Edged Nails Tutorial

I was overwhelmed by the response I got on these nails on G+ last week.

They were very simple to do, I just needed a steady hand and a great polish brush. The Rimmel Pro brushes are the best brushes I've ever had the pleasure of using. They are large, flat and perfectly rounded, ideal for this job.

The picture shows me wearing Barry M, black, under Rimmel Pro, Riviera Red.

 

I later added to this mani with some MoYou stamps and some freehand hearts, to keep up with the Valentine trend.

But I was asked to upload a video, showing how I did this. being my first video, I'm so glad it was a super easy mani.

On the video I used a much lighter shade instead of the red, so that you can see the contrast better.

 

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My First Indie Polishes - Dollish Polish & Wing Dust

My polish collection is made up with mostly with Rimmel and Barry M. I own a few other brands and I keep looking for more in my local shops. There's nothing new there I haven't already seen, or I really had to have so I felt it was time to try out my first Indie polish.

A few months ago, I didn't even know what and indie polish was. It has taken a little time for me to accept the different styles of polish out there, and a lot of these indie's are ultra unique. I found myself attracted to many that are made in the USA, but I didn't want to risk my money on a product that might not arrive, might incur charges, might get broken........ It's a long way away, and one of these babies are 2 or 3 times what I'd spend on one.

I found Rainbow Connection who distribute indie polishes from all over the world, so after some digging around, I decided to go there. There seemed to be a large choice, but every single polish that jumped off the screen, was out of stock! I must have gone through around 30 I would have had in a heartbeat....... But I did settle on 3 that caught my eye. I also managed to get free postage!

I chose two from Dollish Polish, Jelly Of The Month Club and Crystal Empire, and Wing Dust, I Ain't No Angel.

All three together entitled me to free UK postage, so that's always a bonus.

I have taken swatch photos,but obviously as with all digital photos, the colours will vary on different devices.

Dollish Polish - Jelly Of The Month Club

This is a lovely purple jelly, with dark purple glitter flecks, with a nice iridescent sheen to it. It was opaque in three coats, but would also look great as a topper over a nude or purple colour. My only complaint was the square bottle top, which after one use, doesn't align with the rest of the bottle, and it was a tad clumsy to use.

Wing Dust - I Ain't No Angel

A gorgeous deep blue glitter jelly polish. I adore this colour. There's a good helping of large circle, hexagonal and square glitter in gold, blue, turquoise and copper. It was opaque in two coats! The formula is quite thick so a bit of care is needed when applying, (I need a bit more practice), but on the flip side, the lovely glitters were suspended well, and very little fishing was required.

Dollish Polish - Crystal Empire

I saw this and fell in love. I didn't own anything like it. Crystal Empire is a clear glitter topper with circles, moon, stars and squares in a lovely variety of cute colours. The formula is quite thin compared to the Wing Dust polish, and most of the glitters settle to the bottom within a minute or two. It required a lot of shaking and fishing to get some pieces out! But it was worth it. I also had the same problem with the square top not aligning properly after first use. It does put me off buying Dollish Polish again but I look forward to trying out other indie brands. 

Nails Are For Painting?!

I haven't always been so obsessed with nail polish. Looking at my current collection, it's hard to believe that my nail polish consisted of a shiny clear and a transparent white shimmer. That was it! No colour, no base coat, no top coat and certainly no clean up after. Whatever way it landed on my nail, finger and all, was how it stayed, until it started to chip. Then I'd spend the next few days, picking and peeling it off. Cringe!!! That is now one of my pet hates. Even the tiniest of chips makes me go crazy, and itching to take it off. And certainly no picking of the polish! Tut, tut.

Then I ventured into my colour coordinating phase. I'd experiment with my hair colour and discovered I could get a lipstick to match. Then holy cow, a nail polish to match the mop and pout! The result was a hideous failed vampy goth, with patchy hair and badly applied, peeling polish. Nice! But it was a start into the wonderful world of colour.

My polish collection remained safe for a long time, consisting of a blue, a red and my trusty clear and white shimmer. For me, that's all anyone ever needed. My outlook changed the day I saw my niece playing around with a Rio Nails, nail art set and I was blown away. Was this for real? You can do more than one colour? What's the shiny foil for? And what the hell do you do with the metal plate?

And so it began. The very next day I went out to purchase the set for myself. I'd sit for hours, applying, making a mess, taking it off and trying something else. It had never occurred to me to search on Google for help. At the time nail art was relatively new, so I was kinda on my own.

I started building my collection of coloured nail pen stripers, rhinestones and glitters, and continued to experiment with the limited knowledge I had. I was delighted when the niece that had inspired me to try nail art, asked me to do her nails to match an outfit for a dancing competition. That felt like a huge win to me, but looking back on it, I know I could have done a much better job.

"The bigger the nails, the bigger the canvas." I thought it would be a great idea to try nail extensions, so that I had more nail to decorate. I was told gel nails were the easiest, so I tried that first, but I didn't like the sticky mess and the long application and curing process, so I moved on to pop acrylics. Very fast, very easy, and turned out to be very bad for my nails. I went from strong healthy nails to paper thin, peeling rags. It was end of the line for the nails for a long time, and it took a year for my nails to fully recover.  :-(

Last year, I pulled out my nail stash, and slowly got back into it again. Around the same time, I joined Google+ as a shift away from Facebook. There I discovered a nail community like no other. It wasn't just a place to post for likes, and run. People actually helped you when you had a problem, encouraged you, and supported your enthusiasm. It is probably the reason I have spent way too much money on nail polish, growing my stash from 40 ish bottles to over 240! I discovered new techniques, new styles, new people, more polish, and best of all, Seche Vite! It's only now I see the possibilities are only limited by me.

I gained a bit more confidence after passing a nail art course with distinction, but to be honest, I felt what they were asking for me to do was well below my capabilities. I'm in no hurry to reproduce the designs! :-P That sounds terrible........ But it could be a future challenge for me. Recreate the designs how I would have liked them.... I do love a challenge.

So that is how my nail interest grew. From a one shade wonder of gloriously messy cuticles, to a glittery, textured, shimmering rainbow of delight.