OSU! Nails

This is a design I painted a few months ago when I was introduced to the game Osu. For people who are not familiar with Osu it is a rhythm computer game. You use your mouse to hit beats in time with the music, it is a really fun and addictive game. It is free to download so worth checking out if you have never played it before.

How to get this look: I started with a base coat and then two coats of OPI's Alpine Snow for a nice white base. I drew the logo and the beats with nail art pens in different colours. Wait for the dots to dry before drawing numbers on them and try to draw the circles around he beats as carefully as possible. If your circular line is slightly off use a wooden cuticle stick to push the line back into place while it is still wet to create a neat circle. Finish by applying a top coat.

Bold Crackle Polish

This is a crackle polish design that I love to do as it is quick and easy but makes a bold statement when you use bright and contrasting colours. You can use whatever colour polishes you like so play around with it and choose your favourite combination. 

How to get this look: 

Start by applying a base coat and two coats of your chosen base colour (I used yellow.) 

Apply a coat of crackle polish across the whole length of the nail - don't worry about covering the whole width of the nail at the tip as this will get covered anyway. 

When your polish has finished separating into its crackle effect apply your second colour (mine is pink.) Using a thin brush or striping brush start at the tip of the nail in the centre and draw a diagonal line to the bottom of the nail. Do this on both sides so you are left with a yellow triangle in the centre and fill in the rest of the pink down the side of your nail. 

Finish by applying a top coat.

Fair Isle Nails

These are my fair isle nails, they are one of my favourite designs for the winter and you can change the colours and patterns around to match your best Christmas jumper! 

How to get this look: I started with a base coat and then two coats of OPI's Alpine Snow. The patterns are drawn on with nail art pens, you will need a good black nail art pen to draw the zig-zag lines neatly. I used a Models Own black nail pen. If you don't like hearts and trees you can add other fair isle shapes such as snowflakes and flowers. Make sure you finish with a top coat to protect your nails from chipping.

Sparkly Snowflake Nails

These are my winter nails with a sparkly blue base, snowflakes and two of my favourite animals, a penguin and polar bear. The polishes I used were OPI's 'Can't find my Czechbook' as a blue base colour and then two coats of Nails Inc's 'Fitzroy Square' which is a blue glitter polish.

How to get this look: Here I will explain how to draw snowflakes on your nails. As always start with a base coat and then apply a coat of blue colour and then a glittery polish over the top. Wait a few minutes for your nails to dry as glitter polishes can be quite sticky. Draw a white X on your nails and then in each of the four spaces of the X draw a shorter white line. Go back and draw V shapes on the X and then on the shorter lines. Repeat this on every nail by drawing different sizes of snowflakes and you can vary the shapes by drawing different amounts of lines.

Victorias Secret Pink Nails

These are my Pink Victorias Secret themed nails. I saw this design on a picture by MissJenFabulous and loved the idea so I created my own version.

How to get this look:

Apply a base coat and then paint three nails white, one pink and one silver.

Put another glitter polish over the silver polish to make it extra sparkly.

Create a pink ombré on the thumb using a makeup sponge and draw the dog, heart and 'pink' lettering with a black nail art pen.

To make the leopard print paint random dots in different colours on the nail and then draw broken circles around them with a black nail art pen.

Finish by applying a top coat.

Lord Of The Rings Nails

After a Lord of the Rings movie marathon I decided to paint a nail design inspired by the films. I drew the eye of Sauron on my thumb and painted the rest of the nails gold with elvish writing like on the ring itself.

How to get this look:

I used nail art pens to create this design. For the lettering you need a pen which can draw fine lines, the black nail pen I use is by Models Own. I find this brand to be good quality and not too expensive.

If you make a small mistake on the lettering go back and fix it while it is still wet with a wooden cuticle stick by pushing the polish back into place gently.

For the eye of Sauron I used a red base polish and used the brush end of duo nail art pens to draw the coloured effects over the red and then used my black nail pen to draw the eye shape in the centre.

As always start with a base coat and finish with a top coat to protect and strengthen your nails.

Hello Kitty Nails

These are my Hello Kitty nails, a simple design for anyone who loves Hello Kitty. The base colour I used is OPI's Alpine Snow and the black nail art pen I used was from Models Own. 

How to get this look:

Apply a base coat and then two coats of your white polish (or more if necessary - some white polishes are not very opaque.)

Use a nail art pen to draw the black outline of Hello Kitty's head and bow.

Add the eyes and whiskers with your black nail art pen, then add a yellow nose and fill in the bow with your colour of choice, I used a glitter pink.

Draw the Hello Kitty lettering on your other nails with your black nail art pen, you should practice the lettering first so it looks like the font used for the logo.

Finish by applying a top coat to protect your cute kitty nails.