I'm almost allowed to paint my nails again, just 2 more days!! I'm so excited :D But first, I have one last fantastic guest post from Sarah of Pardon My Nails. I feel like you guys will be sad once I start doing my own nails again -- all these guest posts have been so amazing!

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Hey girls!! 

My name's Sarah and I run the blog Pardon My Nails! I'm so happy to be doing this guest post for Lucy during her nail polish ban and I really hope you like the nails I designed for you guys! 

I wasn't 100% sure what to call this design, but they're pretty Bauhaus-esque (I think!), so I decided to settle on 'Bauhaus stripes'. The polishes I used were Rimmel Lasting Finish in 'Black Cab', Barry M 'Matt White' and Nails Inc 'Moreton Place', but, of course, any black, white and red polishes would do the job nicely!

To create this design, I first painted my nails with 2 coats of the white polish and left them to dry. Next, I used striping tape of mark out the thin white lines. For the larger rectangles, I used a Barry M Nail Art Pen to mark out the outline. 

Once the design was all set out, I painted on the black polish. It can go directly over the striping tape, but, of course, remember to avoid the larger rectangles you've marked out. For this bit, I decided to use a nail art brush (but you could probably get away with using the standard polish brush if you're super careful!!). 

Now all that's left to do is peel off the striping tape - whilst the polish is still, wet of course - and fill in a few of the larger rectangles using the red polish.

Thanks for reading!! I really hope you've enjoyed this little guest post, and thanks again to Lucy for allowing me to feature on her fantastic blog! 

I'd love to know what you all think of this design, so please comment below or tweet me @PardonMyNails. 

Sarah xx

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I love the abstract look of these combined with the black/red/white color combination! Thank you so much, Sarah!

If you haven't already, give Sarah's blog Pardon My Nails a look -- I love her work and her photos!

Lucy xx

Guest Post: Marisa from Hey, Darling Polish!

Hi! Today's guest poster has some really fun nails for you....

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Hello darlings!

I'm Marisa and I run the little nail blog, Hey, Darling Polish! I saw that Lucy was looking for guest posts and I wanted to help her out! I think that writing guest posts is fun so I was all over it. 

A quick about me: I'm a 20 year old, Graphic and Media Design student. I like having fun and love having bright and often glittery nails and even brighter hair (I have some neon green in my hair right now and it seriously glows oops haha).

Anyways, let's get to the nails!

Here's what I used:

So, I decided to combine some of my favorite things and I ended up with this design. The base for these nails was done with the watercolor technique, which I think created a fun color mix. When that dried, I placed striping tape in various designs and used the Pipe Dream Polish over it. 

I like trying to incorporate my indie polishes into my nail art since I feel bad that they just kind of put to the side when it comes to nail art. I love the sparkly contrast that the purple provided against the base! These were super fun to wear!

I always put a song at the end of my posts, so I figured I would share one with you all:

Lights - Lions!

Thanks for having me Lucy and hope you all enjoyed this post! 

-Marisa! (:

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These are super fun, I agree it's a great way to use those beautiful indie polishes! Thank you so much, Marisa!

If you haven't already, check out Marisa's blog -- she always has such original ideas (most of them get put into my "inspiration" folder, haha)! She does this "Music Monday" series where she bases her nail art off of album covers and it's AMAZING. 

Lucy xx

Guest Post: Sweet Cherry Bomb by Robin

Aaaand the guest posts continue! Today you guys get some gorgeous cherry nails by Robin of Rexxx Did It.

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Hi everyone!

I’m Robin, a 22 year old girl, and I love painting my nails (duh!). I’ve only recently started my own nail art blog, but I am enjoying it a lot. I love how there is so much interaction with other nail artists and everyone is just so nice, I feel :)

So when I saw Lucy’s message about guest posting, I immediately knew that I wanted to help her – first of all because she makes gorgeous designs so it would be fabulous to feature on her blog; secondly because she is such a nice person and I really wanted to help; and thirdly because I had never done a guest post before. So I was really eager to give it a go :)

The design I’m showing you today really shows how much I’m longing for nice weather again haha. I’ve seen a few fruity designs the past couple of weeks (including Lucy’s watermelon design) and those all screamed spring to me. So I went for a sweet cherry design!

The polishes I used for this design are:

Alpine Snow – OPI

Muchi, Muchi – Essie

Big Apple Red – OPI

15 - Hema

For this design I started out with my Opi Nail Envy base coat. Then I put on two coats of Alpine Snow, and after that I added two coats of Muchi, Muchi. 

The reason that I first used Alpine Snow is because Muchi, Muchi is a verrry sheer polish. When I last used this polish, it wasn’t opaque with four coats, and that’s where I draw the line coat-wise.

But with Alpine Snow underneath the colour looks reeeaally nice I think :) But to be honest, I had quite a hard time capturing the true colour of Muchi, Muchi here, it looks more vibrant in real life.

After applying Muchi, Muchi, I used a dotting tool to create the cherries with Big Apple Red. And after that I used a small brush to paint the stalks and leaves with my green nameless polish.

To finish this guest post, I just want to show you my nails together with my new wallet, because look: cherries all over! I got this wallet for my birthday a few weeks ago. Pretty, right?

Okay, that’s it! Thanks for reading, everyone, and thanks for having me, Lucy! It was really fun to create this manicure for you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

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These are so adorable! Would it be weird if I recreated nails that were done for a guest post on my own blog? :) Thank you so much, Robin! 

If you aren't following her already, take a look at her blog here -- all her nail art is just as gorgeous as these!

Lucy xx

P.S. If you're interested in guest posting for me, email me at thenailsnail[at]gmail[dot]com!

Guest Post: Nude Nails & Gold Studs by Jacquie

Today the lovely Jacquie of Claws Up agreed to guest post for me! Here, she combines two of my favorite things, Deborah Lippmann and gold studs!

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Hello Nail Snailers! 

My name is Jacquie, or Littlemonsterx14, of Claws Up! I am thrilled to be able to guest post for Lucy during her nail-ban hiatus.

I have loved those gold nail studs as soon as I first saw them. I thought they were so classy and elegant, and I knew I needed some. There were a few online, but on a limited budget, I didn't want to pay for shipping. I love how popular nail art has become recently. It makes it so much easier to get supplies.

On a routine shopping trip to CVS, lo and behold, I found studs!  On tops of that, the studs came with a really neat picker-upper.  I usually use a doting tool to pick up little nail art bits, so It was nice to have a tool that's meant for that.  I was so excited to finally try out all those different nail looks that I have needed studs to create.  This was my first time using nail studs so I wanted a look that was easy, but still made a statement. I love the look of covering the entire nail in studs, so I knew that was the first look I wanted to try with my new studs.

I also wanted to quickly comment on this nude polish. This Lippmann came in a set of mini's that my mom got for me. I have been looking all over for the perfect nude for the longest time, and I think I finally found it! The whole time I had this polish on I kept glancing at my hands thinking my polish came off, but it just was the perfect match. I'm so happy I found the mannequin-hand polish I have been looking for!

The Line Up:

Deborah Lippmann in Fashion
My new nail studs and picker-upper

I was super happy with how my first time using nail studs came out! I loved the mix of simplicity from the nude combined with the bold, statement-making nail covered in gold studs. This little vial came with tons of studs, so I can't wait to see try out even more styles!

What do you think of my studded nail and nude look? What other looks should I try out with my new studs?

Thanks again to Lucy, and all of you lovely readers, for letting me take over her corner of the blogosphere today!

Claws Up!

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These are so classy! I think I need Fashion (if you read my blog regularly you'll know I have a bit of a Deborah Lippmann addiction, haha). 

If you haven't checked out Jacquie's blog yet, you definitely should -- she does amazing makeup looks as well as nail art! Thank you so much, Jacquie!

Lucy xx

Guest Post: Simply Elegant by Franziska

Welp, my ban is still in place, but I've lined up some pretty exciting guest posts for you guys! 

The first is by Franziska of the blog Frankie Hunter's Nails.

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Hy, my name is Franziska, I'm a twenty something nailart addict from Austria and I started my own blog frankiehuntersnails.blogspot.com in November 2013. I began painting my nails one year before and one day I thought, why not sharing my hobby with other people. My sources of inspiration are tumblr, daily stuff (like handkerchief boxes) and other bloggers, like Lucy. So when I heard her cry for guest posts I asked myself: "Why not help a fellow blogger?"

I'm very proud to show you, my "Simply Elegant" design, which is a mix of chevrons, gradient-sponging and studs!

For this design I used a craft scissor to cut the scotch tape into chevrons. Afterwards I painted my pinkie, middle finger and thumb with two coats of O.P.I. My Boyfriend Scales Walls, which is my favourite off-white, my ring finger on the one hand with Essie Cocktail Bling and my index finger with Essie Mint Candy Apple (reverse on the other hand). Some bloggers use fast drying top coat before putting on the tape - I tried it and failed. I recommend to put the tape on your skin, f.e. on your hand, because the skin scales will lessen the stickiness so it won't take all the polish off your nail, when you remove it.

Then I used a makeup-sponge to create the gradient. I started sponging Mint Candy Apple on the upper half of the nail and did the rest with Cocktail Bling. To get a smoother gradient look, I recommend to start with the light colour, than the darker one and than the light one again until you have the desired result.

At last I placed some flat back gold studs from the Essence Nail Art Decoration Kit on a drop of clear polish on my ring and index finger and sealed all my fingers with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat.

I hope you like this design, if you recreate it, please let me know.

Thanks for reading! =)

Franziska

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Thank you so much Franziska! If you've never checked out her blog, you should definitely stop by -- she does great, very original designs! 

If you're interested in guest posting, contact me at thenailsnail[at]gmail.com.

Thanks, & I hope you enjoyed Franziska's amazing guest post!

Lucy xx

March Nail Art Challenge: Dotticure & Some Important News

Hi!

Oops... another week seems to have gone by and I haven't posted. More explanation will come at the end of this post :) But let's get to the nails! 

I did these intending to take on my first nail art challenge: @californails' Totally Doable I Have a Life March Nail Art Challenge. It's a great first challenge because you only have to post 2-3 times per week! (except I won't actually be able to complete it for reasons outlined later in the post...) 

The theme  for March 1st was dotticure. The weather has suddenly gotten warmer around here, so I went for a summery feel!

My camera just wouldn't focus on these... I was in macro mode and everything, I don't know why it wouldn't focus! 

Anyways. Now time for some news. 

First, I haven't been able to post as much because I'm on my high school's soccer team. It's really fun, but practice/games eat up a lot of my spare time :( 

Next, my parents have decided to ban me from painting my nails for the rest of March. I missed the bus three times this year, and they had to drive me to school, which means no more nail polish for the month of March. It sounds kind of strict when I type it out, I guess my parents are pretty strict. They do have to put up with me living in their house though, haha. 

BUT I do want to keep my blog active!! I'll be pulling some things out of my unpublished folder, but I don't have enough stuff to last me posting twice a week throughout March. 

Which means I need y'all's help... will any of you guys be willing to do a guest post for me? If you're interested, please send me an email at thenailsnail[at]gmail.com.  Anything nail related is fine -- swatches, tutorials, nail art, nail care routines, life of a nail art blogger, etc.!

I'd be glad to do a guest post for you once I get my polish back!

Maybe my nails will like the break, they're in need of some TLC right now!

Thanks for reading! 

Lucy xx