the slump is over

Yes, you heard right, I'm back. Three days away crying in assignment hell. Mostly from tears of utter hysterics thanks to my Irish assignment buddy shouting PENIS down my ear.. but they were tears none the less.

But it's over.. yayyyyy. And I realised I haven't told you all about my new favourite film.. The Wolf of Wall Street. The Leo Di Caprio spectacular expression of sex, money and drugs. Sounds like fun, looks like fun...

So here is a quick inspired nail art in tribute of my new love.

All it took was my amazing Winter Baby White and Blackout Black Maybelline Color Show polishes and my new foils I got for 1.99 on Ebay the other day! Plus a top coat of my favourite investment of the week my Sally Hensen Insta-Dry Top Coat.. I'm in love again ;) Get yourself a couple of thin brushes and way you go. Easy as pie. I wanted to show you some Great Gatsby inspired nail art I did when that came out but weirdly I can't find the picture anywhere.. So next time I have a couple of hours on my hands I'll have to give them another go.

Bye bye Leo lovers.

Abigail xxx

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paisley princess

When I was about 13 years old, my mum kept up her time old tradition of the Pyjama Christmas present - given on Christmas Eve it is a gift that I have gotten and given for as long as I can remember - But this one particular Christmas my mother gave me the best pj's I ever got! Pink Paisley.. need I say more?

This was when I realised my adoration for the intricate and ever so vintage look that paisley patterns give. Granted, the paisley shirt only your Grandad buys in a second hand charity shop and wears when he decides he is 'Super hip and trendy' like the wonderful yet unfortunate David Tennant, is not a good example...

It is a pattern I can pretty much love ANYWHERE :)

So it is only natural that over time I have done many paisley designs when it comes down to my nail art, testing different styles, shapes and colours to see which I like best...

Some where ugly as, some where Saved By The Bell inspired, some where simple and some where favourties.

Today I have done some inspired nail art based on the current paisley I have picked out for my new and very different laptop background - I have gone from pink and fluffy to monochrome and sharp. All it took was Maybelline's Colour Show in Blackout with a matte top coat from George Asda Matte Manicure range in clear and a White Pearl Rio Professional Nail Care pen :) So here it is... Inspiration to final design ...

Instagram me your paisley @pawsandclaws101

Or tweet me :) @pawsnclaws101

Abigail xxx

the magic of a white base

When doing intricate or simple nail art, a white base is the easiest and most attractive option .. undoubtably.
I tend to resort to my trusty white and must have gone through 10 bottles of it this year! Especially over Christmas...
So, seeing as the colour white is the right one for me, it's best to get a really good quality brand. That does not mean go for the most expensive.. never do that. This year, I found the easiest way was to try as many as I could! It's the way I found my favourite white and black and clear top coat.. Practice makes perfect in this business.

Ergo this is a tried and tested post.. I have picked out all my old whites and gotten enough out to test one nail from each bottle. Just to show you lovely people which is the best and why you should buy it.. It saves you the journey of using them all :)

Low cost, low quality?

NOT SO BEST: Primark: Angelica Nail Colour in Snow White £1.00

I don't mean to be harsh but I like a nail polish that doesn't crust in the bottle over a matter of months.. I have had this colour for as long as some of my other polishes and it is the only one that has managed to completely seal over. So I am unable to do a quick test now.. HOWEVER.. Once upon a time (4 months ago) This was a decent nail polish. It went on nicely and came off nicely as far as I remember.. But unfortunately.. It doesn't match up to the next nail polish I had for a single pound!

BEST: George, Asda: Manicure in Natural White £1.00

'When money is tight - nip to trusty Asda.' Mum's motto must be something along those lines. It's actually true, as a student I've discovered amazing cheap tights and a dish cleaner that works miracles. So when I had little to no money over Christmas and was in desperate need of a white, I jumped in the car with mum and grabbed one of these nail polishes.

Even though the bottle is so unbelievably tiny the result wasn't too bad.. The colour is nice however it does come out a little runny meaning two generous coats and a bit of clean up. Then, I would say that about most white nail polishes. So for the price I would definitely recommend this one over the Primark polish.

Go on.. Just spend a little more.

IT AINT NO.1 BUT: Miss Sporty: Et Voila Tip Whitener, Extra White Effect Manicure £1.99

Now you must be asking yourself, why is she using a tip whitener as a nail polish?!, and the answer is that the only difference is the name.. and in this case the slanted brush.
Bought in a time of desperate need - It is a low priced polish but it is such a good quality there is a reason it isn't priced at a pound like the loved George Manicure varnish. When I first bought it months and months and months ago it was silky and you only needed one coat of it. Unfortunately it didn't last very long - not due to the fact I do my nails 3/4 times a week - but due to it living up to it's cheap stereotype. That is why I rated it lower than the best white polish I've ever had. Now a gloopy mess - it comes at number 2 in my rankings.

NUMERO UNO: Maybelline, Color Show by Colorama in Winter Baby £3.99

In this particular case, spending more is better, however this is not the most expensive white nail polish and it doesn't need to be.
Silky and light, this nail polish is my favourite of them all. The only downside is having to use two coats (but like I said, this is the case with most white polishes). It gives the best results and lasts a long time. There really isn't much more to be said other than I bought it in Boots along with another one and a black in the 3 for 2 offer (so get yourself down there is what I'm saying ;) )

I hope you like the designs I put up to show how well a white base works, and why it is soooo important to have a decent white polish in your bag of tricks.

Happy white polish hunting, I hope I have narrowed the field for you! :)


Abigail xxx

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flower power

simple but no so easy.. see what you can do and instagram me the results  @pawsandclaws101

treating myself

Decided the other day to scourer Ebay for some well needed supplies and today they all arrived!

So happy; I got all new brushes and a dotter as well as some replacement Rio Professional 2 way pens (my favourites) and some foils (which seem to be the new craze in nail art so will be giving them a go this weekend)!

I do love to treat myself, especially to these brushes as I've wanted them for ages! I was getting desperate...

Abigail xxx

im rubbing off on someone...

As an art student I have so missed being creative in my day to day work.. doing a business degree isn't exactly working my creative muscles ;) ... So I refered to nail art.

Over the past few years I have forced every single friend and housemate of mine that nail polish is gods gift to woman kind and most take it in.. even though some would like to through my bag of nail treats at my head I'd like to think I influence the lovely ladies in my life that painting your nails is fun and relaxing.

So as you can imagine, I was so so so so over the moon today when I was tagged in the lovely Bobbie b's instagram after she tried my marbling tutorial out! It's gorgeous Bobbie, well done.

I am loving the fact I am rubbing off on someone.. whether that is a good thing is up to you haha.

Instagram me if you have a go, because I love to see what people can do. You never know you could be better than me! :) @pawsandclaws101

lace & frills tutorial

So.. I missed out on posting yesterday and I feel terrible! I was doing so well.. so to make up for it here is a tutorial...

Todays tutorial is my simple lace design...

This design is so easy to do.. all you need is below:

• 3 colours of nail polish (preferably one colour for the base and two shades of one colour for the detail) 
• a dotting tool/needle
• base/top coat
• a steady hand

For my 3 colours I chose GOSH polish in High school flirt, Max Factor Gloss Finity in lilac lace and B. polish in Mulberry.

Step 1: Apply generous coat of base colour. 

Step 2: Using the large dotting tool add a cloud of your second colour to the tip of the nail. 

Step 3: Using a very small dotting tool/needle dot two lines of small dots along the edge of the cloud in the third colour you have chosen. 

Step 4: Add medium dots of the base coat to the cloud at the tip of your nail to create a 'holey effect'

Step 5: Using a the small dotting too again, in the third colour, dot and drag to create teardrops at the edges of your design.

Step 6: Top coat and breathe ..

Tah dah!

Let me know if you have a go at it @pawsandclaws101
Check out my instagram for more designs and other fun bits and bobs :)

Abigail xxx

Inspired design of the week.

In that past few years I have experimented with all kinds of designs and i love to use my imagination. Inspiration is key to imagination.. I have to be inspired by something to create a design. So each week I am going to post a design that I have done and the thing that inspired me to see how you can get amazing designs from anywhere.

This week I have chosen my distressed denim design...

I love blue nail varnish, in fact blue is my favourite colour. So I am always looking for new blue designs I can do.. This one is a variation of a nail design I saw (that unfortunately I cannot find now) and some distressed jeans I was wearing on the day. The design is torn, distressed and simple yet different. It is very different to my normal designs and I hadn't done exposed nail before this design either. 

For tutorials - just ask!

Hope you like!

Abigail x

Marble marvel

My obsession with marbling is becoming obvious..

This design shows all the different techniques you can use to give your nails some flair.

The art of dotting.

When I first discovered my love of nail art, I was obsessed with the amazing Ebay buys you can get to improve your tool set. I discovered brushes, foils, 3D Fimo sticks and my favourite, dotting tools.

A great example here.

At 99p I couldn't say no, and I am so glad I didn't. I use them all the time as dotting is an easy way to jazz up a design and give it a more intricate look. Here are some designs I have done in the past few years with my favourite nail art tool.

The floral look - done completely by using tools to create a simple design.

The rainbow - using the colours of the rainbow to create a dotting illusion effect

The retro wallpaper - simple striping and dotting to give you an instant sixties look

The gradient - going from one colour to another with a spotty effect.

The tutti - frutti effect - simple marbling technique (a quick how to in yesterdays post) with added dotting.

I hope you like my designs and are inspired to try them yourself. And if you aren't sure how I did them.. just ask and I will post a quick and easy how to.

Check out more designs on my instagram:
http://instagram.com/abigaiilll1

Marble Tutorial

Step by step guide to a really easy way to marble.. no water.. no mess.

What you will need:

• A small dotting tool/A needle
• Clear base and top coat
• Two colours of nail polish

1. Apply a light base coat to a clean & filed nail, then apply a generous coat of either colour of polish.

2. Quickly dip the needle/dotting tool end into the other colour of polish and dab into the centre of the nail while the first colour is still wet. Start to swirl the needle/dotting tool around making a pattern like below:

3. Complete the design by making as many swirls as you like. Then allow to dry and clean around the nail. finally apply a shiny top coat and you have your finished design.

And tah dah!

You have gorgeous nails. Good luck :)

TIP: Be as quick as possible but make sure your hand stays steady.

Check out my instagram for more designs:
http://instagram.com/abigaiilll1

Start date

This is the first ever post on my new nail blog. I have been posting my nail art on Instagram for a while now through my personal profile but would love to see if people really like the art I do. So here I go ...

This is some marble nail art I did yesterday.. I am going to post a tutorial later so you can do it yourself.