Yeah so I said I wasn't going to be doing any more nail art until after my exams... but it's just too tempting! It's Spring Bank holiday so I have until Thursday before I'm on a hospital ward again, and I thought what better way to spend a revision break than painting my nails? Et voila - galaxy nails!
Hanging on the success of my ombre nails last week I decided to use the techniques I learnt to great a space-inspired look. As always I'm gonna share a few tips based on what I learnt from my experience so you can get it right first time! There are a number of tutorials out there already around Blogger and Youtube, my personal fave being this offering by MissJenFABULOUS (links to Youtube), so have a look around to find a technique/style you like best.
The colours I used to create this look are:
- Revlon '999 Blackest Black'
- Barry M '291 Cobalt Blue'
- Rimmel 'Perfect Plum'
- Miss Sporty Sparkle Touch Top Coat in 'Clear'
And of course my Rimmel 5 in 1 Nail Treat base and top coat as well :)
'999 Blackest Black' (base colour)
'291 Cobalt Blue' (shading)
'Perfect Plum' (shading)
Tip time!
- Size matters. Unlike ombre nails, the shading in this look is much more precise, so using a cosmetics sponge or similar might not create the best effects. I actually used an eyeshadow sponge to apply the shading which made things a LOT easier and meant a lot less mess was created as well as allowing me to be more precise with the application. If you don't have any eyeshadow sponges going spare, you can always cut up a piece of sponge so it's much smaller, and perhaps even use tweezers to maneuver it.
- Boldly go. I mistakenly thought darker shades of blue and purple would look best but it actually came out too subtle and did not stand out enough against the black background. I would recommend going for medium shades so they stand out without looking too out of place.
- Shine bright.... I chose to use more pigmented, glossy shades for the detailing however I realised that perhaps using more shimmery colours would have created a better, more star-like effect. Next time I'll be trying it with metallic blues and purples instead and I suggest perhaps doing the same if you have those shades to hand. That's not to say it didn't work as it is, but I think it could be so much better. But you know what they say: practice makes perfect!
- ...but not too bright. A glitter top coat really is the key to this look - what would space be without stars? BUT using too much can hide the effect of the shading and ultimately look a bit naff. The best looks I've seen out there use minimal glitter and even carefully place individual larger pieces for brighter stars. I would recommend using a really thin coat of a basic silvery glitter polish (such as the Miss Sporty one I used, or Rimmel's 'Disco Ball') and then use a pencil or dotting tool to place a couple of larger pieces of silver glitter on top.
- And to top it off... Like ombre nails this NEEDS the top coat to look any good, particularly the glitter coat. If you've done your shading and think "man this looks naff", just pop on your top coats before you make any decision to start again. You'd be surprised how much difference it makes.
Necklace courtesy of Glow Worm Shop on Etsy
Overall I would definitely recommend giving this look a go. It's surprisingly quick to do and very simple. Plus it looks amazing! If you fancy an easy way to start your nail art habit this would definitely be it as minimal effort yields really great results!
I really shouldn't be doing any more nail art but now I think about it I might well have the opportunity to do one next week. That and I also just bought some nail dotting tools (£1.45 on eBay how could I not?!), so watch this space for more next week! In the mean time I'd love to see some of your attempts and tips: leave your comments below :)
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