Mani Monday : Black & Gold!

Here we are again at another Mani Monday! I have to say, this one might be my favourite so far and I have absolutely fallen in love with matte nails. This week saw me buying my first matte top coat from Barry M so I just had to try it out, so I came up with a look based on my new favourite polish: Lottie Tomlinson’s Good As Gold.

As always,  I started with a base coat. Since the spray can tends to make a tiny mess, I decided to start with that, so my ring fingers and middle fingers were given the golden treatment (if you want to find out more about the paint can you can click here). Then it was a case of painting my other fingers black. I used Barry M Black Nail Paint and I’m super surprised at how well it goes on. For a cheaper black nail paint, it only took one coat for it to be completely opaque which is something I’ve struggled to find. Well done Barry M!

On my pinky fingers, it was as simple as shoving it in some black glitter and topping it with the matte top coat. On my index fingers it was even easier. I stuck on a little gold star and topped it with the matte top coat.

For my ring fingers, I painted a black triangle at the bottom of the nails and stuck a gold heart in the centre before finishing with the matte top coat. Similarly, on my thumbs, I painted a white triangle at the bottom, but this time I stuck the heart at the tip of the triangles and finished with the matte top coat.

Finally, on my middle finger, I created a leopard print design using black and white paint and a dotting tool. First I made little splodges with the white, then around the outside in two or three places, I dotted some black in little comma shapes. Then in the gaps I put some more, smaller, black commas. To finish, I topped it with – you guessed it – the matte top coat.

Considering how simple this design was, I’m loving how it looks. It’s sleek and elegant but with a little bit of fun too.

I hope you like it, and maybe give it a go.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Review : Lottie Tomlinson Nail Paint Can

If you’re familiar with Nails Inc you’ll be familiar with the concept of their nail paint can which is essentially spray paint for your nails for a super fast manicure. If you’re familiar with Lottie Tomlinson, you’ll know she’s an up and coming makeup artist and has collaborated with Nails Inc to make a new shade for the paint cans.

I present to you, Good As Gold.

Good As Gold is exactly what it says on the tin – quite literally. It’s a gorgeous glimmering gold shade which is perfect for summer.

The application process is simple – as long as you remember a base coat! Just shake the can and hold 10-15cm away from the nail and spray in short, sharp bursts. I’d say don’t hold it down for more than a split second otherwise you won’t just be spraying your nail gold, you’ll be redecorating the room you’re doing it in. Let the first coat dry and then go in for a second coat. The amazing thing about this is that whatever magical formula Nails Inc have come up with in order to make it sprayable (and washable which I’ll talk more about in a minute) also means that it dries super duper quick so there’s no waiting around or risk of chipping before you’ve even finished. Then to make it last a bit longer, apply a top coat and you’re done. It’s that easy. Take a look at the result!

Obviously with a spray, it does get on your fingers a little bit so there’s two options. You can either just wash it off like the back of the can recommends and it absolutely does come off easily with a bit of warm water, or you can purchase a little bottle of Simply Peel, which is a liquid latex that you paint on the skin around the nail and peels off all the collateral damage once you’ve finished.

I, for one, think this product is great. It’s super fast and easy. The colour is gorgeous and the wear time is also really good. It doesn’t last as long as other polishes, but I’ve been wearing it for three days now and its only just starting to chip at the tips of my nails. I also think it’s going to be great for nail art. Because the formula is lighter I think its going to be easier to peel off the nail art stencils allowing for a neater design – this is a theory I shall be testing.

For those of you who follow my instragram, you may have already seen my picture of this, which Lottie Tomlinson and Nails Inc both liked and commented on (I died a little), but I wanted to do a full review in case any of you were on the fence about trying it.

I’ve left links below to buy the paint can, but also to the base and top coast I used which is the one Nails Inc recommend. If you’re a nail varnish lover, I’d definitely recommend becoming a Nails Inc VIP for £5 a year to get 10% discount every time you shop online (I did!).

All in all, this might be my new favourite.

Sparkle On! – Ellie .xx

Good As Gold Nail Paint Can
The Paint Can’s Best Friend Top and Base Coat
Simply Peel