Lonely Assassins - Dr.Who Inspired Nail Art

The title is a warning, if you are scared of Weeping Angels it might not be a good idea to continue reading this post.

I was feeling inspired by My Online Shop MJ - JV - 31 stamping plate and decided to create a Weeping Angel Nail Art design.


If you are not sure what a Weeping Angel is, here is a little quote from Wikipedia:

Weeping Angels, also known as the Lonely Assassins are a race of predatory creatures from the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who, resembling stone statues. They were introduced in the 2007 episode "Blink". Since their initial appearance, they have been persistently nominated as one of the most popular and frightening Doctor Who monsters. Steven Moffat, their creator, attributes their appeal to childhood games such as Grandmother's Footsteps and the notion that every statue might secretly be a disguised Weeping Angel.

For this Nail Art look I used two coats of Freckles - Jadis and Barry M - Cream Soda with My Online Shop MJ - JV - 31. I recently did a Youtube video of this stamping plate  if you want to have a look at it some more.
The pale shades that I choose to work with for this look makes it look like the Weeping Angels are not there when the nails are in the shade, bring them out in the light and the Weeping Angels appear. 

Spooky. 

Weeping Angels Nail Art

Weeping Angels Nail Art

Hope you all liked this look, and that I am not giving anyone nightmares out there.

My Online Shop - MJ JR31 - Stamping Plate

Today we are going to have a closer look at the My Online Shop - MJ JR31 Stamping Plate that I purchased earlier his year from Nail Artisan UK.

The plate can also be purchased from StoreEnvy for those of you not in the UK. 
I can personally vouch for Nail Artisan UK, as that is where I purchased this plate, and Alex who run the shop is a great lady. I have never purchased from StoreEnvy before.

If you love UK shows like Dr.Who, Sherlock Holmes, or even Harry Potter this is the plate for you.
In the video below I am pointing out some interesting images from this plate, and giving you some suggestions on how to use this plate for your next mani.

Overall I think it was a bit random that there was one image from Firefly on this plate among all the more British shows, that being said I absolutely LOVE Firefly and even though there is only one image here I am very happy with having it. I have been informed that there is also some Percy Jackson related images on this plate... but I have no idea which image that could be.

If you know, please give me a nudge.


Adding this plate to my collection meant that my plate holder that I purchased not that long ago to hold my overflow of stamping plates is full, and I will have to start looking for another one.

My Online Shop JR plates are the same size as my Moyou London, Bundlemonster, Petla and BPS XL plates. I am getting quite a selection of plates now, and looking forward to get cranking on more stamping plate reviews like this. 

What is your favourite stamping plate?

Inspired By Pink Floyd

I am super excited to share this with you all. Me and TheHumbleBear from Instagram decided to do a twinmani. We ended up chatting for a long time and discovered that we both grew up listening to Pink Floyd. A lot. 

I used to sit ready with my cassette recorder in case a Pink Floyd, or Sting song would come on the radio, ready to tape. I think I still got some of my favourites on a cassette at mums place. 

I would have them on in the background when reading books, which was something I was always doing (unless I was doing homework). 

Polishes that I used for this Pink Floyd Themed Nail Art

I haven't done a freehand nail art look in a while, so I decided to grab my striping brushes and a box of nail polishes for this look. 

I sat in the living room, trying it out for filming, and as you can see from the video it is not enough light in there and the natural light from the windows is causing a lot of flickering in the light (our house came with 3 over friendly pigeons that like to fly back n forth in front of our windows) Will pull down the blinds and add more light next time. 

Products used:
Wet n Wild - Black Creme
Barry M - Coconut
Barry M - Plum
Barry M - Blue Grape
Barry M - Yellow (Superdrug LTD)
Barry M - Mango
Barry M - Lime Green
L'oreal - Scarlet Vamp
OPI - Sheer Enchantment
Sally Hansen - Pearly Whites

Two thin striping brushes from Bundlemonster

Pink Floyd - Galaxy Nail Art

My main inspiration for this nail art look was Insomia over at DeviantArt. 

When talking about Pink Floyd you can not escape mentioning their album The Dark Side of the Moon, so when me and TheHumbleBear did out nail art looks, we both did one based on the cover of that album.

When I was living in Spain 2 years ago, I came across this wall, and had to take a picture.

I Wish You Were Beer 

Be sure to check out TheHumbleBear over at Instagram, and send her my love. We had so much fun with this twinmani, and hope you liked the looks that we created. 

Pink Floyd 🌈~ One of my favourite bands 💖😘💖 #Art #AcrylicPaint #Intricate #CuteNailArt #Wishyouwerehere #PinkFloyd #RainbowNails #Polish #Asian #NailArt #NormalPolish #NailArtist #Gelish #Manicure #PrestoGel #InkArt #Favourite #Nailstagram #SharingArt #ArtDiscover #like4like #HandPaintedNailArt #Presto #OOTD #AngelPro #GellyFit #NOTD #POTD #Nails #LOVE

A photo posted by BearBearley 🐻 (@thehumblebear) on May 23, 2016 at 5:50pm PDT

Neon Watermarble

I really want to be a "Watermarble Witch", it sounds kinda awesome, and I hear Youtubers talk about it "like, all the time". This week alone I have seen 3 videos being posted where it has been mentioned. 

Totally crazy. 

Neon Watermarble using Opulent Essences - Lime and Opulent Essences - Orange 

It's been a year since my last meeting with watermarble, so it's about time I get back into it. 

I started out with one coat of Sinful Color - Snow Me White, then I prepped my skin with some Liquid Latex. I buy mine from Nail Artisan UK, (in case you are looking for a place to buy).

Whatever is #secretarysnailart up to now? @nail_artisan_by_alex - Magic Mask Liquid Latex from Nail Artisan and Sinful Color - Snow Me White

A photo posted by Dina Ramse (@secretarysnailart) on May 15, 2016 at 9:14am PDT

It looks strange, but it is Oh So Satisfying to peel it off the skin afterwards. Practically Zero clean up makes nail art so much more enjoyable.


In a small round container that I got my coconut jelly in from the Chinese Market. They are perfect for watermarble when doing one and one nail.

I alternated between dropping Opulent Essences - Lime and Opulent Essences - Orange in the container, before making a design and dipping my nails.

Neon Nail Art Mani using Opulent Essences - Lime and Opulent Essences - Orange from Taste The Rainbow Collection. 

Nude + Neon Love

I hope you are not tired of seeing my Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection. Today I have for you all another neon polish look. 

There has been a couple of comments about the wear-ability of neon polish, some of you have jobs that doesn't allow overly bright nails. Luckily, my job allows me to wear bright polishes, so I created a look that incorporates a nude polish to accommodate more for those occasions when we want to wear neon polishes, but have to tone it down a couple of notches. 

For today's look I used Opulent Essences - Strawberry, Opulent Essences - Grape and  Opulent Essences - Lime as well as a Claudia - 002 - Like A Dream. 

First I painted all nails with two coats of Claudia - 002 - Like A Dream, and added a quick dry topcoat, because today I am working with vinyls.

Using a rose vinyl that I had purchased from She Sells Seashells (say that 10 times, fast), I went in randomly with spots here and there using Opulent Essences - Strawberry and Opulent Essences - Grape.

A small detail brush and Opulent Essences - Lime did the trick when adding leaves under the rose. 

I just love how the rose turned out, and will definitely use the vinyl again. Gorgeous!

To complete the look I used BM 705 from the 2015 Secret Garden Collection to add some wording to the rest of the nails. In direct sunlight as seen below you can not quite make out the wording, and it gives a nice textured look to the nails, but in indirect artificial lighting you can totally see the wording. 

Nude + Neon Love using  Opulent Essences - Strawberry, Opulent Essences - Grape with nail vinyl and  Opulent Essences - Lime over Claudia - 002 - Like A Dream. 

Office appropriate neon and nude nail art look, I hope you liked it, I certainly did, and this was the first time I got to properly play around with nail vinyls, and I have to say I am liking it so far.

I just wanted to quickly add that I purchased this collection with my own money, and are not sponsored in any way.

I have been moving house the past couple of weeks, and I had left this collection out so that I could pack my polishes for the move and still have something to paint my nails with. Getting organised and sorted is taking a lot longer than I thought. If you are curious as to how my house is looking, and how I am organising things, check out my Instagram, I have posted a couple of pictures. 

Gradient Neon Stamping

This week I am celebrating my 4th year of blogging here on Secretary's Nail Art, and to celebrate with style I am trying out something a bit new in terms on nail art. 

Today I have for you a subtle splatter and neon gradient stamping nail art look. 

I am using polishes from Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection that I purchased for my own money a couple of months back. 

This collection is filled with vibrant neon polishes, and I have had so much fun playing around with them. Below you can see a picture of the polishes used today over Sinful Color - Snow Me White. 

Opulent Essences - Strawberry, Opulent Essences - Orange, Opulent Essences - Blueberry and Opulent Essences - Lime.

Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection polishes used in this manicure. 

For the splatter I used a baby toothbrush and splashed some polish over my white base polish, Sinful Color - Snow Me White. I wanted a light spray of colour, so that it would look more like small specks over the white than those large splatters you often see features in nail art looks. 

Then I picked up my Bundlemonster BM-XL204, Beaching Nails stamping plate and put Opulent Essences - Blueberry and Opulent Essences - Lime on each half of the image before scraping 2-3 times lightly over in order to blend the colours to create a gradient effect in the stamping. I think it came out the best on the long finger, but I definitely think I am on to something here.

Just need a little bit more practise on gradient stamping. 

Subtle splatter with neon gradient stamping. 

About Opulent Essences:

Opulent Essences is a Vegan Friendly Nail Polish Maker from the UK. Behind the brand is the duo Sharon and Zoe. They are awesome, and so are their polishes.
Etsy Store
Instagram

If you want to see more nail art looks from this collection, follow the Label: Opulent Essences.


About Bundlemonster:
Started in 2009, sells an arrange of nail art products and stamping polishes. Located in Hawaii, sometimes shipping and taxes for us UK girls can get a bit expensive, but luckily you can get most of their products from Rainbow Connection UK .

Happy Blogiversary

Can you believe it's been 4 years already?!

It all started 5 years ago, but I didn't plunge into the blogging world for another year as I wanted to lay the grounds first, and get better at painting my nails.

Back then, I didn't even know there was such a thing as nail bloggers, but the first year was very educational; I found the nail polish community and stayed ever since.



My first polish as a newly initiated polish-aholic was Depend - 124. There is barely any left in the bottle, the tags are all worn out from the multiple uses, but I have loved this polish.

My favourite way of wearing this polish was as a "funky French", a step further than just your ordinary French manicure.

You can see the original post here.

Depend - 124 

One of the first stamping nail art looks that I did on this blog was of Sinful Color - Neon Melon, with some dotticure and again, a funky French. Already here you can see my trusted Wet N Wild - Black Creme for all things stamping related.

You can see the original post here.

Neon Yellow with black French tips

My goal when I started this, was to do about 200 posts each year with nail arts, swatches and hauls, I have stuck to this goal since I started and very happy with how that has turned out.

This year I have passed the 1.000 mark on visitors a day, a doubling from last year, something I am very happy about. Mainly because it tells me that people like seeing what I do. 

This year has seen the return of the above mentioned "funky French", a nail art look I did a lot in my first year on the blog. It was also one of those looks that ended up being this year most visited blogpost. 

I used a lot of polishes in this look and the accent decal had me bent over it carefully placing each polish for a good hour or so.  You can see the original post over here.

Barry M - Gelly - Paprika with Qgirl - 032 (from BornPrettyStore) stamped over in Barry M - Superdrug Limited Edition Yellow, Barry M - Vintage Violet, Barry M - Gelly - Mustard, Barry M - Gelly - Mango, Barry M - Gelly - Chilli, Barry M - Gelly - Dragon, Barry M - Beery I/C, Barry M - Fuschia, Barry M - Gelly - Blueberry, Barry M - Gelly - Blue Grape and Barry M - Gelly - Plum. 

Another nail art look that has been loved by the readers was my Russian Flowers manicure, you can see that post over here. The look was the stark opposite of the one above, while the above mentioned nail art look had a lot of polishes in it and stamping involved, this one had only two polishes in a subtle gradient and some water decals. Proving that sometimes less is more.

Misa - Russian Sage gradient with Yes Love - 27 - Shiny Glitter. With BornPrettyStore flowers

Another post that has been viewed a lot this year has been my swatch of Color Club - Barely There you can see the original post here. We all need a palate cleanser every now and then, and this polish seems to do the trick for many of you out there. 

Swatch: Color Club - Barely there

I want to thank you all for your continued support all these years, thanks to all of you who have been here from the start, and those who have joined along this journey. 

I hope there will be many more.

Neon Watercolours

Today I have for you a nail art look that was inspired by the many festival outfits that I have seen so far this summer. 

Neon seems to go hand in hand with geometric shapes this year, so I decided to throw a little part on my nails and rock a Festival Ready Mani. 

I will be using Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection for this look, using Opulent Essences Grape, Opulent Essences - Strawberry and Opulent Essences - Blueberry (purple, pink and blue from the picture below).

Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection

If you want to see more nail art looks from this collection, follow the Label: Opulent Essences. 

First I applied one coat of Sinful Color - Snow Me White to all my nails.

Then I dabbed some Opulent Essences - Strawberry and Opulent Essences - Blueberry on my stamping mat and squished my jumbo clear stamper over and gave it a little twist before pressing it on my nails. I repeated this three times on my middle finger and twice on my ring- and little finger. 

I wanted to do some gradient stamping with these shades and chose Uber Chic stamping plate 2-02 that I recently purchased. I think the diamond image works really well with this look. 

The smoosh base really makes these neons look like vibrant watercolours and I just love how it looks. 

Neons and Diamonds. 

About Opulent Essences:
Opulent Essences is a Vegan Friendly Nail Polish Maker from the UK. Behind the brand is the duo Sharon and Zoe. They are awesome, and so are their polishes.

Etsy Store
Instagram

About Uber Chic Beauty:

Uber Chic Beauty is the leading Indie Stamp Plate Maker, and the company and their leader Brittany is located in the US. It can be a bit expensive for us UK girls to get our hands on the plates if ordering directly from Uber Chic Beauty, but luckily you can get the plates from Nail Artisan UK.

Follow The Milkyway

A product in this post was purchased using an affiliate discount and nail polish was previously sent for swatching purposes.

Kids can be naughty from time to time. It's a fact. They bend rules, and push limits.

I remember the first time I disobeyed the rules regarding bedtime; it was the night of the Leonid Meteor Shower in November of 1998 (kinda makes me feel old...). It was around 3 am, and I had  managed to sneak out of the house and out to a large field of dirt, the potatoes all gone, not far from where I lived. 

I had asked to be allowed to see it, but was told it was not for young girls, and it was far to late at night. That, and there was wolves in the area, having killed our sheep and goat just the year before...

I was prepared with blankets and layers of woollen clothes to fight off the Norwegian Chill. 

There, alone in the dark I got to see the most spectacular view in my life. It has to be the longest I have ever sat completely still, and I didn't return back inside until it was well after 5 am. No one had notice, and I never told them about it. 

I wanted to start with this story, because it was that night that I started to truly be fascinated by the night-sky, and whenever there is a meteor shower, lunar/solar eclipse I try to get to see them. 

Earlier this year I sat on the roof to one of my dear friends in Norway, both wrapped in blankets on a sun chair looking at a meteor shower. It was magical.

It was reminiscing over these moments in my life, that inspired me to create this look.  

Opulent Essences - Gravity over black with waterdecals and some simple dotticure.

Opulent Essences - Gravity 

A product in this post was purchased using an affiliate discount and nail polish was previously sent for swatching purposes.