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).
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 - 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 .
My entire flat is filled with bags and boxes of stuff. Most of the nail room has already been packed down and is ready to go to the new place this weekend, to my new Nail Cave.
I am super excited about getting a bit larger room for my nail stuff, and not having to share it when we have visitors. At the moment, my nail cave is in the spare bedroom, but in the new house, we are swapping the large double bed we have for guests now, for a super comfy sofa bed.
Since moving is hard on the nails I have filed them a bit shorter, and made sure there is a nail file and plenty of cuticle oil ready for me at the new place. Cardboard boxes always dries up my cuticles.
I know I have already written a couple of times about how I move and travel with my nail polishes, if you want an update and a bit through post about different packing ideas and methods let me know. For the past 4 years I have moved about 10 times across 5 different countries, bringing nail polishes with me on planes, boats, trains, cars and carried them on my back in a rucksack.
I have found some great ways to bring with me my entire collection which is now counting around 700 polishes, when I first moved to Wales from Norway I had "only" 150 polishes...
I wanted to show you two different nail art looks that I have done lately, between all the packing and arranging stuff for the move.
Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection (neon polish)
First one is a drybrush look, which I did using the Taste The Rainbow Collection from Opulent Essences that I purchased a while back.
Neon Drybrush Nail Art using Opulent Essences Orange, Strawberry and Lemon over Sinful Color - Snow Me White
I used Sinful Color - Snow Me White as a base for this look and a drybrush technique using Opulent Essences - Strawberry, Opulent Essences - Lemon, and Opulent Essences - Orange.
I have been too hard on my nails when packing, so sadly this is the only picture I got of this look. It's still a pretty mani, so I wanted to share with you all.
Sinful Color - Snow Me White polish base and my food.
The next look I wanted to show today is a look that ended up as a total fail.
It's a fail because I decided to add some animal prints to the look, and had this fantastic idea of making "Cougar Nails". Sadly, the animal prints I decided to use, destroyed everything.
A photo posted by Dina Ramse (@secretarysnailart) on
Before Christmas I purchased some stuff from Bundlemonster, and I threw in a Surprise Bundle with Nail Art stuff. I had chosen to use the stickers (MP019) that was in this bundle of fun.
I applied them like you would with any other nail art stickers and seal with a topcoat. Didn't really think much about it, and let them dry for 30 min before adding another layer of top as the stickers where still sticking through the topcoat. Not long after the stickers started wrinkling, and turned gummy, and turned not just the topcoat and the stickers gummy, but the entire gradient underneath and the white undie as well(!)
It would not dry.
After 5 hours I noticed that it looked like it was sliding off my nails...
So I removed it all.
I was gutted, because I was so happy with my gorgeous gradient, and had not taken pictures of the steps. Needless to say, I was not in the mood to sit down and do another gradient.
What are some of your nail art related horror stories?
Here you can see Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow Collection - Orange applied in 2 coats over 1 coat of Sinful Color - Snow Me White. The swatching stick has one coat.
I wanted to use some of my newer stamping plates, so I grabbed two plates from my Bundlemonster pile. BMXL178 - WORK IT! and BMXL204 - Beaching Nails.
Let's do some doublestamping again!
Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow - Orange with doublestamping using Bundlemonster BMXL178 - WORK IT! and BMXL204 - Beaching Nails with Beyu 377 and Wet n Wild - Black Creme
Opulent Essences - Taste The Rainbow - Orange with doublestamping using Bundlemonster BMXL178 - WORK IT! and BMXL204 - Beaching Nails with Beyu 377 and Wet n Wild - Black Creme
For the stamping this time I used a duochrome polish Beyu - 377, I have had it forever and really wanted to use it for something, I think it worked great for this background image. The black from Wet N Wild against the duochrome gives a nice effect when paired with a neon.
I was thinking long and hard about this challenge. It was time for the next plate in our Cheeky Girl Challenge. Plate CH47. And then I was sent a link to some cartoon nails. I know I had to try, and felt like this would look good together.
In my head it did.
I have no idea why it didn't look as good on my nails as it did in my head.
I think I got the cartoon nails - alright.
As for the plate... The image wouldn't go on crisp. It was a failed rescue attempt.
So life here in Leominster is good. I like the area, and have been going on long Sunday trips with my Landlord. He is showing me all these fantastic places around here. I'm working on getting a job, and a work desk for my nail art, but for now, its all in boxes.
Lets be a bit crazy shall we?
Today's mani is made using 4 different polishes, a dotting tool, some stamping. I used Bundlemonster plate BM214.
If you ever consider layering/stamping anything over Orange-a-peel from KBShimmer. I would recommend using a topcoat between that, and what-ever goes over. Every time I have tried I have ended up smudging everything, even thou the layer seems dry (30 m - 1 h). Topcoat seems to hold it in place.
One of the Challenges we recently had in the Crumpet Nail Tarts - FB group, is Orange and Green mani-day.
I started out with three coat of Lemon Tree from H&M. Took a sponge and dabbed Summer Peach from Sinful Colors over. I used two "coats". Then I took Irish Green from Sinful Colors, and sponged over two times. As a finishing touch, I added wavy french at the very tip.
I have had some questions how I achieve the sponge-look that I also had in my Whiskey Sour mani . So this time, I added a picture of the sponge that I use for this. Just in case its a sponge / using neon - thingy.
It was about time I got around to do a swatch of this polish.
When I need an orange for sponging, or to wear under a neon, this is the one i pick up.
To see where I have used it before click on "Lemon Tree" underneath, or search for it in the search box --->
I just got my first Indie-polishes, and I had to try Orange-a-peel. It reminds me of a close-up picture of the sun with sunspots. I know I'm a nerd. Haha. Don´t know what I am on about?
Picture showing AR1339, from National Geographic.
No its not a Claude Monet, this is actually the surface of the Sun. Cool, right?
Anyhow... Back to polish.
I wanted to to and create something like this with my new polish.
I used two coats of Depend - 124, and one coat of Orange-a-peel.
And now for the sunspot effect I sponged some black at the tip and base of my index finger.
Orange-a-peel is a fun polish, I am interested to see how it layers over other colors.
As for drying time. You should not use Out The Door topcoat on this one, after 1 hour it was still gooey. Sally Hansen Double Duty (that I happened to have in my bag), dried it in a few sec. (I have to remember to get a new one soon, cause its almost out. !!)
Hi girls, I am so glad its finally weekend!
Its been a long week, for sure.
I have been filing documents, and working in the archive all week, and my cuticles are starting to feel it. I had to swap lotion, and have been using Hemp protector from Body Shop since Wednesday, my hands are just so dry. Usually I don`t swap to the Hemp Protector until winter arrives, but it was needed. They feel a bit better, but they will be needing a lot of love and care.
Tomorrow there is going to be a market, close to where I live. A Farmers Market. I love those. And my favorite supplier of Honey is going to be there, and that's good, cause I am almost all out of my lovely honey. And I would die, without my honey in the morning tea.
So, that's why my manicure today, kinda looks like my Hony-mani, I did last month. haha!
I better stop talking now, before I cry over my empty honey jar.
As Michelle from Lacquer or Leave Her, pointed out, I totally forgot to mention how I achieved this look.
Polishes:
H&M - Yellow
H&M - Lemon Tree
Sinful Color - Neon Melon
Depend - nr. 124
You need:
a plate/sheet of paper, somewhere to pour polish.
A makeup sponge.
I started with 5-6 drops of Yellow, dabbing it over the nails from the base and upwards.
Then 3 drops of Lemon Tree, and went a bit higher up, and focused on getting it on the sides.
3 large drops of Neon Melon and just dabbing all over. Going in with 124 and the bald spots, and the tips. Some Yellow at the tips at the end.
I used the same piece of sponge for all of these steps, I wanted it to look like the "muddiness" you sometimes find in some Whiskey Sours.
To finish it of, I took the wheel I bought at Claire`s in Spain, with Fimo citrus.
As you might have noticed, I have made a site on this page, called Sharing is Caring , it contains a form you can fill out if you, come across/ make some beautiful manicures you want to show me. (EDIT: Deleted)
Today I thought I should show you some coral-love. It finally stopped raining all the time today, and I suddenly found myself in some need of some summer on my nails.
I bought Melina a few days ago from Make Up Store, and felt like that was just the colour i needed.
Lets take a look at it.
So the question is, can it be build to full opacity?
Lets test that out.
I started out painting almost all my nails with Savina - Coral, but my ringfinger. Not the smartes move, consider the image. Uncool. Very uncool. Sorry about that.
Savina - Coral is a very nice color, great formula, and this is two coats, so it covers well.
Then I started building Melina on the ringfinger, coat by coat. The rest if the fingers all got one coat of Melina.
At this stage the ringfinger now has 6, (!!) coats of Melina. So if you where wondering... Dont bother, find another coral shade or orange to put under it, its not worth the time. Melina has long dry time, and the more coats, the longer it took.
Even with fast drying topcoat it was long drying time. So stick to one coat over another polish.
But its stunning over the coral. I really like this polish.
I love wearing french, when all my nails are at equal length. The sad part about working as a secretary is that sometimes you break a nail when moving heavy folders here and there.
Depends - 124 is a darkish orange, and it looks so much better worn as a french, then it does as a full mani. Sorry for the blurry picture at the bottom, I took it with my phone, ages ago.
Here I have painted my nails with three coats of Ciate Paint Pots in Speed Dial, I can still see some visible nail line, so another coat would be better.
I just love this colour, and look at that sleek bottle with a bow. I just adore it.
