the nail art update: overload

Well well well.. it's been a few weeks since I wrote the weekly nail art update I enjoy doing so much. I do apologise for my recent absence but I have valid excuses. I am leaving London this weekend and so have been saying my goodbyes to my favourite parts of this lovely city and ticking things off my London Bucket List ready to leave. As well as this I have been tackling mice and partying hard - as you do.

While I have been away I have had a few different nail designs. One good, one average, one I don't like anymore! In my attempt at the July Californails Nail Art Challenge 39037th month in a row I failed and managed 2! But I guess God loves a trier right?

So given that I haven't much of a tutorial like I planned, I am going to keep this post nice and visual...

I'm a lover not a hater (well..) .. but I think I might hate this design. I thought it was super cute and simple at first but my opinion on it slowly declined. It was part of the nail art challenge and I did it whilst watching American Dad in the dark! - so good effort but I think it could have been much much better!

Going for gold is one thing intend to do in life, and I LOVE my gold nail polishes (I have a few glitter and just plain shiny like this one). This design I really like and can see myself doing again and again in variations and different colours, all I used was two sizes of a dotting tool and two shades of gold/cream polish. And tah dah! Easy peasy!

Slurple the Purple... Hehe couldn't think of anything purple related!... This is a new design for me and a good first attempt - I did rush with my top coat as it was so late and I was tired! But my advice  with doing dark colours on top of light is WAIT UNTIL ITS TOTALLY DRY. Honestly, you will regret it if you rush it and ruin your design! Generally though I enjoyed doing these nails, the inverted moon is new for me and I am getting a good feel for negative space now :)

I am dying to get thinner nail art brushes as well and have them on my wishlist for after my trip to Thailand! Where I will be backpacking for a month finding fun beauty ideas and Thai tricks to put on here in dingy internet cafes! So keep your eyes peeled for those posts in August! x

scrub up well

I have got some many ideas for posts that I've actually had trouble choosing what to write up today! And this is just for beauty.. i do need inspiration for my nails however (Do not despair i will have a lovely tutorial up for you all tomorrow).

For now I want to show off my facial skin-care routine, including all the stages that I (now) do.. that's cleanse, tone, exfoliate, moisturise. The most important part of skin-care is finding products that suit your skin - condition and sensitivity. 

I have determined that my skin is mixed, I get oily around my t-zone (see below for a cheeky diagram on what this is) but dry and itchy around my jaw line and eyes. If you have mixed skin you can use the same products that I do - these products can apply to other skin types though so I will explain the qualities of each one and what makes them brill for your skin.

cleansing

Simple Kind to Skin Purifying Cleansing Lotion, £2.99

This lotion is really good for sensitive skin, it's not harsh but still gets rid of all your make up. It works really well as an eye make-up remover as well (god knows I need that). Reading the back it seems to have a lot of vitamins and good ingredients for your skin especially good is Vitamin E. If you can get anything with vitamin E in it then it's good, you need as much of that stuff as you can get. It makes the appearance of scars and marks on your skin better and smoothes it out (I know this because my auntie who is a masseuse recommended it when I got some stretch-marks a few years ago). I use this in the evening and morning as well, to get rid of over night dirt - I use it right before I apply my make up as it also moisturises the skin lightly so you don't have to wait until you can apply make up (this you would have to do with normal moisturiser to avoid slippy foundation).

toning

B. by Superdrug B. Pure Micellar Water, £4.99

I never understood what toning is, to me it sounds like a quick fix to great abs in a bottle (I WISH), but it unfortunately isn't. We tone our skin to get rid of any left over make up, dirt and dead skin cells. Sounds harsh right? Well actually it isn't too bad, I don't tone everyday as I find it irritates my skin and I end up moisturising a lot to compensate. But this Micellar Water is really good as it's quite gentle so I use it 3-4 times a week to keep my skin supple and firm. It's actually a 3 in 1 formula, so it is a cleanser, toner and refresher - which is great! I know it's doing it's job and there is no need to rinse it off. I would suggest using this daily if your skin is tougher than mine (or normal) just don't get it in your eyes! 

exfoliating

Freederm Exfoliating Daily Wash, £5.19

I didn't ever bother exfoliating regularly until recently, my skin has been breaking out left right and centre and i had enough, so I went straight to the Freederm section, and I am so glad I did.

This product is meant for spot prone skin so you know it's going to do you some good, it combats blackheads and works quickly. I started using it daily and my spots started to clear up and blackheads appeared .. well.. less black! within a week. I use this in the evening after I've cleaned all my make-up off. There is a sensitive one available which I didn't realise, but I would say if you have mixed skin this one will work just fine as it's not irritating unless you over scrub. I did over-exfoliate (something I didn't think was possible) and mustn't have moisturised properly so I ended up with really dry skin around my nostrils, make up really irritated it so be careful!

moisturising

Nivea Express Hydration Body Lotion for Normal Skin, £3.59

I swear by Nivea for moisturising, I also have the in shower moisturiser which is lush!, I normally would get Nivea Soft but have recently been using this and it does the job just fine... until I go grab my next batch of Nivea Soft. I love this one because it absorbs really fast so I don't have sticky skin when I go to bed, which is when I do most of my routine. I tend to cleanse as soon as I get in from work and then leave everything else till I am getting ready for bed. I've always moisturised and everyone should, it's so important especially if you have dry patches of skin. You can also get good mattifying moisturisers that are made for oilier skin (so if you do have oily skin there is no excuse!)

extra caring

Detoxifying Face Mask with Dead Sea Mud from Superdrug, £2.59

I love a good face mask every now and then, when I have a couple of hours to really pamper myself. And what better way to do than with a little dead sea mud? This mask is really nice and my skin feels so soft after I use it, I even think my blackheads look better. I would recommend this if you do get bad blackheads. If you aren't a mask kinda person, you don't need to go whole hog, just put it on your worse areas (or t-zone) while you are in the shower and wash off within 5 minutes - easy peasy.

N.B. Drink as much water as possible, it's so good for your skin I can't explain! I try and drink a large bottle  (don't ask me how many litres it is) a day through the week and I treat myself on the weekend and evenings to juice and iced tea hehe!

Have fun cleansing ladies!

xxxxxx

@pawsandclaws101 for insta

@pawsnclaws101 for twita

the positive in seeing the negative

You, my lovely followers and friends have been missing out. Yes indeed, I speak the truth. you have been missing out on some of my nail art lately - unless you follow my instagram/twitter - as I little miss naughty nail blogger haven't been uploading all my nail art to my blog.

In this case I have decided to show you not one, but TWO lots of nail art I have done (one you have seen in technique before, but not in colour) and the other is fresh as a daisy just for you.

Firstly I wanted to show you the nail art I entered into the @glittr Instagram competition with a black and white theme... I obviously didn't win (sniffles) or you would have heard my excitement from miles away (wherever you may be). Here I showed you one of my favourite techniques in a a design I hadn't tried before and ended up LOVING so much I want to do it in different colours everyday, however I am too much of an experimenter to do that. I used my Blackout and Winter Baby Color Show polishes by Maybelline for this design and if you look at my previous post there is a quick how to that explains how EASY it is to achieve this design.

The next is a design inspired by designs by @naildecor on instagram. I love the negative space trend that has been circulating lately, it's so funky and fresh (yes I can say fresh). I have tried it a couple of times here  for Valentine's day and here for my denim inspired design. I think I am getting the hang of it and my new brushes definitley help, so if you are going to try negative space here are my tips:

1. Use brushes! - To paint and to clean up and to neaten up

2. Try cotton buds/pads to create your negative space - Using cotton buds to rub out the area you want is tricky so try wrapping a varnish remover soaked cotton pad around the end of a dotting tool/brush (or anything long and thin).

3. Experiment where possible - whether you own a nail wheel or just use one clean nail to try different designs over and over as this is the best way to get used to being patient and steady handed (this rule applies to most if not all detailed designs!)

I used a random blue polish with no label that I got on a knock off market on Brick Lane (haha!) and my Andrea Fulerton White Polish that came in a glitter kit of hers, I topped it off with my new Rimmel Matte Finish Top Coat.

Let me know what you think lovelies xx

@pawsnclaws101 to tweet me
@pawsandclaws101 to instagram me

giving in to the gradient

So I promised all my insta-followers I would pop up a tutorial of the latest marbling I've done.

This is probably my favourite design (however it's not in my favourite colours) and I am going to do a black/white version tonight (for a little competition) that I'll post up tomorrow for you all to see. Either way everyone that has seen them has asked 'How did you do that?' 

And when I say 'With a tool, its actually much easier than it looks' - They do not believe me! 

So a quick tutorial to show how easy it is is just want we need. I'd love to do a video but I can't video myself! - however much a tried holding the camera with my chin/propping it up on my dvds/getting my teddy to hold it - I failed everytime.

Hopefully though this step by step will still help and you can have a go yourself and instagram/tweet me the results because I would love to see if it really is as easy I think!

what you need:  

a small dotting tool/needle if you don't have tools

two shades of polish you think work perfectly together - 

I chose Cheeky's Minted and Purpl-exed shades (these are currently available on the website at £7.00 each, just click the names to get to wear you want to go)

step one

 Apply - to a primped and prepped nail with a shiny base coat - your first polish to the bottom half of the nail like below, (don't worry if it isn't neat or straight or over half way for that matter).

step two

Apply your second polish to the top of the nail - making sure as much of the nail is covered as possible, like below:

step three

Now, quickly before it dries, swirl the tool/needle through the nail polish. Working from one colour to another in circle motions creating the below:

Now if you aren't happy with your design you can always redo it, like I did...

Once happy with your design you can carry on with the rest of the nails and then give yourself a shiny or matte top coat and you can end up with something like the below:

You can use this design as a feature nail or use three colours to make things more interesting!

Have fun lovelies x

@pawsandclaws101 for instagramming

@pawsnclaws101 for tweeting

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

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.