voulez-vous

so tonsillitis has struck again, that is why I've not been able to post again this week :'(

I have many many lovely ideas for posts but one thing after the other means you will have to wait. I am going home this week and to a friends for a few days. I'm hoping to do some posts there so you can see what I think of my their beauty hoarding, as I know my mother's compares to mine in no way at all, it will be very specific and fun to see where I get my beauty tips from. 

I just wanted to let you all know this and show you my classic french manicure :) I used the urcheeky crush on you matte nail polish over the top of my Andrea Fulerton white polish tips, that I did freehand (practice makes perfect but a tip for this is use a slanted straight brush to neaten up the line).

xxxxxxxxxxxxx BAHBYE xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

daisy matte mani tutorial

This post is to quickly show how you can do a twist on the classic French manicure with some cite white daisies.

Your toolkit needs to consist of..

Your favourite strengthening base coat - mine is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish

Your best white polish - mine is currently my Andrea Fullerton White polish

A pretty pink polish - I picked my Nails Inca Gel Effect in Mayfair Lane
The ideal polish for seeds - I used my Max Factor

A small brush

Smallest dotting tool or needle

Start by giving your self a lovely base coat to keep your nails strong (if you apply nail polish often or always keep your talons painted like me then you should apply a strengthen and protecting base coat before applying your next colour or design. Try Sally Hansen Diamond Strength, I've found my nails to be really brittle in the past but now that I use this base coat they are long and tough!).

Once your base coat is dry use your small brush (if you don't have nail brushes use a lipstick or eye shadow brush like the one below) to paint your white petals. Don't worry if you need to do two coats to get them perfect your top coat with smooth out any lumps and bumps.

Once your petals are just the way you want them and the polish is dry, you can start to add some texture. Do this by using your brush again to pat some pink polish over the white lightly. You can also do this with yellow or purple (the first time I did this mani I used yellow and it looked a little like eggs, don't worry if you don't like how they look at this stage the dots will make them perfect!) Then use the dotting tool to create the dots in the centre of your flower, big and small, whatever size or shape, it doesn't matter it all works when it comes to flowers!

Then once your daisies are totally dry you can apply a matte top coat to finish them off and keep them perfect. And you should get something like the below:

Good luck ladies xxxx

Remember my insta and twitter tag has changed to @curiousitybty! :D

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

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