Hi lovelies,

I'm sorry I haven't been around recently, but as I mentioned briefly in my last post, I've just started uni and these past couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur of organisation, finding my way around, buying books and getting lost on campus. Also, my workload is way more than I was expecting so I don't know how well I'm going to be able to manage uni, my job and running this blog. But never fear, there is no way I'm going to be leaving this blog. Although, I think I may have to revisit my New Years resolution about publishing at least 8 posts a month because obviously, I didn't manage that last month!

But, enough blathering on my part! On to today's nails!

I have obviously been on a massive mermaid appreciation phase lately, as both my my last mani's here have been mermaid themed ones! But what can I say? My mermaid style has exponentially increased since I dyed my hair blue and my new blue and iridescent purple lipsticks have arrived and I'm loving it all.

Although, the only problem is that while I got lots of great pictures of my gorgeous gradient base, I only got one usable picture of my finished look, which kind of sucks. But, never mind, I loved this look way too much to let that deter me from posting this design!

Teal Mermaid Nails

Hi everyone,

So, you'll be glad to know that I'm back to slightly erratic posts again after a brief stint at actual consistent posting. However, I'm quite proud that at least while things have been a little erratic, at least there have been no extended, unexplained absences.

I've just been feeling a bit stressed out and anxious recently due to the fact that I'm starting uni next week and I've been really tired all this week so all has compounded to me not really having much motivation. Although, it hasn't yet got to the the 'hiding out in my room doing nothing but reading Avengers fanfiction' stage so I'm by my standards, I'm managing all right.

Basically it was only because I really loved this design that I ever managed to photograph it and get it up.

If you're following me on instagram, you'll know I recently suffered a really bad nail break and had to chop off my baby claws, which was a sad time all around and explains the suddenly shorter and rounder nails.

As much as I loved my longer nails, I do feel (after an acceptable grieving period, of course), that it probably was time for me to have a change and cut them shorter again. They are feeling a lot healthier and I was able to cut off all the stained and peeling bits so they look super duper healthy. Yay!

Valentine's Day Heart Tips

Hi lovelies,

Here is my other Valentine's Day look for this year, and I'm disappointed it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped it would. I love the idea of using your nail shape as part of your design and so I was thrilled that my new pointy shape was going to lend itself so well to hearts.

However, it turns out that painting little hearts is a lot harder than it looks... I had to redo so many nails and I was so close to throwing in the towel completely many times. But, I persevered and by the time I got to the last couple of nails, I was beginning to like them again, warts and all.

A Nuggle's Guide to Nail Art Terms | Part 2

Hello there!

Today I'm back with my second and final part to my Nuggle's Guide to Nail Art Terms. If you missed the first, or wish to re-read it, your can find it here.

Otherwise, I'm back with my sister Tess and her boyfriend Juwan to quiz them about various nail related terms. When we left them last time, Tess was on a score of 7, out of a possible 15 and Juwan scored 5, so let's see who comes out on top!

HG
J: Hungry Jacks? Hungry Goblin? Definitely hungry goblin.
T: High definition? Oh wait that's a D.....
Well it's definitely not Hungry Goblin... HG is actually an abbreviation for Holy Grail, which is a product/s that is the best ever, in your opinion, something you swear by and would recommend to others (see my HG nail products here, if you're interested).

Holo
J: Something see through. Like a see through nail polish.
T: The ones that the ILNP brand do. The ones that change colour? Or are really sparkly?
Yup, these polishes are super-sparkly. Holo (or holographic for long) polishes have pigments in the them that means when you hold them in the light, you can see a rainbow of different colours. And yes, ILNP do amazing holos.

Jelly
J: Squishy. Jelly polish.
T: Gel nail polish. Do you call that jelly for short?
While calling gel polish jelly actually kind of does make sense, a jelly is a type of polish that is rather sheer and when built up of a couple of coats, has a transparent quality and squishyness about it that is reminiscent of jelly, so well done to Juwan for that one.

Lemming
J: White nail polish, like a lamington. And with yellow in it too.
T: Sounds like a fish.
No and no. A lemming is a polish that you really, really want, and can often be hard to find. And no, I have no clue why it's called a lemming.

Birefringence and Masquerade by ILNP (also, sorry for the dodgy white balance...)

Multichrome
J: Multiple colours of chrome.
T: More than two colours in one polish, otherwise it would be a duochrome. Ha I'm such a technical genius. (looked incredibly pleased at her knowledge)
To be honest, I don't know how widely used this term is. For me, a multichrome is different to a duochrome in that a duochrome has predominantly two colours, whereas a multichrome has a much fuller colour spectrum, like the two above. So yes, exactly what Tess said.

A Nuggle's Guide to Nail Art Terms | Part 1

Hi lovelies,

So, I was talking to one of my non-polish-obsessed friends the other day and it was about halfway through the conversation (aka my polish-themed monologue) that I realised she staring at me with a rather bemused and confused expression and then informed me that she really had no clue what half of my word meant. Upon reflection, I realised I maybe had put a few too many jargon-y and nail-specific terms into our (my) discussion.

And since this is not solely a nail art blog, I came to thinking that maybe some of you, my dear readers, also do not know some of the terms I throw around on this blog. So, here is my dictionary/guide of nail terms for nuggles.

For your (and my) amusement, and as a comparison, I've asked a complete nuggle and a polish liker, but not enthusiast, to give their opinions on what each terms means. I know that the common practice in this instance is to use you boyfriend for the nuggle, but since I don't have one I've had to borrow my sister's boyfriend instead. And, as a bit of fun, I've included my sister Tess as well and have decided to have a little competition, even though I think Tess is at a distinct advantage, seeing as she does live with me and she also paints her nails fairly regularly but oh well.

So, without further ado, let me extend a welcome to Tess and Juwan and let's get cracking!

Base Coat (what it is and does)
J: Primary layer.
T: Clear varnish before colour. It's helps protect the nail and makes the varnish last longer.
Both got this pretty right. It's a clear coat of polish that is designed to protect the nail plate from staining and also to provide a sticky/tacky layer for the polish to adhere to in order to help it stay on longer.

Big 3 Free
J: ... Remover?
T: 3 big chemicals, I can't remember the names but they're pretty bad and if they're not in the polish then it's better.
Right on Tess! No, it's not remover, Juwan. If a polish is Big-3 Free it means it doesn't contain toluene, formaldehyde or dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which are some of the most nasty chemicals that can be found in nail polish. If your interested in reading more about the Big-3, Michelle from LabMuffin does a great series on them.

Bin Diving
J: .....
T: When your nail bends over? It dives over the edge??
I have to say, I did think this was fairly self-explaintory, but I guess not. Bin diving is when you go into a store and there is a massive box of nail polish and you have to dive and dig all the way through it to find the real gems (it's fun!)

Claws
J: Long pointy nails.
T: Long pointy nails, like stilettos and they're usually acrylic.
Perfect guys! Although alot of claws are acrylics, it's only because it takes a lot of dedication, perseverance and excellent genes to get your nails to that length.

Crackle
J: Bumpy texture?
T: When your polish starts to crack and chip off?
I'll be generous and give half points for Juwan for this one. Crackle refers to the finish of a polish and how it cracks when it dries, allowing you to see the colour underneath (it was also one of the two nail art trends I just can't manage to do - the other is water-marbling)

Cremes - Good to Grape by Sally Hansen and Mystique by Face of Australia

Creme
J: Texture. (I asked whether he was going to elaborate on that, but he declined)
T: Type of polish that's smooth and creamy
Nice work Tess - that's bang on the mark! Creme, like crackle, refers to the finish. Creme polish is your standard polish - it's got no shimmer, no glitter, no flakies, no nothing. It's just a smooth, even colour.

New Years Nail Art + Year in Review

Hi everyone!

So it really is the last day of 2014, which is pretty cool but also pretty crazy. I know that nearly everybody says this, but honestly, if you had told me last year that I would be here right now, I, well, I probably wouldn't have laughed in your face, but I would have at least given you a nervous laugh and found some excuse to leave the conversation immediately.

I loved 2014. I really did. Some bits got a little sucky and I had a rough patch over the middle, but I still loved it. I feel I have accomplished a lot over this year, more so than usual. Mentally, I progressed from being 'in recovery' from my eating disorder to being 'in remission' - which is an amazing accomplishment and I also have come a lot more to terms with my medication and have also developed a much better self help plan for when I do start spiralling downwards (read more about that here and here). In terms of my nails, I feel I have improved quite a bit from the first nail art I did this year to these and I've been particularly proud of some of my more recent ones, like my Tony Stark/Iron Man nails. My photography is still an on going struggle, but hey, nobody's perfect...

I'm proud of how much I've been learning about coding and stuff and I'm loving being able to understand more about how my blog is set up and customise more of it. I'm also really loving my instagram and having more motivation for blogging and stuff. I got qualified as a nail tech and also as a make-up artist and I'm training for my Cert III in childcare and I adore my job in out of school hours childcare.

Anyway, so these nails I am pretty happy with. Considering I was working on a limited time frame and I was also really tired from working all day, I thought these were a pretty good compromise. The fact that I was using such an amazing multichrome as a base also helps make these look 100x better.

Gold Glitter Gradient and Christmas Tree Nail Art

Hi lovelies,

Today I'm back to red for my Christmas nail art, as well as Christmas trees. I'm feeling a little repetitive this year...

I was pretty happy with how these turned out, although I think I need to work on my glitter gradients a bit. I used just regular craft glitter for this and I have to admit I was a little stumped on how to put it in a gradient. But after a little trial and error, I discovered the best way was just to apply the red polish as normal and when it had dried to a tacky stage, just press the glitter on with my fingers. Of course, this method did mean placement and gradient was left a lot to chance and luck!

Christmas Tree Nail Art

Hi lovelies,

So, it's December and I think it's high time that I start cracking out the Christmas nail art, don't you. Actually, to be honest, I did these in the last week of November, but that was mostly because that's when my goodies from Powder Perfect came in and I was super excited to use them.

Anyway, I kept my first Christmas design of the year pretty simple and purely by coincidence, the same theme as my first design last year - Christmas trees!

I do apologise for the slightly inconsistent lighting in these photos - I found this polish really hard to photograph and my camera was really fighting me that day...

Spider-Web Halloween Nail Art AKA I'm Not Dead and Have Crawled Out of my Hole for Halloween

Hi everyone,

I've got some very average nail art for you today, but you know, it's better than what I had before (which was nothing).

It's also my first set of Halloween nails for this year! Yay! Last year I kind of forgot about it and had a very late and somewhat half-hearted contribution, but this year is different. I have started early and have some many designs to do. If fact, I have way too many ideas than I have reasonable opportunities to paint my nails but whatever, I'll think of something.

Then and Now: Galaxy Nails

Today's nails are galaxy nails because they are beautiful! And look stunning and way harder than they actually are. And it's pretty easy to get both hands looking the same because it's just sponging bits of polish on in random places. :)

Glitter-Placement Nails - Or, I Like All The Sparkles On My Nails

Hi lovelies,

Guess what???

I tried glitter placement nails!

And they didn't suck too badly. :)

And that's a win in my book.

Pretty much, they are all the sparkly. Thankfully, I actually thought ahead before starting these and decided not to do 10 glitter placement nails first up because that was going to be a recipe for disaster! So I stuck with 3 and some little bits of glitter placement. :)

Pastel Glam Nails

Okay, so maybe that title sounds a little contradictory, but I honestly didn't know what else to call them! They have sparkles and jewels but also pastel colours? I think they can be called pastel glam and since it's my blog, I'm gonna call them that. :)

I was really happy with these as it actually gave me a chance to use a polish I won from Jindie Nails and that I love to bits, but find it difficult to wear. It's called Candyland and while it's super different to anything that I would normally wear, I really like it. However, it is a milky glitter and I find them very hard to use. I also have to do a lot of fishing to get a good amount of glitter out...

So, as a rather impatient person, I do not the whole process of white base + thick/multiple coats + fishing that is required to use this polish, especially when applied to all ten fingers! But then, if I don't apply it to all ten fingers, what do I match such a unique and interesting polish with?? Ergh! What a dilemma!

Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 5

Hello lovelies,

Today, it's time for day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. Today's prompt was 'Christmas Song/Carol'. My nails for today were inspired by a very non-traditional Christmas song by Owl City called The Christmas Song. You can hear it here, if you haven't heard it (I recommend it, it's a lovely song). These nails were particularly inspired by the line

'It's Christmas, and we are in love, with the way that the soft snowflakes kiss us'

Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 2

Hello lovelies,

Right, it's the 3rd of December, meaning it's time for day 2 of the Christmas Nail art challenge. Today's theme was wrapping paper/presents, and this is what I came up with.

Laura Nails

Hi lovelies,

Here's a little bit of background into my life. :) Music is quite a big part of my life. I did it as a subject in school from year 2 to year 11 and I have been in 6 different choirs in my lifetime. I have had 12 different conductors and each of them have taught me something new about words and about singing.

Pink Bubbly

Hello my dearest lovelies,

So, I went shopping on the weekend and I sternly said to myself ‘Lissa, you are going to get your friend’s birthday present and that is all. You are not going to browse. You have a mission. And you are not going to get distracted in the cosmetics and nail areas.’

It didn’t work.

Back to School and a Green Glitter Manicure

Good morning!

How are you all today? I myself am feeling rather fabulous as I am sporting a brand new manicure, complete with sparkles! :) Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for life is somewhat dampened by the fact that tomorrow, I have to return to school… :( I dread it. School is the bane of my existence. I’m not even exaggerating. The sooner I get out of school, the better my life will be. In my personal opinion, November just can’t come soon enough…

Galaxy Nails

Okay everyone, I have stars on my nails. I have galaxies on my nails. On my hands, I have constellations! They are about the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I can’t believe how easy they were. They were way easier than I expected and just great and arghhhhhh… I’m just so in love with them. Best nails ever…

A Super-Sparkly Manicure

Hi all!

I have an exciting new addition to my blog – nail art! The other day, I was out shopping and saw those BYS glitter shimmer thingies and thought to myself, ‘I wonder why you have to fork out $8 for a bottle of fairly rubbish nail polish and glitter. What does that glitter have that normal glitter doesn’t?’. In

trigued, I went home and decided to experiment with some bog-standard glitter I had lying around and some normal nail polish.

As you can see, they came up a treat and I was incredibly impressed with the results – as was my mum (who had kindly agreed to be my model). Also, they were super easy and are super glittery. They also last well – my mum has had them on for about 4 days and they are only just starting to chip at the ends. However, they will by a HUGE pain to get off… Meh, worth it. ;)

Since then, I have done Opinionated’s, Freckles’s and my nails and so more to come on them soon. :) I’m really proud of them and I’m also really pleased to have re-discovered something I used to love, but had lost my interest in because of my anorexia. There was a time when I would even consider leaving the house without having nail polish on but that was a while ago. This is the first time I’ve painted my nails in over a year… I feel like I’ve rediscovered a part of who I am, a part of who Lissa is, not who anorexic-Lissa is.

xxLissa

P.S. Sorry about the interesting photo. I took this today and unfortunately only my mum’s thumb and pinky were suitable for a close-up photo so that’s why the photo’s not the best. But at least you get to see how fabulous they are. :)

Super-Glitter Nails

Nail polish, colour of your choice (I used Cherry Red by Sally Hansen)

Glitter to match nail polish (I used generic craft glitter)

Teaspoon

Small bowl (I used a dipping bowl)

Top coat

1.     Pour a small amount of glitter into bowl

2.     Paint one nail with nail polish and using teaspoon, spoon glitter onto wet nail

3.     Tap nail to shake off excess glitter and leave to dry

4.     Repeat with remaining nails and when dry, cover with top coat