From The Archive: Cute Cupcake Nails

Here's a tutorial from last year that I needed to re-upload this week.  I think every channel has done cupcake nails as some point, but I held back until I could figure out something a little different.

My version has a cute little face with chubby cheeks, and random candy coloured dots on the other nails.  As you can see it works really well on short nails too!

Click HERE or on the video below to watch the tutorial  :)

Pink base - Something Sweet by China Glaze
Artwork done with acrylic paints by FolkArt and DecoArt and a detail brush.

Arcadia  xx

Smiley Face Nail Art Tutorial

Here is my version of smiley face nail art, a design I've been meaning to do for AGES...

It was supposed to have some fimo smiley faces in it, however when I tried to use them they just seemed too big and were difficult to curve around my nails.  I got in a huff and just did a freehand version instead.

I have little patience for fimo slices to be honest  :/

Anyway, here are the details, and as ever, click on the video to watch how it was done..

Red Polish - SpaRitual 'Hunk of Burning Love'  3 coats
Yellow Polish - Barry M 'Lemon Ice Cream' 5 coats (which is ridonkulous!  I've ordered Lemon Fizz by China Glaze because it applies in 2 or 3 apparently)
Topcoat - Color Club, pretty much hate it but I'm using it up for tutorials.
Acrylic paints by FolkArt and DecoArt (FolkArt are way better)

Brush - Teeny tiny one from an art store with most of the bristles chopped off.

And of course if you're rubbish at doing your other hand just paint them all red with the polka dots and leave it at that!

Thanks for watching

Arcadia  xx

Holographic Polishes by Layla - Swatches and Review

One of my lovely viewers suggested that instead of focusing on new collections (which I can't really afford right now) I could instead make a swatch video whenever I buy myself some interesting polishes....so here are some holos I treated myself to last month from Layla.

I chose silver and black, and bought them from amazon.co.uk.

I love them, see what you think in the video below (where I list the pros and cons)

Thanks for watching!

Arcadia  xx

Easy Hazard Tape Effect Nails

Hello!

I've spent the last week messing around with striping tape trying to see what new ideas I could come up with, and this is what I created!  I don't know why I thought of hazard tape, no doubt it's because I was playing with the striping tape while watching CSI Vegas lol.

You can of course use regular clear tape and cut it in to strips, but be aware that 2 coats of polish over regular tape can create bleeding lines.  Two coats over striping tape works very well (if you count to ten before removing it), but sometimes you'll get blurry lines with the clear tape.  I'd recommend using a dense opaque polish that's a one coater over it if you're having trouble.

Arcadia  xx

Faded Butterflies Stamping Nail Art Tutorial

I've done some stamping this week using a beautiful butterfly image from Bundlemonster, but you could also re-create it with a flower or leaf image too.

I thought it'd be cute to paint my little finger lilac and added a butterfly rhinestone to it as a finishing touch!

Items used -

White - Sally Hansen Insta-Dry 'Whirlwind White'
Lilac - OPI 'Done Out In Deco'
Pale Green - Essie 'Maximillian Strasse Her'
Blue/Grey - Colour Club 'Shabby Drab'
Topcoat - Poshe Topcoat

Image Plate - Bundlemonster BM-205 from the 2011 set of 25 plates (available on amazon and bundlemonster's website)

I hope you like it!

Arcadia   x

OPI OZ - Softshades Collection 2013

Here's a mini-swatch video of a couple of polishes from OPI's latest collection of Softshades polishes inspired by the Disney movie 'OZ The Great and Powerful'.

I was given Glints of Glinda, a beige caramel coloured nude polish with a crème/jelly formula, and When Monkeys Fly!, an awesome gold and holographic layering glitter...

Check out the video to learn more and see how they apply!

Arcadia xx

These polishes are press samples that were sent to me for review

From The Archive: Floral Damask Nails

Before I started this blog I uploaded lots of nail art videos to Youtube, so I thought I'd share some of them with you every now and then.

One of my favourites is this floral design painted entirely in black over a duochrome polish.  In real life the effect is stunning, but sadly on camera it was super hard to pick up.  As a result the photos kinda suck....even running around the house for 20 minutes taking snaps in every light condition at all angles wasn't enough to capture it.

I used a Stargazer polish for the background, number 307, with black acrylic paints for the details.  I love the finished look but if you're not into such dark colours, try painting the flowers in white over a lighter background.

Arcadia  xx