NOTD - Scales & Seas

Hey there lovely readers!

I threw together a Little Mermaid design for my Disney Nail Art Series recently & I'm clearly still feeling all the mermaid vibes with today's mani that I have for you!

I was keen to create another aquatic themed manicure featuring some mermaid scale action, especially as I had some really lovely looking mermaid patterned nail decals lying around that I've been itching to try, I can't recall where exactly these ones were from but you can find lots of stunning designs on both Born Pretty Store & Beauty Big Bang, two of my favourite go to's for nail art supplies.

I absolutely LOVE using nail decals, they are such a fab way of jazzing up the nails most fabulously without worrying about waiting for the polish to dry. However I didn't want to cover the entire bed of all of my nails, only my pinky finger as you can see, so instead I cut my decals up in various shapes to create a different look to each nail, covering only part of the nail with the decal.

This look was totally inspired by the fabulous Marta aka Furious Filer who used decals in this way for a nail art look that she created. I loved it as this way you get the best of both worlds, a bit of glossy polish, jazzy decal design plus a spot of glittery gold using some nail art tape! I'm so psyched with how this mani came out I think I'll be cutting up ALL my nail decals to use in this way!

Starting with my base colour, keeping in with the ocean theme I used this simply stunning deliciously glossy blue from Nina Ultra Pro called Cobalt. I applied two coats of this lush shade to each nail bar my pinky.

Not that it needed it but I wanted to add a little extra something something, so I applied one coat of China Glaze Luxe and Lush, a lovely glitter flakie topcoat for that sparkly touch.

Now for the decals! I waited for my polish to completely dry first to avoid any accidental smudging/denting thus messing up the whole look causing one to have a minor breakdown. I first went in & covered the whole of my pinky to start.

Nail Decals are super easy to use. Simply cut out the decal, either the whole nail piece or cutting however much you are wanting to use, then using a pair of tweezers to make handling easier, dip the decal into warm water for about 20 seconds. It doesn't HAVE to be warm, just makes the decal softer more quickly, especially in winter.

After 20 seconds, lift the decal out & I like to press it against some paper towel so that its not completely soaked. Then using your finger or tweezers, slide the decal off the backing sheet, it should slide away easily! If not then dip back into the water for a little bit longer.

Handling the decal gently, place it onto the nail, pressing down with your finger, again I like to use a towel to help press it down firmly & making sure the surface is completely smooth & wrinkle free. Top with topcoat to seal & thats it!

As you can see I also added a bit of gold striping tape to the edge of the decal which I applied before the topcoat & really completes the look I think!

I hope you liked this look as much as I do! I can't wait to get to cutting up all my decals for more fun mixed looks! They can also be very easily removed with simple nail polish remover! Thanks as always for reading!

Lotsa love to ya!