Monday 8 July 2013

Summer Nails: Floral For Coral

Hey My Beauts!

I am absolutely loving this weather we have been blessed with recently, and it's got me in the nail mood! I haven't yet done any summer designs so I'm excited to show you my first summer design for 2013! I was in the mood to try something I hadn't done yet that looked super cute and reflected this wonderful weather. So as I was brainstorming ideas, I came across Floral Nails! At first I thought I'd better stay away as I cant draw to save my life! And, if I can't draw flowers on paper, how am I supposed to paint them on my nails?! But, after some investigating I learnt that floral nails are actually so easy to do. There is practically no drawing involved, and the messier it is, the better it will look! So you don't even need to worry about the "OMG, how am I going to do this with my left hand?!" catastrophe, (well if you're right hand that is). I can't believe I have never done floral nails before and I'm sure after this you will think the same! 


I done two different designs - both just as easy. I done my thumb, index and pinky nails coral, my middle nail white with coral roses and then my ring finger half and half separated with studs/gems. What I love about a floral manicure, is that you can keep simple with just an accent finger or you can go all out with every nail floral, add studs and more colours. This manicure doesn't restrict you, and I honestly believe which ever design you create, it will look great - the roses are just too cute! Also, I have noticed that a few of my previous nail art designs are more siutable for those with longer nails, however this a great and fun manicure for short nails (I actually think they look a lot cuter on shorter nails!)

What you will need:
A Base Coat
A Base Colour 
The Colour You Want Your Roses
A Opaque White
A Opaque Green
Top Coat
A Cocktail Stick 

The colours I used: 


Maybelline Colour Show - Urban Coral
I recently brought this colour and I love it! Such a rich and deep coral colour - perfect for summer! 

Ciate - Snow Virgin
 This is my go-to white! It actually came with the caviar set recently blogged about (here). It's a great pure white colour which is also very opaque.

Mac - Deep Sea
This is a great deep green colour - perfect for leaves for this particular manicure, and once again is very opaque and easy to use. 

The Pictorial

Just before we start, unfortunately, I wasn't clever enough to take pictures as I done this manicure (oopsie). But I have re-done one nail to show you step-by-step how to create this look, hence why it will look a bit different to the first picture that was shown!
(Sorry! Lesson Learnt!)


I can tell this is going to be quite hard to explain, however here is my attempt: 

Step 1: After preparing your nails, apply two coats of your chosen base colour. Using the nail polish brush, make blob-like shapes in the colour you want your roses. At the moment I have quite long nails so I had four roses on one nail, however for short nails I would recommend sticking to two roses per nail, however, ultimately it is up to you.  

Step 2: Using a cocktail stick dipped in white nail polish, create two C-shapes outlining the edges of the blobs you just created.. Try to outline different sides on each rose. 

Step 3: Add a dot in the center of the rose. Continue making C-shapes however on the inside on Step 2. For a more detailed look, the more C shapes you make the better. 
You can have them swirl into each other as well! 

Step 4: Using a cocktail stick dipped in the green, make leaves - I would say two leaves for each rose. It's easier if you slant the cocktail stick onto your nails, for a better leaf shape.  

Step 5: Highlight the leaves by repeating Step 4 in white, place the cocktail on top of the green either in the middle or on the side. 

Step 6: Secure design with a top coat! 

To re-create my ring finger, paint half your nail in white and half in the chosen colour, don't worry if the center line is not perfect - this will get covered later. On the white side, follow steps 1 through 5 - I chose to do 3 roses, if you have short nails, again I would recommend only 2. Using studs or gems in any colour or shape you prefer glue them on the center line. Apply top coat to secure your lovely design. 

So Simple & So Cute! 
The best thing about this manicure, it looks as if a lot of time and effort has gone into making the roses when if fact it's literally just blobs and lines! I think floral nails will look adorable with pastels colours such as blues/pinks/lilacs/oranges! 


I hope you liked this post, and if you recreate it make sure to tag me on twitter (@HiddenAccessory) so I can see it! 
What do you think of the floral manicure?

Reema, xoxo