Cherry nail art inspired by Batiste!

So last week I received a bottle of Batiste dry shampoo to review for Miss Claira-Bella. (Read the review here to see what I had to say about the actual product). The first thing that I thought was "Hey, cute packaging. That would make for a kick-ass nail art design" so of course I had to!

This is what I came up with!

 A base is always a good place to start. For my base I used OPI's "Top to Finish Base and Top" coat as well as Tip Top's "Cha Cha Cha" which has been one of my favourite polish's this year!

After the base I added some little red dots for the beginning of the cherries. I used two different reds to add depth. The first was Catrice's "Star of the show" and on top of those dots I did a smaller dot of Bobbi Brown's "Valentine Red". I used my dotting tool for this. Make two small dots which are touching each other.

After the base and dots, I took a striping brush (a toothpick will also work) and some green acrylic paint (you can also use green polish) and drew the cherry stems which join each other at the top. 

To finish it off I added some white dots with my Essence pen to add animation although after this step they turned out to be more like mushrooms. Oops! But its still pretty cute.

And the final design with the original muse:

I really love it when brands come up with cute designs for their packaging. Don't forget to read my review of the Dry Shampoo!

Do you like the design? Comment below :)

Mint Mani for Talia Joy

If you don't know who Talia is then hop onto Google and get informed. I'll give you a quick summary. She was a very strong and inspiring 13 year old who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma 6 years ago which is a type of cancer. She unfortunately lost her long battle and passed away last week. Even though she was only 13, shes left a huge legacy behind her and many people are inspired by her story.

She became famous in the beauty industry by posting awesome makeup tutorials and inspiring videos on youtube. She gained many followers who became her reason to fight with all she had and make-up was her wig.

Anyway, this post is to share my mint mani for Talia Joy which is the hashtag going around in her honor ( #mintmanisfortaliajoy). This is my design;

As seen on Instagram

I am really sad that such a beautiful soul is gone and I hope she is resting in peace. I hope her mom is doing well after losing her little girl! So sad!

Water marble magic!

I thought I would share my "Manicure Monday" nail art design using the water marbling technique (as seen on Instagram and Facebook).

I found that using two very different colours, gives a very original design. I have used an opaque/milky blue (Tip Top's 'Cha cha cha') and a deep maroon/grape (Tip Top's 'funfair madness'). This gave a distinct line between the colours and the effect was magical. I really love how it turned out!

If you are new to the water marbling idea, visit my tutorial on how I do my designs.

As always, it is important to start off with a base coat and seal with a top coat. I have used Mavala's range of base and top coats (to be reviewed soon).

Tweet me your designs!

Simple French Manicure

I was in a 'playing around' mood a weeks ago and did my nails (by "did" I mean try do something other than just painting them a solid colour like I usually do). I don't normally do french manicure designs because they are such a mission to do and it turns into a big mess. Then I found a very handy white tip painter by Essence and gave it a try. Here is what I came up with (as shared on Instagram);

View the original design here.

What I used:

1. After filing and buffing my nails I applied one coat of ZOYA's Anchor Basecoat. This is my current favourite basecoat.

2. Then I used Essence's white tip painter pen (R29.95). This pen is so simple to use and gives a really precise line from it's thin tip. I made my french manicure tips free handed but you can always go ahead and apply those strips if your hand isn't too stable.

3. I mixed some acrylic paints to make my coloured stripes. I wasn't really going for a specific colour so I just played around a bit until I was happy. I used a striping brush from my nail art brush collection to paint the stripes. Very simple. (I actually forgot what the original design looked liked so I made a star instead of a pretty flower. I might redo it later)

4. After that was all dry I applied my Rose French manicure topcaot from Rimmel. This adds that pretty seal to french manicures.

5. Luckily I had some diamante drops from my Nails Inc Rebel set (review coming soon) so I stuck one at the base of each star and voila!

I love how simple this design is and it is rather inexpensive. I will try do more simple ideas that anyone can do at home. Let me know what you think in the comments below or Tweet me!

Fun, Funky, Fimo nail art sticks! PART II

If you have not yet read PART I of my fun funky, fimo nail art sticks posts then clickity clack here.

In this post I am going to show you how I store my fimo canes and which ones I received in my package from the USA.

Here is a quick demo of how small these fimo canes actually are. I really don't have big hands!

They are tiiiiiny!

I store my fimo cane in categories in these small containers that are usually used for beading or other art projects. There are a total of 50 canes but because they are so tiny, I only needed two containers to keep them organised.

Hi-five for organisation!!

And here are my little canes;

 Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook Page. I have moved over to a new Blog, Howse Life, where I share some Fimo Manicures. 

Which fruit/flower/character is your favourite?

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Fun, funky, fimo nail art sticks! PART I

Way before I started blogging, I was so intrigued by nail art, polishes and trends that I spent hours everyday searching for designs and tools to make my own home nail art kit. One of the things I stumbled upon and was most absorbed with was Fimo Canes. Fimo is a type of polymer clay that is used by artists to create all sorts of jewelry  accessories, sculptures and other clay projects. It comes in all sorts of colours and finishes and once it's baked, it hardens and can be sliced, cut and painted depending on how you want to use it. Don’t ask me how they get such detail into such tiny sticks but I am truly amazed. They are very small measuring only about 5cm each and they're smaller than the palm of my hand.

Images from Google

I drove my boyfriend so crazy, continuously talking about them, showing him pictures and generally just going silly, that he ordered them from amazon as a gift! *Best BF in the world* 

Once I received them I was always on my laptop busy YouTubing Fimo cane storage ideas, proper cutting techniques and of course, nail art tutorials. It was only until then that I realized how difficult it was to pull off the fimo cane nail art look, something that I’m still trying to master almost a year later. Luckily the nail art slices still look pretty, even if you don’t have the technique quite right.

Images from Google

I love this unique way that you can get detailed decals on your nails that don’t look hand painted or trashy. These fimo slices are also so versatile. A single slice on your nail looks really sophisticated yet it adds a little bit of playfulness and bunch a few together on one nail and you will catch every ones attention. 

Check back tomorrow for Part II where I share my fimo cane collection with you! 

Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook Page to keep up to date with future posts. Also, follow via email in the top right hand side of this page. 

Do you want to your own Fimo Cane Collection?

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Essence's "Night in Vegas" Nail art topper

My new favourite polish is Essence's special effect nail art topper in 08 "night in Vegas". Every time I paint my nails I just cannot resist applying one coat of this to add character to otherwise lifeless polish.

The best way to describe this polish: Stunning nail art flakes with a unique multi colour changing shimmer. Photo's do not do this polish justice. I suggest taking the opportunity to see the polish in person. I purchased my "night in vegas" at Dis-Chem for an extremely affordable price of R24.95.

(Above) I applied two coats of Tip Top's "Fantasy" and one coat of the very purdy nail art topper. I give you permission to go completely overboard and apply 3-4 layers if you'd like! I was honestly too distracted by the sparkles that I didn't take any note of drying time.

After trying this polish, I have been persuaded to try out the other nail art toppers that Essence has to offer and at such a low price, I don't see why I can't have them all!

Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page for all things Essence and to get more news on pretty polishes.

What do you think?

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Christmas Nail Art Pinsipration

Follow my Christmas nail art Pinterest board here

Poppy wallpaper nail art design

I feel like I haven't done a nail art post in a while. Lately, I have been spending a lot of time on Twitter and Instagram and you might have seen me posting about this design. Now that I'm back I have decided to show you were I got the idea from and how easy it is to do yourself.

My Poppy nail art

Watch the tutorial below, from Cajanails on Youtube. She is one of my favourite nail art guru's that I followed before I even started blogging. In a way, she was one of my inspirations :)

 

I saw this video on her channel and thought it would look amazing with O.P.I's "Fly" so I gave it a try.

 Tips and tricks

*I used 2 coats of O.P.I's "Fly" as my base colour and used acrylic paints to create the flowers.

*Acrylic paints are easier to manipulate becasue thaey aren't sticky like normal nail polishes and they dry quicker that normal nail polishes. 

*I used my special nail art brush set which I ordered from the USA but you can find nail art brushes at nail salons and some pharmacies.

*With nail art like this, it will take some practice. I suggest taking a piece of paper and practicing the technique before you do it on your nails.

Let me know if you would like me to do my own video tutorial for this design, showing all the steps properly and going through the tools in depth.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram to be the first to know of any new designs.

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

YouTube Favourites: Simple Little Pleasures

Simple little pleasures on YouTube is my water marble nail art guru. She has over 80 video's on water marbling and has tips on how you can achieve the perfect marble look :)

Here are a few of my favourite water marbling video's from Simple Little Pleasures.

 Valentine hearts

Devil and Angels

Poolside Neon

Four Leaf Clover

Subscribe to her channel here. Don't forget to check out some of my water marble nail art designs by clicking this link.

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Breast Cancer Awareness, Nail Art

Here is a cute nail art design that you can pull off in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October).

Many ladies find water marbling quite daunting because it looks pretty tricky but trust me ladies, it is the easiest way to get pretty designs on your nails. I prefer water marbling over many other forms of applying nail art.

As always, I will refer you to my water marble guru, Simple Little Pleasures on YouTube. She has the most amazing tutorials (over 80 different ones) on everything water marble related.

Here are the steps I took, for each "dipping":
*Start off with a light base coat*
1. Tape your finger with celotape
2. Build your bulls eye with as many colours as you like (repeat)
3. Dip your fingers in with your nail facing the water.
4. Remove tape and clean up with nail polish remover and a cotton bud.

Pinky and Ring fingers

Middle and Index fingers

Thumbs

A few quick tips when water marbling:
*I highly recommend using celotape to tape the area around your nail. It makes cleaning much easier. Click here for a tutorial on how to tape your nails properply before water marbling.
*Have a paper towel/old rag near by, where you can wipe excess nail polish off your toothpick or orange stick because it gets quite messy.

This is what you'll need your rag/ paper towels for.

*It is very important that your nail polishes and water are the same temperature. I suggest taking your nail polishes and water, putting them in the same room 1 hour before you water marble your nails, so that the nail polish spreads nicely when you build your bulls eye.

I had a few empty patches where there wasn't any swirls so I took a dotting tool and added other decor. You could do the same.

And I think that's it! If you have any questions don't hesitate to comment below, ask me on Twitter or send me a message on Facebook.

I will hopefully have time to do a video tutorial for you soon.

Let me know if you try this nail art design. Click here for a previous water marble design I tried on my nails.

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Beauty Bulletin Polish Up Challenge

Here are the last batch of photo's for Beauty Bulletin's Polish Up Challenge. If you haven't read my first post then click here.

Flocked Cookie Monster

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini

Glitter accent nail

UP inspired nail art

Ombre Tiger nails 

Striped toes

Remember to click on the link below each picture, to view the full gallery.

I hope you enjoyed these designs and let me know if I should do more in the future.

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Essence's super easy Nail Art Stampy Set!

So a while ago I was browsing the HUGE Essence stand at my nearest Dis-chem store and saw they have their very own stamping plates. I was sooo over the moon because, me being a nail fanatic, I have been wanting to purchase the infamous KONAD image plates on amazon.com. The reason I haven't purchased the KONAD image plates is because it would cost a ridiculous R250 for just one plate!! (Not including the scraper, stamp or polishes) *Over my dead body*

It is with utter delight that I tell you, my Essence Stampy Set cost me 80 bucks! 

The plate, scraper and stamp came in one set for R39.95 and the stampy polishes were R19.95 each. Bargain!

You can get such beautiful design's on your nails and its really easy. This is a perfect "Nail art for dummies" set. There are various plates with numerous designs on. You can buy individual image plates for R19.95 each.

Here is a demonstration on how the Stampy Set's work:

Just a few tips and tricks from my end:

*Scrap paper - Put a piece of scrap paper under your stampy plate. Sometimes when your scrape away the nail polish, it goes off the side of the plate and onto the surface you're working on. 

*Be super quick - If you wait too long between each step, the polish will dry.

*Push hard - If you don't apply enough pressure when putting the image onto your nail, it wont stick and you'll be left with only half a picture on your nail. The stamp is made out of rubber so it will not damage your nail.

*Always use a top coat - This will make sure the design will stay on your nail.

I'm so glad that there is an affordable way for ladies to get really nice nail art and I'm really impressed that a brand like Essence can be compared to the KONAD brand of stamping plates.

If you liked this post then chances are you'd love browsing my Nail Fanatic category! Click here.
Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook Page for more exciting nail art. *Watch this space*

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

P.S. Essence also has striping brushes and dotting tools to complete your nail art collection :)