Nail Art: Splatter nails with Zoya and Chi Chi

I've been wanting to try splatter nails for a long time, but hadn't gotten around to it until now. I had a great time deciding what colours I wanted to include, and ended up going for black & white, and neon pink, on a grey base. And I love it!

I think the colours work really well together- I like how the black and white mutes the brightness of the pink a little. This is definitely the manicure that most people have commented on, and I've only worn it for two days so far! 

I meant to take photos during the whole process, but it ended up being so messy that I didn't want to risk getting lacquer all over my camera!

The method that created this madness was: 

1. Paint Revlon 'Cloud' over my base coat (Sally Hansen Miracle Cure)

2. Once dry, place tape around nails, to hopefully reduce clean up

3. Lay out newspaper to catch the drips

4. Cut bendy parts off drinking straws

5. One by one, dip end of straw into polish, hold over nails, and blow! 

6. Repeat for all colours, and until desired pattern achieved

7. Peel off tape, realise polish is everywhere and that it just made things messier

8. Spend half an hour painstakingly cleaning cuticles, fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, and bottles

9. Put on top coat, and stare at nails for infinite amount of time

10. Be admired by others, and pretend it wasn't a messy and stressful process

In all seriousness, it was a lot of fun- but the cleanup took forever. Won't stop me from doing it again though!

These are the polishes I used. L- R Revlon Cloud, Zoya Raven, Zoya Purity, Chi Chi Fame Monster

And this is the result (indoors, with flash). The index finger is my favourite, I think. I'd considered doing it over a white base, but I'm really glad I used the grey now- it provides a nice contrast, I think. 

A close up of the thumb and index finger. 

I wish I'd thought to get a decent picture of my left hand, which of course is a bit different. I'd take one now (I love this so much I still have it on) but I've done some pretty heavy duty typing over the past couple of days, so it's not wearing great. 

And to celebrate the fact that my nails have finally gotten to a length where they're way past the tips of my fingers, I decided to try painting the underside:

I used the Chi Chi polish, and it's quite cool to catch a glimpse of pink, even when my nails are facing in the other direction! Unfortunately this signals that I shall soon have to be clipping my nails back to short again, in time for labs starting. Hopefully, after using the Sally Hansen base coat for the past month, my nails will be in a hugely improved state and will grow in even stronger. 

Tomorrow is a holiday here in New Zealand- Waitangi day. I'd hoped the, uh, five polish parcels that are winging their way to me at the moment would have arrived today, but alas, they did not. But I think that will give me some time tomorrow to swatch some polishes I already have, and haven't had much of a chance to wear yet. I can't wait to be able to sleep in, and then spend the day in PJs, painting my nails. Why can't every day be like that? :)