Hard As Nails...

I've seen so many bloggers of late doing fabulous nail art designs! Sadly, I however am rubbish at any kind of art, and lack the time & patience to do intricate nail art (one of these days I may have a go though). But, I still felt inspired. For me, it’s all about doing something a little bit different. A thought came to me when I couldn't decide between two colours to paint my nails with. I'm used to painting my nails one colour, but I thought let’s do two! I decided to take inspiration from the recent nail trend of painting the third finger (ring finger) on each hand a totally different colour to the rest of your manicure. But, then I decided to add a slight more splash and thought why not paint my thumbs that colour as well?

Notes on nails...

- Below is a picture of all that I used to do this manicure. Of course, if you have nail varnish on already you'll have to remove it, and if your cuticles need pushing back do that too.

- I always do a quick file of my nails before I paint them just to keep them in check. I file mine so they are a 'square' shape, but depending on your nail shape you can file them 'oval' or 'squoval' - a mixture of the two.

- Hand & nail cream is a must! I always put some on either before or after painting my nails just to keep them soft & in good condition. Don't worry if you don't have any specific hand cream, body lotion works just as well.

- Base coat is another must! It prevents your nails from staining and becoming a yellow colour. I also find that the colour sticks much better to your nails with a base coat on first.

Before the manicure...

- I chose two completely different contrasting colours, both by 'Barry M'. Now I LOVE Barry M nail polishes, I find them great value, with fab colours to chose from, and long lasting! You can pick them up from any Boots or Superdrug store.

- The two colours I used are 'Pink Flamingo' & 'Grey'. Pink & grey are a great combo together, and I wanted the vivid pink to stand out from the more muted grey.

- I applied two coats of each colour, and left to dry while I watched Made in Chelsea!

After the manicure...

Here's the final finished product! I didn't bother with any top coat because I thought they looked okay without it. There was a good enough even coverage not to warrant it.

Overall I'm quite impressed with my experiment. Best of all this idea works with any two combinations. Make the two you choose contrasting colours to really stand out! I've had a few compliments on my nails, and I'm even planning my next two tone manicure combo! x