I’m a total nail polish addict. I have actually had to restrain myself from buying more until I use up the bottles in my current collection, so to make this a little easier on myself I picked up a new top coat which I’ve heard great things about through the grapevine…
The A Word.
No, not that ‘A’ word (for those PLL fans out there) – Anxiety.
‘Blossom Dandy’ is one of the beautiful shades from Essie’s 2015 Flowerista collection and is perfect for summertime. A gorgeous bright duck egg shade, it has a hint of mint without taking anything away from the blue tones.
I’m obsessed.
I have been searching for a shade like this for a few weeks but all the polishes I have seen seem to be too blue or too green – I wanted that famous Tiffany’s colour.
Using the Essie base coat and two coats of colour, the drying time was great and I didn’t have to endure any smudging (I’m a fidget which always proves problematic painting nails!)
I can’t comment on the staying power as it’s only been on my nails for a couple of hours but Essie polish usually lasts a good 5 days before chipping. During the hotter months (or week, in the UK) I change up the nail colour quite a bit so longevity isn’t too much of an issue for me, but I have a feeling I’m going to be opting for this shade quite a bit…
You can find more details on the Essie Flowerista collection here.
What do you think of this colour? Have you bought any shades from this range?
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It will be no surprise to many of you who have read my blog from the start or follow me on Instagram that I love nail art. I love the process of painting my nails and creating something fun, inspired by other nail art or fabric patterns. When I saw this floral manicure on Lauren Conrad’s website (via Pinterest) I had to give it a go!
It’s perfect for spring/summer, and the only thing it really requires is patience! If you haven’t got a steady hand, ask a friend of family member to help. I painted mine whilst watching American Horror Story, so I had a good excuse not to watch all the gory bits…
Materials
Brushes – You don’t need to spend a lot of money on professional nail art brushes. I use these fine art brushes from The Works, but you can pick similar ones up in any arts and crafts store for super affordable prices.
It’s all about the base…
Step 1 – It’s important to protect your nails and I use Essie’s All-in-One base coat. It may be slightly pricier than many drugstore products but I’ve found this particular one dries the quickest and leaves a super smooth finish, sometimes I use it by itself on days between wearing polish for a ‘my nails but better’ look.
Step 2 – Choose your base colour. I alternate between bold colours, pastels and nude shades, and as I haven’t worn this beautiful blue in a while I was inspired to create something with it. I can’t fault Rimmel’s Rita Ora collection – the formula and longevity is fantastic and there is a great range of shades to choose from. This one in ‘Breakfast in Bed‘ has a slight shimmer to it but only noticeable in certain lights. I always suggest two coats for the best coverage.
Step 3 – Choose a pale pink shade (I used Barry M’s Gelly nail paint in ‘Rose Hip‘) and paint two splodges on each nail. This is to create the shape of the rose so it doesn’t need to look perfect.
Step 4 – Use a fuchsia pink to create the petals, and draw ‘c’ shapes on the pale pink splodges with a fine brush. Each nail will look slightly different and this really adds to the ‘DIY’ effect.
Step 5 – Similar to step 4, use a white polish to ‘highlight’ the petals and add dimension. An off-white like Barry M’s Gelly Nail Paint in ‘Coconut’ is perfect!
Step 6 – A dark green shade is needed to create the stems – I used Essie’s ‘Stylenomics‘ as it’s a great green grass colour. Draw one or two small lines next to each rose, again each one doesn’t have to be the same.
Once it’s dry, add another layer of Essie’s All-in-One coat for shine and protection.
Ta-da!
Follow me over on bloglovin’ and tweet me photos if you give this a go @kcallen_xo
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