Ombre Nails!

There are whisperings in the fashion world that Ombre is out, yet increasingly it's been boldly making it's way back into our lives and what I'm loving at the moment is Ombre nails! They are super stylish, incredibly easy to do and actually don't take a lot of time! Perfect for a quick fix!

First off, make sure you have all of your tools, you don't want to be getting up half way through and having to rummage for the rest of your tools! you might ruin your nails!
You will need:

• The nail polishes in the colours you want to use. You can almost literally use any colours, it's a great chance to experiment and have fun!
• A good top coat! This will smooth out the nails and make sure it lasts longer and stays perfect!
• Toothpicks. Great little mixers.
• Something plastic. preferably a plastic sleeve of some sorts that won't make the polish dry out and won't absorb it.

Step 1: Choose your lightest colour and paint all of your nails as normal. wait for this to dry as much as possible for a good base coat.

Step 2: Using the plastic, paint the polish straight onto the plastic so the colours touch, make sure you use plenty so there is no gap.

Step 3: Take a tooth pick and mix the colours together in the middle (use a swirling motion so there isn't just one straight line, it gives it more of a gradient look).

Step 4: Using a sponge (I use a makeup sponge but you can use an ordinary sponge to) dab it in the polish and start pressing it onto the nail. You can do this as many times as you like to create layers but make sure it's dry in between applications!

Step 4: Once you're happy and everything is dry, add a top coat or two for protection, clean up the edges and you're ready to go!

Hopefully this will help you! The pictures aren't great because I did it late at night with a friend and this was my first ever attempt but i'm really pleased with the outcome and I will definitely be doing this again! Perfect for a night out!

The picture is a bit blurry and I haven't cleaned up the edges but here's some experimentation I did with colours! Very easy and very fun!

k.

Nail Foils

Nail Painting and decorating is something that women have been doing for hundred's of years and yet there is always a new trend around the corner, French manicure's, Heart tips, alternate colours, jewels and now nail foils have caught my eye although they are far from being new! I first noticed nail foils when I worked for Claire's Accessories, they were rather basic and un-imagenitive and also quite pricey, around £7. We never seemed to sell a whole lot of them, but why would you buy them when you could buy an amazing coloured nail varnish that was sparkly or magnetic and half the price?
No, when I first found the nail foil I wasn't particularly impressed, however recently I have been noticing them everywhere in all sorts of patterns and colours. Anything you can think of really and they're far from boring! I know there are lots of different types of nail foils about but these ones are really simple easy and work so well!
Having a general search on the internet I found these fabulous leopard print foils for 99p on Ebay and they arrived less than a week later. I was very spoilt for choice as there were thousands to chose from!They are easy on your pockets, quick to apply and leave you with amazing and trendy nails in a flash!
And I will show you how!

Step 1: Make sure your hands and nails are oil free and clean! Don't put any moisturizer or creams on your hands and then (even if you don't have nail varnish on, which you shouldn't to apply the foils) Rub nail varnish remover over the nail to make sure it is smooth and clear.

Step 2: Chose which foil best fits the nail your doing and cut it out of the pack! My nails are awkwardly thin and small so I have to cut into the foil a bit more to get the right fit, but they do provide you will good sizes!

Step 3: Put the foil in the nail and make sure everything fits and aligns, you have to be careful but with these foils you can keep removing them (peeling them back gently) and reapplying them if you need to cut them down to size anymore.

Step 4: When your happy with the shape and size, smooth down the foil making sure there are no creases or air bubbles! you will be left with a long bit of excess at the top (unless you have already trimmed it).

Step 5: Trim that top excess bit, leaving a small ledge to tuck under the nail and then file the top to create a smooth perfect line! And wa-la! funky, stylish nails quickly!

If you are worried about them peeling or chipping you can seal them to make them last a bit longer with a clear nail varnish, that's the only downside to them they can be damaged quite quickly! I use Sally Hansens Hard as Nails, because it also protects your nails!
At the moment i'm a little bit obsessed with painting my ring finger on both hands a complementary colour, as you can see, It's a new trend that has come in and I love it, it's just something quirky, fun and draws attentions to your nails!
So there you go! cheap, effective and easy, something were all looking for so definitely try these cool nail foils!


And I have even found you some good places to get your own!

Amazon has a wide range of reasonably priced, stylish nail foils starting at £1.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=me%3DANFYV56DHPFBH&field-keywords=nail+foils

This site has a wonderful range of all things nail including funky foils starting at £2.15
http://www.naildelights.com/foils-c-18.html

Although this is a fragrance site it has some amazing nail foils really cheap! check them out!
http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/make-up/nails/icat/nails

Have fun and get creating!

k.