Experimental Jungle Nails (Rush Job!)

If you read my post on Dior's new Golden Jungle collection over the weekend (if you didn't find it here), you will know that it's probably one of the most exciting new lines due out for A/W 2012,  featuring earthy greens, leopard print and crocodile effect alongside nudes and rich browns. One of my favourite things from the collection is undoubtedly the Golden Jungle Nail Art Duo in Crocodile Leather Effect. The combo features a golden base coat along with a khaki top coat, which, similarly to crackle polishes, dries to create the croc leather effect.

Well, last night, I found myself with chipped nails and no nail varnish remover, so I decided to do a quick patch-up job until I could get my hands on some today.

I slapped on a couple of coats of this Gold Miss Sporty polish, and then I painted on a thin layer of Up Colours Green Chrome Crackle polish, and this is the effect I got. As you can see, due to the layers of polish already underneath and the fact that my nails were badly in need of a shape and a file, the end result is not even a tiny patch on Dior's offering, but the look is not a million miles away and captures the luxurious urban jungle colour scheme that is going to be all over the place next season.

I just did this as a quick experiment really, to see how it would turn out, as I had never actually used my green crackle polish and was excited to try out the colour combo! I think that if I actually started from scratch and shaped my nails nicely, painting them carefully and finishing them off with a clear top coat to even out the surface a bit then this could actually look reasonably good (admittedly, as it is it looks a bit crap!), but I think I am definitely still going to find my debit card 'accidentally' making it's way into the chip and pin device at my nearest Dior counter before long!

If you pop on over to my Golden Jungle post (linked above) then you will see exactly what I mean - there is absolutely no contest!

What's on your nails today? Do you like the idea of the Golden Jungle colour scheme?

xx

NOTW: Ombre Effect

Please excuse the state of my nails in general, I have been sporting this look for about a week now and have only now got round to taking some pictures for you!

I had been wanting to ombre my nails, but my first attempt a few weeks ago was far from successful, and very messy! But, not one to be deterred, I decided to give it another go, and this was the result.

First, I painted all my nails with two layers of Colorama's Pop Art Yellow and waited for it to dry completely.

I then took a plastic folder (just one of those cheap flimsy ones you put in ring binders) and painted on a generous line of each of the three colours I was using, from lightest to darkest (I chose Miss Sporty 326, which is a gorgeous bright coral, and 302, a pretty hot pink) . I used a small piece of sponge to soak up the polish and moved it up and down a little bit while doing so in order to blend the colours.

Then, I just pressed the sponge onto each of my nails, making sure to cover the whole surface, waited for it to dry and repeated the step a couple more times to achieve my desired result.

A couple of words of warning if you've never tried this before: 1) It is reeeally messy! Make sure you've got plenty of nail varnish/polish remover at hand before you start, as you do not want to run out and find yourself with rainbow hands you can't get rid of! And 2) The sponging means that the texture of your polish ends up being quite rough and bumpy, so you will need a couple of layers of a good clear topcoat to smooth things out and protect your artwork - I don't know about you, but after spending such a long time doing my nails and cleaning them up, I want them to last, even being someone who gets bored with my nail colours so easily!

I love this look for the summer, and love that you can mix it up with loads of different colour schemes. Next time I'm going to try some pastels and some pretty greens.

What's on your nails at the moment?

Have you ever tried to ombre yours?

xx

NOTD: Crackle Effect

Bonjour, beautiful people. A little NOTD post for you today!

This week, I decided it was about time I got my hands on one of the 'crackle effect' nail polishes I have been hearing so much about of late, and see what all the fuss was about.

Until about a year ago, I was absolutely horrific at doing anything with my nails, and it would take me so long to do them that once they were finished, I would leave them for a good couple of weeks, avoiding having to do them all over again for as long as possible. So you can imagine that my nails would not be looking in the best state by the time I finally cracked (excuse the pun) and gave them another go.

These days, I am quite the opposite, and I love painting my nails and changing my look a few times a week, although I must admit, I am far from perfect at doing them and still find it a bit fiddly (I did this look in a bit of a rush, and I took the pictures before I had cleaned around the edges, so please excuse that!).

Anyway, the polishes I used to complete this look were: Miss Sporty Quick-dry polishes in 346 (a deep turquoise), 330 (a mint green) and 312 ( a beautiful shimmery gold), along with Risque's Crackle Polish in black.

First, I painted all but my ring fingers with two layers of the deep turquoise, before deciding that I would like a lighter base, which is when I painted a layer of the mint green on top. On the ring fingers, I did two layers of the gold, which is pretty opaque, as gold polishes go.

When all the colours were dry, I then painted a thin layer of the crackle polish over the top and waited for them to dry.

I've got to say, I am so impressed with this crackle polish and I really love the effect it has produced on my nails! Having seen pictures of nail looks done with crackles before, I was sure there must be some sort of catch, because it looked so arty and I just couldn't believe it could be as easy as just painting it on and waiting! But it is, and it's brilliant. I will be rocking this look for weeks to come, with various different shades underneath, and I'm also hoping to get my hands on some other crackle colours.

Next week, I'm going to try it with a lovely pastel lilac, and a lemon yellow on the ring fingers. :)

A little tip for you, if you want to give the crackle polishes a go: You only need a very thin layer! You might also want to put a layer or two of clear base coat over the top to seal the look and give your nails a shine, as the crackle polishes themselves usually tend to have a matte finish.

Hope everyone is having a splendid weekend!

xx