St Patrick's Day Nails

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing? I hope you had an amazing week and have something fun to look forward to this weekend, or even just enjoy it chilling.

I had some news this week, today and yesterday I went back to work at the place I had been working at in December. One of the friends I made there reached out as she is having a family issue and needs to travel to another country. She suggested I could maybe take over her role while she's away so of course I said yes because I wanted to help her. While I'll only be there temporary I did enjoy the job immensely and it'll get me out of the house while I continue looking for work.

In other news..Tomorrow is St Patrick's day so of course we need to don some greenery on our claws for the occasion!

 

Freehand Daisy Nail Art With Holo

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you've had a fantastic weekend, are you ready for a new fantastic week to start? Abit of good news, I am attending a job interview this afternoon, fingers crossed for me please, I'd really like to work at this place!

Today's nail art is another one from last year (told you I schedule my blogs insanely!) I know I keep mentioning my stubby nubby nubbin nails but these do look really short compared to what I am used to! These do fit in with the current theme over at Tiny Canvas which is daisies.

I've also added a tutorial video below on how I paint this style of flowers. I find them quite relaxing to paint - roses on the other hand, argh! Frustration city!

Happy New Years Eve!

Allo polish Pals

How are you all doing? I hope you've had a great week?

Mine has been so up and down. On Christmas Eve I was told I'd be getting a permanent position in the store I've been working in as a Christmas temp. I was delighted, I've had so much fun working there and I couldn't wait to join the womens wear department. I'd make new friends and continue seeing the girls I enjoyed working with on the cosmetics/fragrance department.

By Wednesday I was told that they had taken on a lot of the Christmas temporary staff and that I wasn't put into the rota, my line manager told me that she was going to fight for my hours and to wait for an email towards the end of the week... so really now I know far much less than I did. Its a little disappointing but whatever happens I'm looking forward to the adventure of 2018.

I'm going to do a recap of my year below.. at the time there were things I couldn't blog about which I now feel I can and it will be a good way to say goodbye to 2017. I'll also add some of my fave nail art from the past year.

Born Pretty Silver Magnetic Polish & Cute Animal Water Decals - Born Pretty Store Review

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

Allo polish Pals!

I hope you are all doing great today?

I had an awesome weekend, it was my nieces 7^th birthday so we popped round for a tea party on Saturday afternoon, in the evening our town had it's annual carnival so we all watched that followed by some cheeky fish and chips from the local chippy (rare treat!)

Today I am going to show you a few more items from the Born Pretty Store, I'll be reviewing the '10ml BornPretty 3D Chameleon Cat Eye Magnetic Gel Soak Off UV Gel Polish' and '4 Sheets UR SUGAR Water Decal Cute Animals Cat Dog Rabbit Bunny NailArt Transfer Stickers 051-054'.

Prepare yourself for a whole load of pictures!  

3D Diamond Nail Art Studs (9 Colours, 5mm) - Born Pretty Store Review

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

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are doing well and have a lovely weekend planned! What will you be up to? I think it's going to be a cosy one.

Some of my family are going to a wedding so I wont see the kids very much this weekend but I get to spend time with my parents which makes me happy. My mum has taken up knitting recently so its quite nice to sit together, I paint while she knits. Hobby corner!

Today I have another review for you, this time I am showing you...*Inhales deeply* '9Colours, 5mm 3D Nail Decoration Colorful Rhinestone Sharp BottomManicure Nail Art Decoration'... *gasps for air * Or in shorter words... Mixed coloured Diamond Nail Art Studs. These are come from The Born Pretty Store.

I picked these studs to review as I love different looking studs and diamond shapes are no exception. I like how easy it is to create unique looks with these types of studs. I didn't plan this very well though as I had the idea to sort of stack/sit them with normal flat studs so I could position them differently..but I forgot to pack more studs!

This nail decoration wheel contains 9 different compartments and has emerald, pink, clear, cloudy clear, clear reflecting rainbow, light green, muted pink, bright blue and a sort of lilac shades. You get approximately 45 studs in this wheel and they measure 5mm. They are not as large as these diamond studs I reviewed previously, which I am glad about as this size is much more manageable.

The wheel is slightly different to any I have ever owned previously, rather than twisting the top transparent lid to get to the designed stud compartment the entire lid is hinged and slides off so all the compartments are open, so be warned if you tend to keep your studs in a loose place such as a bag or box that gets moved a lot as if it moves your studs may fall out.

Overall though I am really happy with this little nail wheel, I love the beautiful colours of the studs and I love how nicely they catch the light. I would certainly recommend playing around with them to find unique ways of placing them..unlike me.

I better get my seasons in tune..

I've slowly and reluctantly began making winter themed nail art.. but I'm just not feeling it. Brr.

What do you guys think of these, do you prefer flat bottomed studs? How would you wear these?

Have a beautiful weekend my friends, thank you for stopping by! Don't forget to say hi! :)

Love

Ithi

Freehand Cherries and A Fresh Water Colour Background.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are having a fabulous Thursday! INFO

Today I have a website to share with you that was created quite some time ago. I was really unhappy with it and eventually did another version which I was then equally as unhappy with! So I'm showing you the original. Maybe its not as bad as I think, I don't know.

For this manicure I began with my OPI 'Nail Envy' and added two coats of Rimmel's 'White Love' (Not my preference at all!) Next I added a coat of Pro-FX top coat as a nice barrier and moved onto my acrylics. I wanted to create a sort of fresh and happy looking water colour effect in the backgroun and on top of that added a pair of cherries to my nails. I sealed this all in with another layer of Pro-FX top coat and finished with Catrice's ' Matt & More' to give it a subtle pinky tint and matte sheen.

In my head I still want to completely redo this manicure. I wanted a cute retro and vintage feel which I just didn't achieve. Perhaps a red accent with polka dots might have hit the spot... We'll find out one day!

If you liked this post please be kind enough to share using the share buttons below.

Have a wonderful end to your week, I'll be back on Saturday for some more nail art fun!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Pokemon Go Go Go! Mew Nails

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you are having a fabulous week so far.

Not much to really tell you about here, things are slowly slipping back to the normal routine. I had a lovely bike ride in the sunshine yesterday after a very unproductive day (everything was just going wrong) and the fresh air felt wonderful. I actually went pretty far, further than I have before!

Guys... you know you can tell me anything, right? Have you tried Pokémon Go? Even a little bit?

It is HUGE here in Holland.. and well..the rest of the world it seems. I can actually pick out who is playing it. If your not tapping, or swiping you are probably on a pokexpiditon! I was a huge Pokemon kid back in the day. Gosh I feel old saying that. I remember when the original gameboy games came out, I'd spend hours sat in a tree in a field with my best friend swapping and playing Pokémon in the sun! You'd always have to hope that no one would notice the tv remote batteries are gone and that they would last through mighty gym battles, baha! I was a good kid..

Since its been so crazy-popular I decided it was only right to do some sort of Pokémon nail art.

I decided to paint Mew because I always thought he was so cute and cuddly looking. I also went for the Masterball because... well yeah. You need one to catch him :)

For this manicure I began with my favorite base coat of OPI's 'Nail Envy' (Although I may have been converted) and once dry applied two coats of Barry M's 'White'. I locked that down with my Pro-FX top coat. Next I used variations of purples and blues to create a water colour look. You can see my video on how to do that here. I then freehanded Mew and the pokéball using my favorite brushes and acrylic paints. I also added a ton of stars but they didn't show up too well..

I kinda wish I had gone much bolder with the background, I think Mew is a little washed out. I also had a ton of trouble with his eyes which I'm a bit 'meh' about... Still. Pokémon nails!

If you enjoyed this post please give it a very caring share using the buttons below.

I'll be back on Friday with some more nail art fun. Have yourself a super beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Sloth/Sloffee Cup Nail Art With Water Colour!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you have some exciting plans for this weekend? Let me know – I love to know what you are getting up to, my naily friendies!

I'm super excited as my sister is in Holland on her holiday so Mr Bravo's Sister-in-law has very kindly offered to drive up to where they are staying and to put us up for a night! I've never been to this area, I've never camped..and I get to see family, again! I am so curious to see how they like Holland :)

Today I have a manicure I wasn't too yay about. However the friends I did ask for advice about it said it was really sweet and that people might like it even if I don't so here it is. Sloffee time! Grab yourself a mug! 

For this manicure I began with my usual base of OPI's 'Nail Envy' (last bottle is getting dangerously low! :'( ) and once dry I applied my NYC's 'Williamsburg Vintage' – this was made before I went home and got to stock up on Barry M's! I then used a mixture of browns and golds to create a sort of coffee stained effect using the water method technique you know I love to use. I then freehanded Mz Sloth with my favorite brushes and acrylic paints.

I kinda wish this had turned out better.. but I'll let you guys be the judge. I am never happy when my writing is on my nails. I always think my writing looks sloppy but its not exactly the easiest thing to do! Maybe next time I'll try text decals!

If you liked this post please give it a good old share using the buttons below. I'd be super beaming if you could. :)

I hope you have a fantastic weekend, may the sunshine brightly and positive things come you way!

I'll catch you again on Monday for some more nail art fun!

Love,

Ithi

Freehand Crying Girl & Raven Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? Did you do anything awesome, do share with me? My weekend was alright so far, Yesterday morning was the birthday party of Mr Bravo and I's nephew who just turned 1. Such a cutie. Sadly I didn't do much the rest of the day. My eye has randomly decided to swell up. I really can not describe the feeling but it is relentless. There's just no relief from the pain. I really wanted to do some more freehand but I just couldn't....However..

Today I have some nail art...that I am really, really, proud of. Yes you heard me correctly, I am pleased with something! Haha. I was just having one of those 'down' days. I was not in a very positive mood (I'm ok – I get that sometimes. I just ride it out then I'm fine again) and then I created this... Maybe I need to make more sad nail art, baha.

I started this manicure as I always do, with OPI's 'Nail Envy' base coat and once dry I applied two coats of NYC's 'Williamsburg Vintage'. I added a lick of my Pro-FX top coat and proceeded with my acrylic paints. First of all I did a very simple water colour back ground. (You can see my tutorial video here) Everything else was created freehand with my favorite brushes. I played around with the finish, I sealed it all in with another layer of Pro-FX and then added Catrice's 'Matte & More' which gave it a really interesting pinky sheen.

Does your nail art ever reflect how you are feeling? What do you think of this manicure?

Have a beautiful day, I'll catch ya on Tuesday!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Grapevines And Water Colours

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you are having a lovely day so far. I've got a lovely cup of green tea and I'm about to go blog surfing. I love checking out everyone's blogs, I've been bad at keeping up lately but I really do enjoy it. I'm going to make more of that lovely 'me' time when I can sit and read.

Today I have a very sort of... Mediterranean looking manicure to share with you, it was actually inspired by this beautiful picture I found on Pinterest. If you are wondering how I created my background you can check out my tutorial here. Why does this take me a balcony with beautiful views, a gentle breeze and some good wine?! My nails are taking me on so many adventures lately.

For this manicure I began with two coats of Barry M's white and once day began to create my water colour looking base using two shades of light green acrylic paint. I then used my favorite brushes to create the leaves, vines and grapes. I added a couple light purple studs on the nails that didn't have greats and applied my Pro-Fx top coat. I finished off by adding a coat of Barry M's Matte base coat (I think I may be abusing my ability to mattify, lately..)

I loved the look of the original picture, I don't think mine looks anything like it but it was fun to do!

Have you had a fruity manicure before? What do you think of this manicure?

Have a wonderful day, don't get April-fooled! I'll catch you on Sunday.

Love

Ithi

Video Tutorial: Water Colour Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you all had a lovely weekend, do you feel refreshed and recuperated? Today's post is in a slightly different format to usual, you might have seen this already but I wanted to post it here too. I made a tutorial! My first ever 'real' video tutorial, actually. I don't think those short clips showing how shiny something looks on my nail counts as a nail art video.

I had a few requests for a tutorial on how I do my water colour nail art so I did it! My way of filming isn't the best but I hope the video is clear and descriptive enough for it to make sense. Of course if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me.

One lesson to learn: Stop doing things almost off of the screen, baha!

I really love using this technique, it was only this weekend I did a manicure using it again. I know there may be similar videos online but I hope maybe it gives another angle or explains something different in the way of doing it. Its what I do..and I like how it works for me! Thats why I always say what will work for one person may not work for another.

Its all trial and error but if you love nail art, that just means more time doing what you love and enjoy!

If anyone creates a manicure after being inspired by my video (I know its not the only one of its kind but it is my version, hehe) I'd love to see your results!

I hope you enjoyed, I'll be doing another tutorial again soon!

Have a lovely day,

Love

Ithi

Clear Jelly/Marshmallow Nail Stamper And Scraper Set - Born Pretty Store Review

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? What awesome things have you been getting up to this weekend?

Today I have a product to show you that seems to have so much hype surrounding it. The mighty clear jelly stamper. Now as you guys are well aware... Ithi don't stamp. I've tried many ways, many stampers, many scrapers..many a time. It was just something that didn't work out well for me (possibly due to lack of practice but I personally found my previous attempts just too frustrating)

Well.. Today I have the 'Clear/marshmallow silicone stamping set' from The Born Pretty Store to share with you... Am I impressed? You'll see.

Retro-Looking Water Colour Peace Doodles

Allo polish Pals,

You guys doing alright? I hope your week is going well. I'm behind on my commenting.. I seem to be reliving that cold/flu! What is going on with my immune system... I just can't seem to shake things off -  hope you are all in good health!

Today I have a really simple manicure, I feel like this is one of those real minimal effort ones..

Its a water colour background with white doodling on top but I feel like it has a really 70's 'hippy' vibe to it!

The doodles didn't look as neat as I had hoped, I was on borrowed time and I think my base was probably still a little too wet for the white paint doodles.

For this manicure I began with my Barry M's 'White' and once dry I then created some light pink, blue and purple shades with my acrylic paint and began to lay down a water colour background. Once that was dry I then took my white paint and created a freehand doodle, or something to that effect.

There's not that much else to really say about this manicure. Its not wonderful but I think it does have a kinda soft faded and hippy look to it!

What do you think of this manicure? Do you like doodle-art nails?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Delicate Pink Water Colour Flowers

Allo polish Pals,

How are you doing? Did you enjoy the first weekend of this new year? Tell me something exciting you did!
Yesterday I had my whole family over for Sunday roast and then we went for a nice long family walk in the countryside, I feel so much better for it!

Today I have a manicure I feel really hit and miss about. The more I look at it I don't know if I like it or not. It was inspired by this beautiful water colour picture I found on Pinterest. However... I really can not paint flowers so I think I'll make this a point of improvement for this year!

For this manicure I began with two coats of Barry M's 'White' and once dry used the water colour method to create my base. Next I painted in my flowers and sealed with Catrice's gel effect top coat. I also decided to try this with a matte top coat which I think personally looked better.

I dunno.. This had so much potential but yeah...

What do you think of this manicure? Yay or nay – you can be as honest as you like!

Have a lovely day!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Water Colour & Eye Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you guys doin'? Are you doing anything fun this weekend? Something is happening here tomorrow... I don't actually know too much (And I'm the kind of girl who needs to know everything!)... I dunno. I'm sure it will be fun :)  Sunday I am going to work on my 3rd Halloween manicure (I am doing Halloween nails even if I am not posting them all month long - I just can't! Don't make me! :'( ) 

Anyway, today I have a manicure I created while I was in England.

I wanted this to be super artsy, colourful and down right awesome! Check, check, ehmm..Not sure about the awesome part! If you havn't already please don't forget to share and enter my two giveaways, one for nail art items and another for a $15 Born Pretty Store voucher.

For this manicure I used only one nail polish, my beloved and irreplaceable (unless actually replaced by another bottle...which has happened many a time.) Barry M 'White' which is my favourite white base for nail art (two coats of good coverage and great price) The rest was created with acrylic paints and my bamboo brush. On my thumb and pinkie I added a water colour effect.

I do wish the eye was better, I love doodling eyes when I'm bored but painting across a few a nails was harder then I expected. I should have rounded off the bottom of the eye as it looks too straight - or goes upwards at the sides of the nail which doesn't create the rounded shape I wanted, and perhaps over two nails would have been enough.

Ah well, apparently art is... art. There's no right or wrong because it's the artists perception or whatever, basically when something sucks to high levels I play the art card and act like it was supposed to look that way... Wink wink.

What do you think of this manicure? Have you tried a water colour mani before?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Citrus Splash - Freehand + Water Colour Nails

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope your having an awesome day :) Today I have a manicure that will certainly brighten us and all our screens up, I hope! I decided to create a vibrant and happy citrus manicure. I love lemons, every morning when I wake up I drink lemon water, it's always a great start to the day and it is said to have many health benefits!

For this manicure I started with two coats of Rimmel's 'Hot White Love' and once dried applied OPI's matte top coat. I then used cotton buds to dab on my yellow and green Oumaxi paint and a wet cotton bud to dab off excess paint for a water colour effect. I then used my favorite bamboo brush to create slices of lemon and limes on my nails. I partially outlined the fruit and finished with a smothering of Catrice's top coat.

I am actually 'ok' with this manicure, I think it is great for the summer weather and it really is quite eye catching! Sure it's not perfect but it was fun to wear!

What do you think of my zesty tips? Have you ever done fruit inspired nail art?

Have a great day

Love

Ithi

Whimsical Water Colour

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Are you ready for the weekend? What fun things do you have planned? I'm looking forward to my phone call night – Fridays are my weekly catch up night with my sister which is always nice. I think I'll be having a swatchy-kind of weekend too so I have plenty of posts to share with you once I am in England! Today I have a water colour manicure to show you. I was actually inspired by HGNailDesign so please be sure to check out her blog, she has a wonderful tutorial for 'Bokeh' nail art. This was my first time using watered down acrylics and I really loved the out come!

On all my nails I began with two coats of Barry M's 'Pearl' (My favourite white with a silk finish)

Once this was dry I began to dab on some very watery acrylic paint with a cotton bud. I then used a wet cotton bud to go back over the colour which left a very pretty whimsical coloured pattern. I then decided I need more! More, more, more! I added a half border to my nails with black and added some dots and alternated with purple and aqua gems. I finished it all off with a top coat.

What do you think of this manicure? Have you tried the water colour technique before?

Have a fantastic weekend, my friends!

Love

Ithi