugary yolk. I then used a small amount of top coat to attached the miniature 3D spoon (which actually came with a tiny pot of flocking powder I won – I'd wanted to use it for ages!)

I finished it all off by adding my Barry M 'Matte' top coat.

I'll tell you something – having your nails stuck together makes for really awkward hand poses! I was glad to free them after I'd taken pictures.

What do you think of these totally inconvenient nails? Have you done any egg nails before?

I hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever you have planned. I will see you again on Monday for some more nail art fun!

Love

Ithi

The Other Side Of The Fence - Freehand Beach Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope March is treating you kindly so far and you've got something nice to look forward to this weekend? :)

Today's nail art came after a really frustrating day (edit - As you are reading this, I painted it a couple weeks ago. My nail art struggle has since progressed and there's about 4 designs I've banished to the delete folder that you'll never see. Each one I spent more than 3-4 hrs on... My confidence and self esteem has taken a huge blow and I can only blame myself for putting myself there and telling myself I'm not good enough.)

I wont go into details but when you feel like your stuck in a cycle of cleaning and laundry.. do you ever just wish you could escape for a short while?

Well that was my idea behind this nail art. I discovered a gap in the fence that I could peak through.. I couldn't believe what I saw. A beautiful secluded beach! I was desperate to get over the fence but it was too high..

The products I used for this manicure was Mezmris Nail Lacquer base coat 'Armor Up', Barry M's 'White' and Mezmris Nail Lacquer's top coat, 'Armor'. I also added Barry M's Matte top coat eventualy.

What does your ideal secret relaxing retreat look like? Would it be a nice warm beach too?

Do you think you would want to break down this fence? What is the ideal scene YOU would find behind it?

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend everyone, I'll see you again on Monday for some more nail fun!

Love

Ithi

Huntington's Disease Awareness IG Collaboration - Freehand Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I've been hibernating. Or at least it feels like it. I think I may go for a nice walk this morning – always a good way to start the day.

Today I have some nail art which was created as part of a Collaboration on IG, my sweet friend Sammi started a group chat and organised the whole thing, this collaboration was to be for Huntington Disease Awareness. There were many different logo's and styles from various organisations and the idea was that we would recreate this into our manicures.

I agreed to do this one because I thought it was for such a worthy cause. If you have not heard of Huntington's disease it is an incredibly cruel and life stealing disease, here is an extract from google.

“Huntington disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability (cognition). Adult-onset Huntington disease, the most common form of this disorder, usually appears in a person's thirties or forties. “ - You can find more information at the following link: Wiki

Sadly there is no cure for huntington's disease at this precise moment so awareness is important and I'll continue to hope that one day there will be a cure, for all the victims who have lost lives and for all the family and friends of those who suffer.

Everyone did such a good job with their designs, if you pop over to my IG later today you will be able to see the group collage. My heart really goes out to those who have to experience this disease and I'll keep hoping that one day there can be a cure to end the suffering it causes.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you have a beautiful day. I'll be back again on Friday for some more Halloween nail art.

Love

Ithi

Freehand 2D & 3D Cubes

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are having a great week so far! Is it getting cold where you are? I'm noticing the decline in warmth terribly! I'm all about fluffy socks, sleeved blankets and hurrying to get inside! How will I survive another winter?!

Today's nail art is a bit...'out there'. I'm not sure if this is going to be received well (I get that feeling with some nail art, like I can almost guess its not going to be very popular!) 

If you remember a while ago I created some nail art where I painted 3d dice, but I also stuck on a miniature 3d dice also... well I decided to go down a similar route with this one..

I started this manicure by using my Mezmris Nail Lacquer base coat, Armor up and once dry I applied two coats of Wet 'n' Wild's 'Black Creme'. I then created a barrier using my Pro-fx top coat (because why? No one knows.) I then used my favourite brushes to create some sketchy grey lines and some colourful cube shapes. Next I used Jacava's top coat (because I didn't want a very fast drying top coat) and added a small red cube to my ring finger nail. I then proceeded to fill that nail entirely with an assortment of studs. For my other fingers I used Mezmris Nail Lacquer top coat, Armor, to give it a lovely glossy finish.

How do you think this stacks up compared to my dice nail art? Which do you prefer?

Do you like full studded accent nails? What do you think of my cubes?

Have a beautiful day, my friends! I'll catch you again on Friday!

Love

Ithi

Introducing Probelle's Textured Collection & Swatches!

*This post contains an item(s)that were sent for reviewing purposes, however I will as always give my full, honest and unbiased opinion.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? :) Can you seriously believe we're at another Thursday? Just where is the time going?

Today I've got a three in one sort of post, I was lucky enough to get to try some of the new Probelle textured polishes from their new textured collection. I have absolutely no experience with any Probelle polishes which means I'm literally discovering how these are without previous knowledge of the company – always fun to see what first impressions are like.

I'll be showing you 'Textured Hot Pink', 'Textured Purple' and 'Textured Turquoise' so please hit the 'read more' link below to see how these polishes stack up! I am picturing these polishes with two coats and without a top coat so we can see the texture.

Don't forget you can click the close up shots to see the detail of the texture a little easier

Textured Hot Pink

Probelle certainly gave this polish a daring name, you can't be called a hot pink unless you really are a slap-in-the-face-sexy-neon-flamingo-loving pink and does that polish live up to that? Most certainly! This is a vibrant and fun shade which certainly brings the warmth of summer back on to my nails. As with all three of these polishes I think the shades suit the finishes beautifully. Let's take a look at the other two!

Freehand Girly Hearts And Bows

Allo polish Pals!

Happy weekend to you all! I hope you are all doing great and have some fun things to look forward to this weekend? I'm planning some nice quiet painting time this weekend (this week has been really slow on the nail art front.)

Lastnight Mr Bravo took me out to dinner, a Greek restaurant! The food was so good! But not only that..it all was all just lovely! With my eye looking almost back to normal (there are eyelashes still going through and I shampoo them multiple times a day) I wore make up for the first time in forever! We don't get to do things like this too often..so it was wonderful :)

Today's nail art is really random and was painted while I was in England. I also apologise I don't really remember what I used.. what a fail. This is why I normally jot things down in scheduled posts before they go live because my memory is the worst! 

I really can't remember what I used.. I have a feeling that the blue is Rimmel's 'Pillow Talk and 'Neon Fest' but I might be wrong... Oppsie. Oh but looks like I used Catrice's 'Matte & More' - yay for bottle shots for the forgetful!

I was incredibly low on time so I wanted to create something fun and fast, I tried to create gradient hearts with my acrylic paints and opted for a bright accent nail with a freehand bow.

I feel a little guilty because normally I can at least describe my actions little better but hey...July feels like 900 years ago. I'm getting old, ok?! I got a case of goldfish brain going on!

Also guys, if you have any suggestions of anything you'd like to see on my nails don't hesitate to leave it in a comment. If I can do it, or it inspires me I'll certainly try :)

What do you think of this nail art? Does it make you think of little girl party dresses?!

Have a wonderful weekend my naily friends, Can't wait to catch you again on Monday!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Tree Inspired Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are doing well!

I decided that I'd break my 'every other day posting' pattern yesterday because I've been having horrific laptop trouble. While I had enough posts backed up I decided the blog would have a bank holiday off too. I'm officially back on Windows 7 and it seems ok now.. and the internet seems to hold up! Wahoo. So I used the day basically running endless tests and trying to figure out what was wrong. I also changed the blog design a little – its not quite finished so please excuse how mix-match some of it all looks currently! It's a work in progress!

Today's manicure came from nowhere, again. I wanted to take part in another challenge on Tiny Canvas (only the nicest nail community online) and the prompt for this one was 'tree's'. I was so blank until...

Ps. You guys probably think I have some weird obsession with tree's considering my last two posts.. Baha!

Not feeling the glossy version, how about you?

I decided to really play with the basics and textures of tree's as well as painting them. I thought painting a wooden texture would be a nice little touch. This is almost like looking over a fence, I think...well wood comes from trees!

For this manicure I began with Mezmris Nail Lacquer base coat and a second it was dry! I applied two smooth coats of Barry M's 'White' and allowed to dry. I then added a thing coat of Pro-FX's top coat, just because I am fussy and like a paint/polish barrier! I then used my fave brushes and acrylic paints to freehand my scenery. I finished it all off with Mezmris Nail Lacquer's top coat and eventually added Wet 'N' Wilds matte top coat.. because that's just what I do!

I am quite happy with this manicure. I wish my reflections were a little better but hey, I do my best! I think it looks better matte for sure, what do you think? Do you like this tree inspired nail art?

If you liked this nail art please share this post using one of the buttons below.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Come visit again on Thursday for some more nail fun.

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Swirly, Starry 4th July Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing on this fine Thursday?  I hope you've been having a great week. I've been busy with lots of nail art but if I am honest I'm getting a lot of epic nail fails right too - I'm still using the antibiotic eye cream and while I feel like I've got some really unique idea's up my sleeve I can not see clearly enough to do the tiny detail it requires! Still. I'm doing my best to keep the nail art coming :)

Since Monday is the 4^th July, even though I do not celebrate I thought I'd do some appropriate nail art - and I really liked the outcome!  Had I been more organized I would have loved to have done several more manicures for you guys with step by step guides... I am really going to try an start doing more stuff like this for upcoming holidays, I think it would be fun!

So rather than having my 4^th July nails on the blog on Monday when those of you who are celebrating are all off partying we'll see them now - it also means if you want to try anything from my design you've got time to play around!

I don't know about you but I'm all for the matte version over the glossy.

As always I began with my usual base coat, OPI's 'Nail Envy' and once dry began applying blue, red and white polishes to my nails. The blue is Maybelline's 'Oceanic Blue', the red is 'Alluring Red' by Catrice and the white is NYC's 'Williamsburg Vintage'. For my thumb and ring finger I decided to try and create a one-stroke like swirl using blue and light blue acrylic paint. I added some freehand stars on top with white acrylic. For my Index and pinky I mixed different shades of red to create some really rough lines across my nail to give a slightly textured look. I added a small ruffian and a single white star to each nail. My middle finger is just a good ol' dotticure using the same red and blues, I think this nail really adds a little fun to the whole manicure. Finally to finish off I then applied my Wet 'N' Wild's matte top coat.

I really liked wearing this manicure, its not often I find myself wearing blue and red together but I rather like how I paired these together!

If you celebrate July 4^th do you match your nail art for the occasion? What do you think of these nails?

Have a beautiful day! I'll catch you again on Saturday!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Clear Pond & Koi Carp

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope Feburary has been kind to you so far. Thank you guys for all the caring comments about my blog down time - Lets hope we can go from Feb to Feb'17 without any hitches! I'm slowly getting over my sickness but my body is just so achey. This weekend Mr Bravo's niece will be coming to stay over for a week, I always like seeing her! :) She does the exact same as my niece - first thing in the morning she checks to see whats new on my nails! 

Today's manicure is actually my second attempt at it. It's probably been a good couple of years since I wanted to create a sort of... zen koi carp manicure. Something that looks clean and soothing... This is the best I could really come up with.

I don't even have much to tell you about this manicure. I took a lot of inspiration from *This* pin on Pinterest. I used only one polish, Essie's 'Cashmere Bathrobe' to create a darker look between the all the stones. Next I used my acrylic paints and began painting the fish first. It was certainly a lot harder than I had expect. I had a lot of trouble with the fins and tails. Next I added a few little lily pads here and there and then proceeded to cover the remaining spaces with varying sized rocks.

I also added a watery look... however it seemed to dry like a streaky, chalky blue which I wasn't *too* happy about! 

It was a pretty intense and long process but I am glad I tried it again. I believe when I initially tried it years ago I tried to do it all with nail polish... no.. just no!

What do you think of my Koi carp pond? Have you done nails that have made you feel relaxed while creating them before?

Have a wonderful day,

Love

Ithi

Through The Keyhole - Freehand Wood and Swan Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? Today Mr Bravo and I will head back to Holland. I always hate saying goodbye to my family at the airport...It somehow never gets much easier. But I had a wonderful time at home. Now its time to go back and get serious with my goals.

Anyway, Today I have some nail art I was really proud of.. until I have to come to a really tricky dilemma. Do I used the top coat I normally use for my acrylic designs even though it was almost out and on the sticky side... or use the new Barry M one that seemed to darken all my acrylic paint...?

Sadly I went for the first option and this piece came riddled with micro bubbles... I was really pleased with it before I saw the pictures! I'm still going to share it with you because I like the concept and colours.

For this manicure I really only used one nail polish which you can not even see. I used my regular 'Nail Envy' base coat from OPI and once dry applied two coats of Rimmels 'Rain Rain, Go Away' which... seems really random now but my white is kinda depleted (Why does everything run out all at the same time? - does that happen to you?) I created everything else with acrylic paint.

I wanted this to look like you could be looking through a keyhole into a beautiful fantasy land with a gorgeous sunset and a calming swan lake.

What is your go to base coat, do you use it with acrylics?

What do you think of this nail art design? Would you want to go through that door?

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Purple Stars With A Green Crush - Freehand

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Tell me something random and interesting about your day! Today I have a design based over a textured polish. It seemed like a good idea, sometimes I am not too fond of textured polish but I love how they glisten and shine once they are smothered with top coat. That was the aim of this manicure, a really glitzy base with a freehand design. I just didn't expect to have as much trouble smoothing out the edges as I had planned!

For this manicure I used three coats of Rimmel's 'Fizzy Applicious' and smoothed over with two layers of top coat. I then used my trusty bamboo brush to create some light purple swirls and stars.

That it really... Pretty simple! I really like how the design looks like it is above a layer of glass – at least that's how it looks in person so I hope you can see that too.

Have you created nail art with a textured polish? Do you prefer the feel of textured or do you like to smooth them down too?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Meet My Friends at FinderThings.net & Stencil Review

*This product has been sent to me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I have a special post today and there will be several of these.

I'd like to introduce you to my new friends at The Finder Things.net. The Finder Things is owned and run by husband and wife team, Karen and Jayson with additional help from their one year old little angel. I enjoyed meeting this lovely family run business, they are such sweet people!The Finder Things is an online store featuring a huge selection of unique and wonderful nail decal stickers. 

Just an example of a few of the beautiful decals from The Finder Things. They also stock a lot of great awareness decals.

I urge you to read on if you will, this post has a lot of pictures!

Catrice: Call Me Princess (Texture) Swatch & Review ★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you all had a good weekend. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in my giveaway, that was so fun! It is now closed and the winner has been contacted. Also apologies for my absence, I've not been my usual self these past few days and extremely exhausted but I still can't get a good nights rest, any advice? Today I am showing you a wonderful textured polish, Catrice's 'Call Me Princess' from the Crushed Crystal's collection.

Colour ~ 'Call Me Princess' is a beautiful pink based polish laced with gorgeous golden and coral shimmer. While it is certainly a gorgeous pink it can appear orange, peach and coral in certain light.

Application ~ Application is really smooth, despite this polish being a texture it applies in a watery but grainy texture. I have no issues with bubbles or streaks and it dries incredibly fast.

Texture ~ Since this polish is a texture (liquid sand)

★★★★/5 I really like this polish and have to say that in my collection it is one of a kind, I don't have anything similar in the slightest and highly recommend this polish to those of you who are really into your textures and are looking for something a little different if you don't have anything like this.

What do you think of this textured coral pink? Do you like pinks with a golden tint?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi