Neapolitan Dreams | Scrapbook Nails

I've named these my Neapolitan nails, although if we're talking about the ice cream, I have done the colours in the wrong order...

Still, I love the yummy texture of this manicure. I didn't use a sponge for this, I used a blunt bristled nail brush and just dabbed the colour on. I wasn't going for a gradient, more of a 3D layer type effect. I used a crackle polish for the pink, which helped to achieve the look I was going for.

Doncchha just love pink & brown together?!

I used:


Base coat - No7, So Smooth


Brown - Barry M, Mushroom 310
Pink - Barry M Crackle, Pink Fizz 314
White - Models Own, Snow White

Top coat - China Glaze, Fast Forward Top Coat

Models Own combo | Scrapbook Nails

I fancied a bit of sparkle on my nails this weekend as I had dinner plans for Friday & Saturday. I only had about half an hour to apply my polish, so I opted for this Models Own combination. It was quick, easy, pretty and perfect for a weekend 'evening' mani.

I love the hexagon shape of the blue topcoat, it's almost a chunky glitter without being too in your face. I think Model's Own have taken this polish out their collection now :( It's a shame as it's so pretty!

I used:
Base coat - No7, So Smooth

Base colour -  Models Own, Emerald Black (Beetle Juice collection)

Top colour - Models Own, Blue Sparkle
Top coat - China Glaze, Fast Forward Top Coat

Blue Splatter Nails | Scrapbook Nails

Splatter nails are so much fun, and they're not as time consuming as you might think.
I do recommend putting down some scrap paper though! Below you can see the mess I made. The nail clean up isn't too bad though, I personally don't think it's necessary to tape your fingers before hand.
I wanted to use a variety of blues for this one, and I chose a white base to make the colours pop.

I used:
Base Coat - No7, So Smooth
White Base -  OPI, Apline snow
Dark Blue - Barry M, B 029 (limited Edition)
Light Blue - Barry M, Cyan Blue 294
Turquoise - Nails Inc, Malibu Mojito (The Cocktail Collection)
Top coat - China Glaze, Fast Forward Top Coat



Pre clean up below - you can see the mess isn't too bad.

Eyeshadow Custom Polish | Scrapbook Nails

I do love to experiment with my nails, and I have wanted to try out this technique for a long time. There are different ways of using eyeshadow to create new polish colours & effects. The first time I tried it was in Tenerife, summer 2011, when I had limited polishes on me. I was out the country for a month! So to jazz up my nails, I simply brushed over a layer of shimmery eyeshadow onto a dry manicure and WAAALAAA! Instant re-vamp and with minimal effort.

This time, I wanted to create a whole unique shade of polish, and not just use the eyeshadow as an added layer. I picked out two of my Barry M dazzle dusts, I thought these would be easier to 'stir' into a polish as the pigment is milled into a fine 'dust' rather then a tightly packed & pressed powder. You can, however, use any type of eyeshadow you like for this.

At first, I started off tipping some of the eyeshadow into a plastic lid, adding some cheap clear polish to it, and mixing with a toothpick before applying. I found that I didn't have enough polish in the lid, so I took to dipping the brush into the lose powder and simply painting directly onto my nails. This turned out great! The polishes had shimmer in them, and this reflected so beautifully on my nails, the only downside is that the custom made polish only lasted a few hours :-) no hardeners = chipping!

I used:
Base coat - No7, So Smooth

Green Eyeshadow -  Barry M, Dazzle Dust, 82

Purple Eyeshadow - Barry M, Dazzle Dust, 59
Cheap clear polish - Professional Nail Care, extra strength, Base Coat (?!)

Christmas Day Gradient Nails | Scrapbook Nails

I ordered some Christmas themed nail stickers off Ebay, and they arrived on Christmas Eve. What great timing! So here's how my Christmas Day nails turned out...

I used:
Base coat - No7, So Smooth

Base colour – Barry M, Silver Foil

First gradient layer – Models Own, snow white

Second gradient layer – Barry M, Blue

I used the same Superdrug sponge as in my last gradient mani & then topped each nail with a cheeky snowflake.

The pictures I took do not do this justice, I LOVED this mani, and it lasted a good few days. I think the layers help to prevent chipping.

Green & Gold sponge gradient | Scrapbook Nails

This was my first attempt at the sponge gradient technique, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I couldn't get a picture in daylight, and the flash isn't showing the colours true to how they are in real life, but you can see the gradient effect. I used a greeny/gold for the first layer to try and make the gradient transition more smooth, but it's a very translucent lacquer, so you can't see it very clearly. It probably could have done with another coat.

I used:
Base coat - No7, So Smooth

Base colour – China Glaze, Turned Up Turquoise (neon)

First gradient layer – OPI, Sit Under The Apple Tree

Second gradient layer – Nails Inc (mini), Hans Cresent
Top coat - China Glaze, Fast Forward Top Coat

I bought the sponge from Superdrug

Christmas Water Marble

I wanted to do a festive water marble using gold, red & green.
I used a base of OPI's Alpine Snow, then for the marble colours I had a few options (shown below) but in the end, I used:
Barry M's Gold Foil - 320
Barry M's Spring Green - 290
and Nails inc Aspen

I did different patterns on each hand, my right hand is more bold and blocky - and the most Christmassy!