Rose Gold Polka Dot Nail Art

Polka dot nail art is the perfect design to create if you are a nail art newby or don't have much time to spare. Pale pink and rose gold is one of my favourite combos.

What will you need?

All you will need to create this look is a pale pink and rose gold polish, a dotting tool and some matte top coat.

The polishes I used were Essie 'Fiji', Models Own 'Chrome Rose' and Illamasqua 'Matte Top Coat'.

Step By Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in two coats of the pale pink polish to create an opaque base.

Step 2: Take the rose gold polish onto a dotting tool and add polka dots neatly over the nails.

Step 3: Wait a few minutes for everything to dry and then take the matte top coat, adding a layer to each nail.

And there you have your Rose Gold Polka Dot nail art!

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Geometric Mermaid Nail Art Tutorial

I decided to give mermaid nail art a bit of a gothic twist and created this geometric look. Keep reading to find out how I created this look...

What will you need?

To create this look you will need a purple and black polish, a teal glitter polish, some striping tape, a few nail art gems and a dotting tool.

The polishes I used were Colour Club 'Midnight Mulberry', Avon Stardust in 'Teal Glitter' and Essie 'Liquorice'.

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in two coats of purple polish.

Step 2: Taking some striping tape and add two stripes in a triangle design.

Step 3: Take the teal glitter onto a dotting tool and fill in the large triangle. Then take the black polish onto a dotting tool and fill in the gap between the two pieces of striping tape.

Step 4: Add a layer of top coat to each nail and press a gem at the tip of the black polish.

And there you have your geometric mermaid nail art.

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Strawberry Nail Art Tutorial

Strawberry nail art designs are perfect for the summer months, so now the sun is starting to break through the clouds, I thought I would embrace this summer strawberry nail art.

What will you need?

You will need a white, red, pink, dark & light green polish, a dotting tool, a makeup sponge and a top coat.

The polishes I used were Essie 'Blanc' (white) Illamasqua 'Throb' (red), Avon Gel Finish polish in Parfait Pink (pink), Barry M 'Key Lime' (light green) and L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche L'Huile in 'Vert Absynthe' (dark green).

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in the red polish. You don't need to take this the whole way to the cutie, so just go about 3/4 of the way up the nail.

Step 2: Next, taking the lighter pink shade onto a makeup sponge, press randomly over the nail to create some texture.

Step 3: To begin the strawberry leaves I took the white polish to create the outline, this helps the green appear more vibrant instead of applying over the red polish. I then went over the white with the light green polish. Once dry I took the darker green onto a sponge to create some texture again.

Step 4: Finally take the white polish onto a dotting tool to create the strawberry seeds. Once everything is dry, add a layer of top coat to each nail.

... and there you have your strawberry nail art

Have you ever created a fruity nail art?

Happy nail art-ing! 

Sam x

Watercolour Nail Art Tutorial

I was having a scroll through pinterest and came across many watercolour nail art looks which inspired me to created my very own with a gem/3D twist. 

What will you need?

To create this look all you will need is a white polish, I used Essie 'Blanc'; some sheer nail varnishes, I used the OPI 'Sheer Tints', however you could also mix acetone with a regular polish; some nail art gems, mine were from the Avon 'Nail Gem Assortment Wheel' and finally a dotting tool to help you pick up the gems with ease.

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Take a white polish and paint this onto the base of each nail. Leave this to dry completely before moving on.

Step 2: Next taking your sheer polishes, add randomly over the nail to create a watercolour pattern.

Step 3: Finally seal everything into place with a top coat and press the nail gems onto each nail in a design of your choice. You may want to go back in with a top coat after to make sure the gems don't budge.

And there you have your watercolour nail art?

What nail art looks will you be rocking this summer?

Happy Nail Art-ing! 

Sam x

Marble & Shattered Glass Nail Art Tutorial

Both marble and shattered glass nail art techniques are all over Instagram at the moment, so I thought I would combine the two to create the look below. Keep reading to find out how...

What will you need?

To create this look you will need light pink, dark pink and black polishes, a glitter/shattered glass top coat, some cling film, a makeup setting spray, a large-ish bowl full of water and some cotton buds.

The polishes I used were Essie 'Lovie Dovie' (light pink), 'Big Spender' (dark pink) & 'Liquorice' (black), along with Avon 'Magic Effects Diamond Shatter'. I also used the NYX 'Matte Finish Setting Spray' for the marble technique.

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in two coats of a Barbie pink polish.

Step 2: Next take some cling film, wrap it into a ball, lightly paint a darker pink shade onto one side and press this over the nail.

Step 3: Now for the water marble technique. Add two drops of black polish into a bowl of water and spray over the top with a spray (such as a makeup setting spray) to disperse the polish and create a marble effect (shown in the image below). Drop your nail over the polish and down into the water and then take a cotton bud to clean up the excess around your finger and in the water.

Step 4: Take a glitter/shattered glass top coat and paint over each nail. Finish off each nail with a layer of top coat to seal everything in.

And there you have your marble nail art topped with a shattered glass effect!

Have you ever created a marble nail art using water?

Happy Nail Arting!

Sam x

Mermaid Holographic 3D Nail Art

Today I jumped onto the 3D nail art trend and created this holographic/mermaid inspired design. The gems might be too much for some, but why not skip this step out and just create the holographic base for a more everyday, wearable look. Keep reading to find out how I created this nail art look...

What will you need?

A pink and blue polish, a holographic top coat, a clear top coat and some nail art gems.

The polishes I used were Essie 'Lovie Dovie' (pink), Illamasqua 'Caress' (blue) and Models Own 'Indian Ocean' (holographic top coat). The gems I used were from the 'Avon Nail Gem Assortment Wheel'.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Begin by sponging the pink and blue polishes onto each nail. I created an ombre effect on the thumb, middle and ring finger, added just the blue polish on the little finger and on the index finger I added a coat of the pink polish.

Step 2: Take the holographic top coat and add this onto each nail. I added two coats to make the effect stronger.

Step 3: Taking different sized nail gems place them onto the nails whilst the top coat is drying.

Step 4: Take a clear top coat and paint a layer onto each nail to seal everything into place.

And there you have your holographic/mermaid nail art with a 3D twist.

What are your favourite nail art trends at the moment?

Happy Nail Arting! Sam x

Easter Chick & Spring Flower Nail Art Tutorial

Happy Easter everyone! To celebrate the Easter weekend I have created this Easter chick and spring flower nail art.

What will you need?

To create this look you will need polishes in white, pastel green, pastel blue, pastel pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, pink and black. You will also need a dotting tool to help create the smaller designs.

The polishes I used were L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche L'Huile in Blanc De Lune (white), Dimanche Apres-Moi (pastel pink), Violet Vendome (purple) and Nymph (pink); Avon Sprightly Mint (pastel green), Rain Washed (pastel blue), Lemon Sugar (yellow), Orange Crush (orange), Emerald City (green) and Matte Black (black).

Step-By-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Begin by taking the pastel shades and painting each nail a different shade. Keep the ring finger nail yellow for the chick.

Step 2: Next taking various shades onto a dotting tool, create the flower petals and add a dot to the centre of each flower.

Step 3: Using the orange polish create two feet and a beak towards the bottom half of the nail. Then taking the black and white polishes create two eyes.

Step 4: Once everything is dry, add a topcoat to each nail to seal everything into place.

And there you have your easter chick and spring flower nail art!

What are you up to for easter? Do you have any easter nail art plans?

Sam x

Art Deco Ribbon Nail Art Tutorial

Ribbon nail art designs are one of my favourites to create as they look super detailed but are so easy to achieve!

All you need to create a ribbon nail art look is some striping tape, a selection of your favourite polishes and a dotting tool.

The polishes I used in this look were Avon 'Tender' (nude base), Illamasqua 'Boosh' (black), Essie 'Bahama Mama' (maroon) and Essie 'Leggy Legend' (gold).

Step By Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in the nude polish and leave to dry completely.

Step 2: Take some striping tape and place diagonally across the nails to create the ribbon design.

Step 3: Take the maroon, black and gold polishes in turn and fill in the gaps between the tape.

Step 4: Peel off the tape to reveal your design and paint a layer of top coat onto each nail to seal everything into place.

And there you have your ribbon nail art!

What are your favourite nail art designs to create?

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche L'Huile Collection Review & Nail Art Tutorial

L'Oreal Paris have just launched a new nail varnish collection, Colour Riche L'Huile*, and as a nail lover I was so excited to try the range out! The collection is made up of 22 shades all bottled up in stunning glass packaging with a quilted finish, making them stand out from all the other polishes in my collection. Along with the prestige packaging, the formula is infused with precious oils and intense pigments, leaving the nails with an opaque glossy finish in just one coat. 

Along with standard red and pastel pink shades, Colour Riche L'Huile features a great range of on-trend nude and grey polishes, which are a great addition. 21/22 of the polishes have a gloss finish with 1 metallic shade completing the collection. The polishes are all super pigmented making them great for nail art as you will see in my look below. 

The wand on each polish is also unique. The 3 ridges down the length of the wand mean the polish is drip resistant and the fan shaped brush, with over 400 bristles, allows for a precise application. I found one coat of polish to dry in about 2 mins (pretty good!). At just £4.99 I would definitely recommend these polishes for anyone looking to update their nail varnish collection.

So onto the nail art look I created with the collection...

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: To begin I took the Colour Riche L'Huile in 112 'Blanc De Lune' (white) and added one coat all over the nails and left to dry completely.

Step 2: Next, taking some tape, I placed two pieces horizontally and 2 pieces vertically on each nail to create a crisscross/checked design.

Step 3: Taking 222 'Jardin Des Roses', 226 'Nymphea' and 332 'Violet Vendome', I added a small amount of each polish in turn onto a makeup sponge and lightly pressed over the nail to create a tie dye/galaxy effect. As the polishes are so pigmented you only need a small amount to achieve a fantastic pigment.

Step 4: Peel off the tape to reveal your design and paint a layer of top coat onto each nail to seal in the design.

To check out the full collection head over to the L'Oreal Paris Website here.

What shades do you like the look of in this collection?

Sam x

The One Pair of Lashes I Can't Live Without

If you follow me on Instagram @insamazement you will know that my signature look for a night out is a golden/bronze smokey eye paired with a wispy lash. I always get people asking me what lashes I have on, so I thought I would share with you the one pair of lashes I can't live without.

The 'House Of GlamDolls #4 WispyDoll Lashes' have a perfect mix of long and short lashes, which as the name suggests, allows you to enhance your natural lashes to give a wispy effect. 

Although these lashes add a dramatic finish to any eye makeup (which I love), the thin band allows you to place the lashes close to the natural lash and doesn't leave your eyes looking or feeling too heavy. 

Another bonus of these lashes is that they have a purse friendly price tag at just  £5 a pair. Although cheap, the quality is amazing and each pair can be used multiple times (I think I am on my 5th use of my current WispyDoll Lashes and they are still going strong). 

If dramatic lashes aren't for you, House Of GlamDolls offer a range of other styles including FlutterDoll Lashes #3 which is a slightly more subtle lash in the same style as the WispyDoll lashes and the Dollmix Lashes #7 which are great to add volume to the outer lash and leave the inner eye looking more natural.

Have you ever tried anything from House Of GlamDolls before? I would also highly recommend their GlamBase Wheel for contouring. 

What are you favourite lashes?

Sam x

Triangle Glitter Nail Art Tutorial

If you have a party or special event coming up, this glitter nail art design will be sure to sparkle on the dance floor! Keep reading to find out how I created this look...

What Will You Need?

To create this look you will need a dark lilac polish and 3 different shades of glitter nail varnish. You will also need some striping tape and a dotting tool.

The polishes I used in this look was Ciate 'Pillow Fight' (purple base) and Avon Magic Effects in 'Rose Quartz' (pink glitter), 'Turquoise' (blue glitter) and 'Pearl' (golden glitter).

Step By Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting two coats of the deep lilac base onto each nail and leave to dry completely.

Step 2: Take the striping tape and add this both diagonally and horizontally to create the outline for the triangle design.

Step 3: Take each glitter polish in turn and full in the gaps between the tape.

Step 4: Peel all the tape off to reveal your design.

And there you have your glitter triangle manicure!

What are you favourite glitter polishes?

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Marble Nail Art Tutorial

It has been a little while since I last posted; the manic month of February meant my nails have been lacking nail art and insamazement.co.uk has been a bit quiet. But I am back and today's nail art tutorial is something a bit trendy. Marble interiors are all over Instagram, so I thought I would jump on the craze and marble up my mani. This look was inspired by the super talented Alice at One Nail To Rule Them All.

What Will You Need?

All you will need to create this look in a pale pink, white and black polish, a sponge, striping tape and some nail art gems.

The polishes I used were Essie 'Fiji' (pale pink), Illamasqua 'Boosh' (black) and Illamasqua 'Scorch' (white). The gems/studs are from the Avon nail art gem assortment wheel.

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in a few coats of the pale pink shade and leave to dry completely. To speed up drying time get your hands on a quick dry top coat, I used Seche Vite.

Step 2: Taking a piece of striping tape, place this just below the centre of each nail.

Step 3: Paint the space below the striping tape in a coat of black polish. Once this is almost dry, take the white polish onto a sponge and carefully press this over the tip to create the marble effect.

Step 4: Remove the tape, paint a layer of top coat onto each nail and carefully place a gem/stud in the centre.

And there you have your marble mani!

What other trends have you spotted? Let me know in the comments below and I will try and create a nail art design to match!

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Valentines Nail Art Tutorial

Valentines day is just around the corner, so I thought I would spread a little love with a valentines themed nail art look.

What will you need?

To create a similar look yourself, you will need red, white, pink & pink glitter polishes, a dotting tool and some top coat.

The shades I used were Illamasqua Throb (red), OPI's new Hello Kitty Super Cute in Pink (pink), Avon Matte white polish and Essie Fashion Flares (pink glitter). 

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in the pink polish.

Step 2: Next, first taking white onto a dotting tool, create a heart on the ring finger nail. After this has dried, take the red polish onto a dotting tool and fill in the centre of the heart, leaving a thin edge of white.

Step 3: Onto a dotting tool take the white and red polishes in turn and create dot-to-dot lines horizontally along the little and index finger nails. Place the pink glitter polish onto the middle finger nail.

Step 4: Once everything is dry, add a layer of topcoat to each nail to seal everything into place.

And there you have your manicure all ready for Valentines day!

Do you have any plans for Valentines day?

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Black & Gold Geometric Nail Art Tutorial

I create a lot of geometric nail art looks, so I thought I would give this one a metallic twist.

What will you need?

All you will need to create this look yourself is polishes in black, nude and gold; a dotting tool and some striping tape.

The polishes I used were Illamasqua Monogamous (nude), Avon Matte Black (black) and Essie Leggy Legend (deep gold). 

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in a base of the nude polish, aside from the ring finger nail which should be black.

Step 2: Take three pieces of striping tape and create a triangle on the ring finger nail. Fill in the gap using the golden metallic polish.

Step 3: On all other nails place some striping tape horizontally across the nail and fill in the gaps using a mixture of the black and gold polishes.

Step 4: Finally, again using striping tape, create a triangle from the cuticle of the index finger nail down to the tip and fill in with the gold polish. Finish off with a layer of top coat on each nail.

And there you have a black & gold geometric nail art!

Do you have any metallic polishes? I would love to hear your favourites!

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x

Blue & Green Tile Nail Art Tutorial

I always choose girly pink and purple shades, so today I thought I would mix things up and use some blue and green hues to create this tile nail art look. This design was inspired by the very talented Wondrously Polished. 

What will you need?

To create this look you will need 4 blue & green polishes, some striping tape, a dotting tool and some top coat.

The polishes I used were Illamasqua Cameo and a limited edition green polish, Essie Bell-Bottom Blues and Avon Magic Effects in Turquoise. 

Step-By-Step Tutorial:

Step 1: Begin by painting all nails in a base of white polish. I used a matte polish to speed up the drying time.

Step 2: Take around 4 pieces of striping tape and place them horizontally on each nail.

Step 3: Taking each of the coloured polishes in turn, create small squares, leaving a thin white gap between each.

Step 4: Finally peel off the striping tape to reveal your design and paint a layer of top coat onto each nail.

And there you have your tile nail art design!

What are your favourite nail varnish shades?

Happy Nail Art-ing!

Sam x