TUTORIAL: Amethyst geode nail art

My recent hobby is to collect the most shiny and colorful crystals I can find. And I also noticed that there are quite a few geode inspired manicures out there. Do you guys know how rare it is for my hobbies to match the current beauty trends? So I just had to jump on this band wagon right away! 

Here is a comparison photo - this is my favorite amethyst chunk and this is where I got the idea for the colors. 

For this manicure you will need a dark matt nail polish to serve as the shell of the geode, I used Essence Moonless night. Than you need a bunch of different colors to make the layers of the crystal. I used a mix of holo, glitter and jelly shades called Color club Eternal beauty, Essence I see ice and Avon White nail art polish. You will also need at least 2 preferably textured polishes for the center of the geode. I used Zoya Lux and Carter. No top coat required this time :)

Step 1: Apply the base nail polish.

Step 2: Make vague outlines with the grey polish that will transition from the outside of the geode inside. This line will also serve as the guideline that you have to paint in.

Step 3: Make the same lines but with the white nail polish. 

Step 4: Apply the purple holo polish, so the transition from the sharp outside colors into the glitter purple ones in the center.

Step 5: Apply the dark textured glitter on the remaining space left in the middle. 

Step 6: Apply the remaining glitter in the middle, but don't over do it or it will lose the feel of the geode. Also this is the time for any clean up. As you can see there is minimal mess. No top coat required.

I think the finished look turned out quite accurate and full of different finishes and textures just like any real geode piece. 

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. For more glitter make up and nail art looks visit Glam - express.

xoxo
gin

AVON Mark. Nail art studio polish review

Consider this part 2 of my Avon Mark. nail polish review. I was so happy when I tested their new nail polishes that turned out almost flawless. And now I got the chance to review their nail art nail polishes. I command Avon for releasing a couple of nail polishes like that since they are very easy to use and appropriate for any nail enthusiast. The other part of the review will be the new Avon True nail spray, which is a virtual carbon copy of the quick drying spray I reviewed a while back. 

Now lets get started. 

I tasted out the Nail style studio mini nail art White and Gold. They both are very opaque nail polishes that dry quickly and are very well formulated, but you have to be careful that you use them in thin coats or they clump and will never dry. Below you can see the manicure I came up with. A side note the base is Avon Mark. Violaceous. 

This is a close up of the brush. It is pointed, but some of the bristles stick out a bit. So if those kind of things bother you just cut them away. I left them since they didn't bother me that much. The brushes are quite hard and sturdy so they are easy to manipulate if you make strokes or any type of nail art. You just have to be careful that you drain the brush as much as possible or it will all drip on your base.

Not only did the brushes do very good when I tried to create little stars and crosses full of straight lines. But used correctly you can use them as a dotting tool. As you can see the dots are perfectly formed and can be made in different sizes, as can be the lines. 

Lastly here is the Avon true dry spray. It comes in a very handy spray form that helps you just spray it on the manicure you created and it forces it to dry faster. It smells a bit fruity and fresh, with a few chemical undertones. Since the spray is so oily and rich in texture it instantly enriches and moisturizes your skin where ever it lands. That is always a plus, since any nail blogger can tell you that your cuticles need all the love they can get, especially i the dry winter months. 

I don't like that since if you spray your nails it will get on your skin and there it stays as a big oil blob. And the point of the spray is that you can get back to work ASAP, but that is hindered a bit. So yeah, it does dry and harden your manicure a bit faster, but the results are not immediate. Also maybe wash or wipe your hands after using it or you will drag the oil that is leftover all over your work. 

The best part of it all no matter where you are from Avon is available to you! So visit their WEB PAGE and online store. Or if you like to be more in touch with all their newest updates follow them on their social media pages:

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

xoxo

gin

*the items were sent to me for my honest review*

NOTD: Mother of Dragons

After the mermaid scales tutorial I created the last time I was thinking about all the ladies wearing nail art. I realized that while the trend world is taken over mermaids and unicorns there are folks out there who like the aesthetics of things, but not the soft and cuddly image mystical creatures like that convey...

So I decided to make dragon scale nails! And just in time since Game of thrones and all that jazz is making a come back. The nail art technique is quite the same as the Mermaid nails I created a while back. 

It was quite simple to transform it - use a dark base and a dark stamping polish. The flakies this time are more red and yellow hued to give it the look of fire. Also the shape of the stamping pattern that represents scales is a bit more pointy.

With all the new dragons flapping around the GOT universe *sorry I am still not a 100% fan of it* I must remind you Smaug is still bae <3 

source: tumblr

For this manicure I used Golden rose 94 as base. Over it I applied a lot of layers of Essence Glamaxy far, far away flakie nail polish. Over it I stamped with Mundo de Unas Dark green and BM-410 stamping plate. Just to make sure that the nails didn't turn out too dark mermaid looking I used MM05 and Barry M Gold foil to make the tiny dragon stamp. 

If you want to see my original Mermaid nails tutorial and many more visit the page Glam - express. 

xoxo
gin

NOTD: Cute and Neon

Most the neon nails that are always popping up in this time of the year feature pinks, oranges and corals - but guys I don't like those colors at all!!! So I want to be one of the cool kids that wear neons but on my own terms . .  Therefore I picked up 3 of the colors I am OK with and just did something that turned out soooooooooo kawaii *cute* that I instantly fell in love! <3 

A small pro tip (that still a lot of folks don't know) neons will always shine even brighter if you use white as a base. And that tip works for any neon! So keep that in mind when attempting a neon manicure, and at the same time it saves you the neon polish. By that I mean instead of making like 5 layers for full opacity you en up with 3 ( 1 white + 2 neon) *where did all this math came from?*

I just am not that good with the classic Summer symbols this year, I had to force myself to make some mermaid nails. So even thou this here is the perfect base for a palm trees and parrots stamp I went with some cute & sweet cupcakes and stars, that I still feel look perfect for the base. 

As base here I used OPI Alpine snow. The 3 neons I used are Color club Not-so-mellow yellow, Kiko 295 and Trend it up 210. The stamps are placed together but all come from the same BM-XL214 plate. The stamping polish I used is BPS Black. 

For more tropical nails and some sexy make up looks to go with them visit Glam - express. 

xoxo
gin

WitchCraft nails: The Kraken

Davy Jones voice: ''Release the Kraken!''

First of all I am happy to report I saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie and every damn moment was amazing! Whoever says anything different . . . BOY BYE! 

Thou there was no Kraken in this movie I still wanted to make a octopus type of manicure since this year a friend of mine gifted me a bottle of Kraken Rum that was on my wish list for quite some time <3 

source: tumblr

I know the Wolfman nails didn't seem very magical but you have to admit werewolf's and giant tentacles from the deep are pure witchcraft. So get ready if there will be magical creatures in this series. All in all I love how this turned out! Glitter and holo mixed into a tentacle covered manicure with nude and green shades that usually don't appear in nautical nails. At the same time it kind off reminds me of a H.P. Lovecraft look - now I am confused what actually inspired me ;)

Here I used Zoya Cece, Kleancolor Metallic green and Kiko 399 as base nail polishes. The stamps are made with Color club Beyond and BPS Black. The stamping plates I used are BM-401 and Cici & Sisi Ocean 1.

Lets not all forget the biggest octopus icon #queen 

source: giphy

This wasn't planned but somehow I managed to make a vaguely similar look and matching color scheme as the bottle of original Kraken rum :)

source: giphy

Stay magical ...
xoxo
gin

NOTD: Classic Summer

Summer trends are all about strong colors to compliment your tan *that I never have* and tropical motifs, like palms, birds, fruit and exotic flowers. Mostly surrounded by tribal and geometric patterns, any combination of these things is a guarantee to make an amazing manicure. Lets see how I did :)

I wanted to use 3 fruits but not in combination with their natural colors, so you get a purple banana, yellow strawberry and blue oranges. I wanted a strong yellow to pop so I added some other a bit darker shades. I choose the big flower so it would show the amazing neon pink shimmer *that turned out very camera shy*. I maybe did not stick to all the guidelines, but these still turned out great. 

For this manicure I used Zoya Darcy & Liv, Color club Bell bottom babe for base. The stamping plates I used are MoYou London Tropical 8 & 18. BornPretty Store White was the stamping polish I used. 

For more tropical nails and some sexy make up looks to go with them visit Glam - express. 

xoxo
gin

NOTD: Poop emoji

Lets all agree that social media runs our life! And the king is the poop emoji :) I just can't image why on earth was is meant to be used for. But I like the fact that he is just so happy to be here - I mostly use it when I have nothing better to say or anything funny to comment. 

And color club came out with a range of polishes that feature the most common used emojis in glitter shape. And they all swim in neon glitters so the entire collection is super appropriate for Summer. 

As you can see besides the poop there are also the classic smiley faces, hearts, lips and ghosts. Ghosts are my least favorite since I don't like snapchat that much, and I just equate them :)

source: tumblr

For this manicure I used China glaze Glow with the flow as a neon pink base. The rest is all Color club JK. And a lot of top coat nail polish to smooth them out :)

Check out more beauty posts on the page Glam - express. I would bet that you can't find another beauty look featuring poop :)

xoxo
gin