How to: leopard nails

This is a quick and easy tutorial to make your own leopard print nails without using konad or any other stamps. I've worn this quite a few times now, any colour combination is possible and if you mess up, no one will notice.

What you need: 2 colors of polish (preferably a lighter and a darker one) and a nail art pen (or a brush and a black or dark brown polish)

Step one: You first want to apply a base coat and one or two coats of polish of your choice. I'm wearing 2 coats of Catrice's London Weather Forecast. It's best to already clean up at this stage because black polish (used for the print) has a higher possibility of smudging.

Step two: Pick any other colour you like, preferably a lighter one. I picked Eyeko's Rain polish because it's a blue tone like London's Weather Forecast. I think it looks the best this way, a dark colour with a similar lighter colour for the spots. But that's just personal preference, choose whatever you think looks good. Now get a fine brush, this can be a nail art brush or just a cheap one from the art store. Don't spend a ton of money on brushes for nail art, you'll ruin them anyway. Dip it in the polish and paint small dots on your nails.

Step three: When this is completely dry, take your nail art pen or nail art brush (and a black or dark brown polish) and draw in the leopard print. I used Essence nail art pen in 02 cool black. I think it's easy to google a random leopard print and use it as a guideline. It's totally fine to mess up the first few times, it takes some practice. No one is going to tell if you mess up anyway, it's a messy print to begin with ;).

Step four: Apply a topcoat, and you're done! It's really important to let it completely dry before putting on a top coat. If you don't, the black will smudge and ruin your manicure. I always just paint one nail in leopard print. I think it looks too busy and too tacky when I do all of my nails. That's just what I think what looks good on me, if you want to do all of your nails, that's fine by me!

Hope this was interesting!
xo Michelle

How to: half moon manicure

My nails are so short! I broke one off at work on Saturday, so I decided to shorten them all instead of having one sad little nail. That's why the skin around my nails is so dry at the moment I think. Yuk.
Anyway, I wanted to try something different. For a first time, I think it looks alright. You'll need 2 nail lacquers, a top coat and some reinforcement labels. And probably a base coat, I really need to buy one, haha. This is how I did a half moon manicure:

1. Apply (a base coat and) your first colour. This colour is going to be the half moon. I used Gosh Silk. Then apply a topcoat. The traditional 40's half moon mani has a 'nude' half moon, so I used a transparent one. You can use any colour you want, but I suggest using a lighter colour, the top colour has to be opaque enough to cover the rest of the nail. Wait for it to be completely dry.


2. Apply the reinforcement labels on the bottom of your nail, like I did in the picture. Press it down as firmly as possible, any gaps will cause the polish running underneath. I used plastic labels, but I think paper ones will work better.


3. Then apply 1 coat of your second colour, preferably a darker one. Wait for it to be completely dry again, then remove the labels. I was a little impatient and removed them too early. It will be a bit messy, but it's still fixable. I used Eyeko Rain polish.


4. Once the labels are successfully removed, clean up any mess you may have caused (guilty!). Apply a topcoat, and voila, your half moon mani is done!

xo meow
Michelle