Friday, 22 June 2012

Cow print nails!

As promised, a picture of my 'Cow' Nails.
These are so simple to do! I even managed to do them, mess free, with my left hand!

Katie xox

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Finger Zoo!

After opening up shop on Etsy, my most popular nails turned out to be my Owl design!
These took off that much, a couple of sets are currently flying their way over to Australia!
My first international business! (Always a conversation starter!)


Anyway, this got me thinking that perhaps people are more like me than I thought, and prefer quirky little designs like this one, rather than flowers, and 'pretty' designs!
So, I got to work on a hand zoo!
So far I have designed 10 animals.
Cow, Pig, Pug, Ladybird, Tiger, Monkey, Lion, Penguin, Rabbit and finally, Fish!


I absolutely LOVE these! My favourite I think being the Cows.
I'm going to do my own nails later with the cow faces on a couple of nails, and a cow print on the others.
I will blog the final product later!


Anyway, there is my finger zoo!
Please feel free to try them out yourself, and let me know how it goes, OR
Alternatively, head over to my facebook page and ask me about ordering a set.

Also, please take a look at my Etsy store, my Owl nails are for sale on there, (Colours can be changed)


http://www.etsy.com/shop/KatiesNails

Monday, 18 June 2012

Male Manicures!



I stupidly let my boyfriend attempt my nails yesterday.....the outcome was pretty much what I expected....Don't even ask about the splodge on my actual finger! haha Useless, but he tried, bless him.




But this did get me thinking about men in the nail business, and to my surprise, I found quite a few. I know this was rather sexist and presumptuous of me. But....men and nails?! Never really crossed my mind.

Anyway, firstly I came across a man named Tom Bachik, a married, straight man, with kids, from California.




This man is a celebrity manicurist, with clientelle such as Scarlett Johansson, Gwen Stefani and Victoria Beckham.
He is also Chanel's FIRST celelbrity manicurist.
Not bad for an ex skater boy with a graphic background!





In my search I came across SO many men in the nail business, and once again looked to nail art competitions, the talent in these competitions is amazing! I hope to be as good as some of these some day, but in the mean time, I thought I would share a couple of competition entries and winners. From men!

Vu Nguen


Trực (Max) Nguyễn


If any of you know, or are, a male manicurist or nail artist, I would LOVE to hear from you!
<3
Katie XOX

Friday, 15 June 2012

£5 Sale

If you are are fan of my blog? Have you taken a look at my facebook page?

www.facebook.com/katiesnails1

I sell sets of handpainted false nails at brilliant prices.
But for this weekend only, I have a £5 sale....
Everything is £5, bespoke or predesigned, Finger nails or toe nails. £5!

Go on and take a look, and spoil yourself to some beautiful false nails that take minutes to apply, with ease!

Katie XOX

Sunset Palm Toe nails!

I had a little time to spare today, so I created a set of sunset Palm toe nails for myself.
The 2 big toe nails are false and the rest were just painted using 'Rimmel 60 seconds' polish in '619 Pulsating'
I love these nail designs, they are perfect for summer.
I do have an orange sunset set of nails on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/katiesnails1
But I opted for a purple/pink/gold sunset!
I love these so much I thought I'd share them with you!
Katie XOX
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Simple DIY Paw Print Nail Art



Today, I am going to introduce you to a very simple bit of nail art!This can be easily achieved at home, and can be done in any colour, so you can alter it to change your outfit, or mood! <3

The Design will be a paw print design, like this one ---->
All this design uses is the 'dotting' technique.
Learning how to dot is very simple, and can be achieved with everyday objects, such as a toothpick.
I opt to use specially designed 'dotting tools' that come double sided, to create different sized dots with ease, these can be picked up fairly cheap on ebay!
So, once you have chosen your colours, and your tool, Lets get going!




I have chosen '17 Lasting Finish Nail Polish' in 'Mint Choc Chip' as my base colour and 'La femme' in 'Ebony' for the black paw prints.
I always apply 'Collection 2000's' 2-in-1 strengthener as my base coat, to keep my nails strong, but this is obviously optional, and I have the 'La Femme' Quick dry Top coat (I love this top coat, as it gives it an ultra glossy shine!)



Then, it is simply, apply your all over base colour, then, when this is completely dry, apply 2 or 3 larger dots scattered around the nails, (you don't want to apply too many, as it will look overcrowded), then...easy as pie, just dab 3 smaller dots around one side of each of the larger dots, and et voila! You have created a very simple peice of nail art! 'Paw Prints!'
These super cute nails can be done in any colour, and are perfect for any time of year!



I would love to see your paw print nail creations, so please get in touch! :D
Next time, I will teach you how to create a very simple 'Leopard Print' Nail effect, using, once again, just nail polish and a toothpick!

If you want to see more of my creations, please do pop over to my Facebook page at:

www.facebook.com/katiesnails1

If you have seen any nail art designs you would like explaining in step by step instructions, please leave a comment, and I will see what I can do!

Katie XOX

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Blogger on the Go!

I have just set up a way for me to e-mail blogs from my phone straight to my blog!
So now I can blog on the go, sharing with you all my new nail discoveries as soon as I find them!
This is my first test, to see how it works!

Katie xox
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Nail Polish best kept secret


For my first proper blog post.
I am going to share with you all my best Nail Polish find!

'La Femme' Nail Varnish! 
I only have this selection so far, as it is still a new find for me!
I have the:
'Ebony 29'
'Quick dry T/C L21'
'Sheer Pearl 69'
'Mint Cream L04'
'Classique 26'
and 'Electric Blue 31'

As I create nail art for other people and don't necessarily do my own nails that often, I was pleastantly surprised when applying this to my own nails last week.
I was always impressed by these polishes as they come in larger than average 15ml bottles for only around £1.75 on ebay...AND from UK sellers, which is an added bonus, no waiting around for overseas delivery!

But back to the point!
I applied the Electric blue colour to my nails in a hurry last week as I was in a rush to go out, but now...a week later, my nails are still in tip top condition, ask any of my friends, my nails usually start chipping after a day! (PAIN IN THE BUM!) But this one is still fighting AND in my rush, I didn't even apply a top coat! BONUS!


So, my point being....you don't have to spend a fortune on 'none chip' nail polishes like I have been doing with no success!
Cheap still does the trick!
I know for sure that I will definitely be buying more of these little treasures in a bottle.

Oh! They also have a fabulous range of 'Neon' Colours. Once again, only around £2 on ebay!

Keep popping by for more tips and cheats on all your nail polish needs!

Katie! xox

Hello!

Really going to try get into this blogging thing now!
But things always seem to take some getting into, even Facebook and Twitter did at first!
Now I'm just going to have to use Facebook, Twitter AND Blogger! Simple!

My first REAL post will come soon!
Please keep a look out, favourite my page, and keep returning....
This will be the place I post all my tips, hints, and favourite nail art ideas, techniques and cheats!

Katie! xox