NOTW: Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington accessorised her monochrome dress with a matching mani at the LA premiere of Peeples, and I totally flippin' loved it. Easily my Nails Of The Week!

(Side note: how chic are Kerry's slender watch and box clutch?)

The colour combo, the illusion of pointed tips on oval nails, the chevron detail: yes, yes, and hells yes.

To replicate the look, start with a black base and add the white detail with a striping brush or nail art pen, or use tape to mask the edges and ensure a clean line. (You might find this tutorial I wrote for Beaut.ie on cheating the look of stiletto nails and this tutorial on tape manis helpful.)

Totally DIYing this one the next chance I get!

Images: Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America

Random romantic mix 'n' match

Just a little bit of randomness I doodled on my nails while playing with goodies I picked up at a beauty show a while back! I think the Comme de Garçons-style heart peeking at the free edge of my middle finger is my favourite aspect of this one.

Products used (thumb to pinkie):
Essie Fill The Gap! base coat
Essie Miss Fancy Pants + Topshop Crystal Clouds for bows
Essie Haute As Hello
Essie A Crewed Interest + Essie Head Mistress for heart
Essie Mint Candy Apple
Essie Blanc
Black and white Nubar nail art pens
Seche Vite top coat

In which NOTW eyeballs Ke$ha's latest mani

It's been on hiatus for a while, probably sipping mojitos by a pool somewhere, but Nails Of The Week is back with a bang today.

Eyeball nails aren't anything new; everyone from Alexa Chung to, eh, me has been seen wearing them - see my cartoon eyes here, and the ones I wore to have my actual eyeballs sliced open and remoulded by a laser here. Still, the 3D lashes fanning out from the sidewalls of Ke$ha's accent nails in this selfie are a pretty deadly detail that I haven't seen before.

I probably wouldn't wear them quite like this - unless, of course, I needed to clean the crevices around the keys of my laptop - but they make me think that my next eyeball mani definitely needs to involve exaggerated painted-on lashes.

What do you reckon to them?

Pic via Ke$ha's Instagram 

Nail news: Orly SS13 (pic heavy!)

On Tuesday evening I popped into town for a looksee at what's incoming from 5-free brand Orly for SS13.

I've been a fan for years; you'll probably know from my little "Products used" notes after each nail art post that I get a lot of use from my Orly Bonder base coat and detailing tools. Aside from loving the unusual shades that they frequently release, I find the rubberised caps super grippy and comfortable to use.

Boris is also a fan of Orly polishes, but that's mostly because he thinks they're mini chew toys.

As of about 18 months ago, the brand's offerings have been widely available through Boots in try-me minis as well as full-sized bottles, so lets have a gander at what they've got in store for the summer!

High On Hope // Elation Generation // Melodious Utopia

Coachella Dweller // Boho Bonnet // Peaceful Opposition

Hope & Freedom Fest is the spring release, and it's on-counter now. This collection of mostly cremes is a perfect example of Orly throwing curveball colours into the mix - how gorgeous (and not exactly typically spring-y) is that indigo duochrome?

ERMAHGERD. Are we all seeing that green shimmer holo?! It's Sparkling Garbage from the punk-inspired Mash Up collection, which launched yesterday with primarily neon colours celebrating a pretty-ugly aesthetic. 

For those who want a longer lasting mani, Orly Gel FX is an in-salon 2-week gel manicure system providing chip-free, high-shine paint jobs in a choice of 50+ Orly colours (including some vay nice metallics.) The polish cures under LED light and I'm told treatments take under 30 minutes - pretty much ideal for anyone who leaves their pre-holiday mani pedi until the day before and needs to shoehorn a nail appointment in between a last-minute swimwear dash and an emergency bikini wax.

Not that that's what happens me every time I go away or anything.

Ehem.

Shade Shifter is a fun new addition to the brand's Gel FX line-up. It's a colour changing gel polish that's heat activated and is applied over your chosen gel colour: when hands are warm, Shade Shifter is clear, allowing the colour beneath to show through, but as hands cool Shade Shifter darkens, transforming the look of the nails. 

Not for everyone, this, but I can see it working really nicely to achieve subtle nail art or semi-hidden gradient effects.

Aaannd we're back to finish with some regular, non-gel polish - I've left this collection until last because it isn't launching until August, but I just couldn't wait until then to show it to you. Orly do glitter, shimmer, and texture particularly well and we'll see more of it with the release of Mega Pixel FX in two months time. Black Pixel doesn't photograph especially well but it is fab in person, and I'm so glad to see someone finally make a true black glitter polish.

See anything there that piques your interest? I'm all over Sparkling Garbage and Black Pixel, because that's what I need in my life. MOAR GLITTER!

Chevrons and cartoon eyes

I'm not sure how it's the end of April already - where did that month go?! - but I'm trying not to dwell on all the things I didn't get done over the last few weeks and instead look forward to the start of summer tomorrow.

Hopefully the 'toon eyes on my tips (inspired by this great double ring by the ever awesome Tatty Devine) will help!

Products used
Orly Bonder base coat
Sally Hansen White On
Essie Aruba Blue
Black nail art pen
Seche Vite top coat

Bah Humbug: The White Stripes

This is what happens when you start absentmindedly messing around with a striping brush without being focused on the look you're trying to achieve! I had intended to apply a sheer nude polish before freehanding these simple white verticals (do they remind anyone else of humbug sweets?) but I got distracted by the sunshine and, er, promptly forgot the plan.

The overall look is still pretty cool, it's just not ideal to be able to see those smile lines quite so clearly. Some nail art underwear in the form of a natural nude base would camouflage them to elongate the nails and give a more polished finish, while still maintaining the effect of negative space.

Products used
Orly Bonder base coat
Orly striper brush
White polish
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat

On Wednesdays, we wear pink

I brought the dog for a walk yesterday evening and by the time we got home, all of my pretty rose gold glitteriness had slid right off. Sadface. 

This is good news for anyone worried that the PVA peel-off base coat trick might be bad for nails - it literally slipped off my nail plate with a bare minimum of pressure - but obviously very bad news for those who like their polishes to stay on longer than a couple of hours.

Even though I'd wiped my nails down before using it and then gave it a good half hour to dry before applying my glitter, I suspect that neat PVA glue just doesn't form any sort of decent bond with nails. 

For this mani, I diluted a small amount of the glue with water in an old nail polish bottle that I'd cleaned out and been keeping for just such a job. 

Fingers (carefully) crossed that it lasts a little longer!

Products used
PVA glue/water mix (1:1 ratio) as peel-off base coat
Jessica Amira: Smitten Kitten
Claire's Accessories rose gold glitter
Seche Vite top coat

NOTD: Glitterfest

I'm talking about my top summer polishes on Beaut.ie today, and this is one that made the cut. It's my very very favourite rose gold glitter. I usually use it as a foil to nudes, as with this grey geometric mani, but it is gorgeous in its own right too.

Click on the photo to embiggen it and see the bling in all its sparkly gloriousness if you don't believe me.

This is two coats, applied over a PVA base (read more about that here) which will hopefully make removal a total breeze.

Products used
PVA glue base coat
Claire's Accessories rose gold glitter polish
Seche Vite top coat

Talon-tastic Thursday: Speckled, sort of

This is maybe the second time ever Mam has let me do anything other than a French manicure on her nails! But, brave woman that she is, she volunteered to play guinea pig while I was coming up with ways of DIYing the look of Illamasqua Speckled polishes for Beaut.ie (full post here.)

Products used:
Orly Bonder base coat
Ciate Sugar Plum
OPI You Don't Know Jacques
Cocktail stick
Seche Vite top coat

NOTD: Sunny stripes

I don't currently have a single roll of striping tape to my name, but this manicure has made me think that I think I should probably get some because it turns out that trying to snip Sellotape into 34 little sections of roughly equal width is kind of soul destroying.

I painted all my nails with Ciate Big Yellow Taxi, added a layer of Seche Vite so they'd dry quickly, and after 15 or 20 minutes got down to the nitty gritty of this paint job. Working on one nail at a time, I firmly stuck the pieces of tape into place, lobbed on two thin layers of Essie Miss Fancy Pants, immediately removed the tape, and finished with another layer of Seche Vite.

The yellow is a smidge cooler, less of a marigold shade, in person, and brighter even in dim light than it looks here in the sun (THE ACTUAL SUN!!! No joke!)

Products used:
Essie Fill The Gap base coat
Ciate Big Yellow Taxi
Sellotape
Essie Miss Fancy Pants
Seche Vite top coat