... Aussie Nail Monday - Snow ...

Hello and welcome to Aussie Nails Monday!! Todays theme is Snow or Snowmen! I've gone for the snow aspect as I've been really jealous lately of all the beautiful winter pics appearing online. I would say it's summer here but that has been rather non-existent so far this year. I'm sure it'll warm up soon enough though.

The blue is a subtle gradient of 3 Illamasqua pretty polishes called Noble, Muse and Phallic. I really liked how it worked out although I possibly could have gone darker on the tips a bit more so it would stand out further.

I've used Konad White polish for the snowflakes and I've used a few different stamping plates for them as I wanted lots of variety (although I think I could definitely use some more snowflake stamps!) The ones I've used today are Konad m59, Konad m69 and Gals GA41.

I really like how the blues seem to change depending on the light and I spent most of today looking at my nails just to see the colour shift! It's been awhile since I had that fantastic feeling.

Wanna see more Aussie Nails? Check out these links or check out #anmonday on Instagram!

Lily Jinks - @lilyandjinks

Ann - Nailovelogy

Tracy - @oliviajade19

Holly - @nails_by_holly

Naomi - @nadeekay and Nananaisnails

Erin Wu -  @erinzi and Erin Zi’s Nails

Elissa -@tenlittlenubs and Ten Little Nubs

Kate - Pimped Out Nails

Astrid - @lovessweetas

Sarah Claire - @shattermeclaire or Shatter me Claire

Julia - Fancy Nails and Cups of Tea

Sylvie - @smudgedpolish

Relle - @lazylacquerista or Lazy Lacquerista

Tammy - @ohmygoshpolish

Christinemay - @xtinemayyy or Nails at 2am

Tash Birch - @tashisdead

Nicki - @celestialcosmetics

Briana -

Loz - Polish Patterns

Kelly - @kellyskolors and Kelly's Kolors!

Tara - @lokislacquer or  Osiris and Loki paint their nails

... Aussie Christmas Nail Challenge - Summer Sunset ...

I'm actually really pleased how this one worked out! This is my summer sunset! I've chosen to go for a gradient of oranges, red and a purple and then stamp on the top!

Colours used are ...
B Collection by Bloom - St Tropez
Essie - Meet me at sunset [appropriate!]
Maybelline Colorama - 15 Candy Apple
Maybelline Colorama - 67 Wonder Violet

I've stamped over the top using Ulta3 Black Satin and I've used the stamping plate from Lilic's A04

Wanna see more Aussie Christmas Nails?? Check out the links below!!

... This is Halloween Nail Art - Gradient ...

I'm unsure what gradients have to do with Halloween but I really wanted to steer clear of traditional colours.

My beautiful friend Mandy sent me a big bag of Candy Corn which I was so super excited about. Candy Corn is a rarity in Australia and I didn't know until this year that there were many flavours!!

I have been trying to improve my gradients lately and I'm quite impressed with how I'm getting with them.

For this I chose to use Ulta3 Lily White with Cult Nails Deal with It and I've topped with the Essence gel coat with a coat of quick dry polish on top. Super smooth!!

Not the perfect gradient but if you flick back to previous attempts they are fantastic!! Anyway I thought they matched the delicious candycorn perfectly!

Note to self ... don't grab fingers when they look yummy [and ewwww - red wrinkly hand!]

** Now clicky on these links to see more Gradient art. As for me ... I'm now hungry!! **

... 7 days 7 ways - Day 2 Gradient

Incase you missed yesterdays post I'm going for 7 days wearing Rimmel 60 second - 460 Limealicious.

I'm just going for a quick gradient look today. I'm going to use another Rimmel from the I love Lasting Finish range called 238 Forest. Sadly Forest is discontinued *sobs* but you can still find it from time to time in clearance bins if you have a good eye. Anyway it's a beautiful "Forest" Green with a secret green shimmer that appears when you look closely. Love!!

This is also a quick and easy way to fix a manicure if you have tip wear appearing! Also there is no right or wrong way in regards to gradients. Some people like clean lines, others like random areas - it's totally up to you.

This look is really easy to create and there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to do it so I won't go into it. Personally I just use makeup sponges [you can buy a cheap bag of them for like $2] and just tear them into smaller pieces. Practice makes all the difference with gradients and my top tip is patience. Wait for each layer to dry [or stick a quick dry top coat on] before sponging some more colour on. To smooth it all out after use a top coat.

See you tomorrow for Day 3!