Glitter Fade Nail Tutorial

In the wise words of Jessie J; I’m feeling sexy & free… Like Glitter’s raining on me!

I have a confession to make… My name is Louise Henry and I am a glitter-holic.

Glitter makes everything better, you can never have too much – especially when it comes to your nails. It is such a simple solution to cheering up plain nails and it is super-duper quick to apply.

There are many different methods of applying glitter to a manicure or pedicure but my favourite is probably the glitter fade.  It makes it look like glitter is raining down over your nails.  You can use it to add an element of sparkle to pale pink bridal nails or bling up a set of neon holiday toes. It’s SO Versatile!

All you need is your nail preparation kit along with a base coat polish, your chosen colour of polish, an extra sparkly glitter polish & your top coat.  I would recommend Barry M’s glitter polishes – very reasonable prices and great finish.

Prep and prime your nails as always.  Once your nails are prepped apply your base coat and 2 layers of your chosen colour… don’t be afraid to be a little adventurous!  Allow these layers of polish a good 15 mins to dry as you don’t want to smudge them when applying the special layer of glitter.

After you have allowed your coloured polish to sufficiently dry you can go all out with the glitter.  Using the nail polish brush, apply a thick blob of glitter polish either at the cuticle end of your nail or else at the free edge of your nail, doing only one nail at a time as you need to move quickly – when I say blob I really mean it, keep that polish thick and the glitter dense!

Now you need to wipe ALL the excess polish off your brush & using this brush slowly wipe the glitter down the nail in small strokes, allowing the glitter to rain down your nail like a sparkling snow fall.  Be gentle with this part as you don’t need much pressure.

Repeat this step on all of your nails. You will get more confident as you go along.  Don’t be too fussy as the glitter does most of the work and that’s the joy of this style of nail art!  Once all of your nails have been adequately jazzed up, pop a thin layer of shiny top coat on and a slathering of cuticle oil… now you can sit back and admire your handy work.

Easy peasy lemon squeezey, amazing isn’t it?!

Send me in some of your attempts via facebook/email or tag me in your pictures on Instagram, I’m happy to help if you have any trouble following the guide.  I’ll leave you with a few pictures of some glitter fade gel manicures I have done on my clients. L xx

Article by Louise Henry

Louise joined The Beauty Cloud team in May 2014 as our Nail expert.  She is a fully trained & qualified Nail Technician running her own little nail bar in Bangor, The Nail Room at Salon75. 

Any questions, email louise@thebeautycloud.co.uk or find her on Facebook

Make-up of the Day – 10/7/14 – World Cup Inspired

Hi everyone!

So I am back from my holidays. I spent almost 2 weeks camping around France in Thunder and Lightening Storms, needless to say, there was very little make-up applied during my time away. I feel like I need to explain this so you will understand why I just went a bit bonkers for my makeup of the day today!  I needed a Makeup overload.

As the end of the World Cup is drawing close, I just thought I would throw something together a little Brazil inspired! I reckon you should maybe pop on your sunshades before scrolling down 🙂

Products used to create the look are:

• Collection 2000 Colour Pop Palette
• Inglot Yellow Eyeshadow
• Collection 2000 Pencils in Green and Blue
• Barry M Gold Dust
• MAC Cosmetics Chromaline in Black
• Katie Perry Eyelashes (Punk Princess)
• Illamasqua Sealing Gel

Here you go! Here is my MOTD.

A round-up of the 2014 BAFTA nail trends

The 2014 BAFTA TV Awards saw the crème de la crème of the acting world descend upon the West End of London.  It is always a stunningly glamorous evening with every actor & actress groomed to perfection from head to toe. Each  outfit worn is always finished off with some fabulous glittering accessories and not forgetting those all-important manicures.

This year’s BAFTA’s saw some definite trends in the nail department, with the nude and white colour palettes reigning supreme.  These tones are the perfect complimentary colour to choose for an event.  A simple nude manicure is enough to keep you looking effortlessly polished without detracting from your fabulous gown or accessories.  Millie Mackintosh provides a perfect example of a simple nude manicure, complimenting her intricately embellished mermaid-esque gown… I think she looks like a total Goddess!

I personally love pale manicures on almond shaped nails as I think it adds a little something extra to this minimalist trend.

To achieve a beautiful natural nude manicure at home I would recommend Essie – Ballet Slippers http://www.boots.com/en/Essie-Nail-Polish-Ballet-Slippers-13-5ml_1343326/ which is actually one of the Queens favourite nail polishes!  For a chic white mani I always rely on my trusty old OPI – Alpine Snow http://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/opi/alpinesnow/ currently reduced to £6.93 on BeautyBay.com… Bargain!

Closely following the nude trend we saw pastel colours sashaying down the red carpet on the celebs nails.  I am coveting Sheridan Smith’s edgy new hair colour complete with matching lilac manicure.

Masters of the pastel coloured nail polishes, Barry M always has the widest range of colours to choose from… Not only that they are a total steal at only £3.99!  Prickly Pear & Sugar apple are my fave colours at the moment! http://www.barrym.com/products/nails/effects/gelly-nail-effects.html

Jewel toned nails are a fail-safe for red carpet events  – mimicking the rich shimmering colours of Ruby’s, Sapphire’s and Emerald’s.  At the BAFTA’s all ranges of reds were a firm favourite for many celebs, with the odd Sapphire blue thrown in for good measure.

Beautiful jewel toned nail polishes are in fashion throughout every season so they are always easy to get your hands on.  My all-time favourite has to be Chanel – Rouge Noir.  This is a colour that was released in 1994 and famously worn by Uma Thurman in the movie Pulp Fiction. You can buy it online or in store for £18, a little pricey but totally worth it!

Keep your eye out for my upcoming posts; I will be keeping you up to date with all of the latest trends and colours you should be wearing on your nails this season along with a few exciting new product reviews!

Article by Louise Henry

Louise joined The Beauty Cloud team in May 2014 as our Nail expert.  She is a fully trained & qualified Nail Technician running her own little nail bar in Bangor, The Nail Room at Salon75. 

Any questions, email louise@thebeautycloud.co.uk or find her on Facebook

Rimmel Lasting Finish Shade 055 – Sunshine Review

Recently you may remember I did my first review of another Rimmel Lasting Finish Nail Polish. I loved the colour and pigment of the last one, so when I saw this polish, full of sunshine and promising a glimpse of spring time, I had to have it. I had great expectations for this particular polish. I thought it would definitely help me welcome in the long awaited spring season.

However, I have to say, Ive never been quite so disappointed on a Nail Polish in my life…. EVER!

The photo shows my nails after FOUR coats of the polish and Im not sure if you can see, but the product is still patchy and uneven in colour. Not only that, the colour was more ‘jaundice’ than ‘spring-time’. I didnt even keep this one for 1 full day, thats how much I disliked it. I was actually rather embarassed to be seen wearing it.

I did try to redeem it with some Barry M ‘Amethyst Glitter’, which certainly did help a little bit, but not quite enough.