Nail blogger secrets for pretty nails 1: Top coat the mother

Here’s a series I’ve wanted to write for a long time. Like many other nail addicts, I’m a bit sick of people assuming that: the only reason our nails look good is an ungodly amount of Photoshop; and/or it takes a lot of skill or special equipment to get nice nails. Neither of these is true. There are tons of …

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How to make Lemony Flutter smooth again (tutorial)

This post is for Anthea (Nailed Obsession/Sayuri) who drew my attention to this problem. Hope you like it! If you’re a fan of Lush’s cult cuticle balm Lemony Flutter, you may have discovered that some tubs of it are smooth as butter, while other tubs contain gritty sand-sized particles. Why is this? As you might expect, Lush doesn’t intentionally make …

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How does matte top coat work, and DIY matte top coat recipe

Two tutorials in a row? What on earth is happening?? Thanks to a reader email, I’ve been looking at matte top coats and DIY-ing them recently. Before we get to the DIY part, here’s how matte top coats work – it’s pretty simple! Much like linear vs scattered holo finishes, it’s all about how smooth the surface is – in …

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Striping Tape Nail Art Tutorial for piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013!

I can’t believe it’s been a year since the last piCture pOlish Blog Fest! This year, no new shades are being launched but we’ve been asked to create a nail art tutorial featuring piCture pOlishes. I’ve used Hope, Dorothy and Ruby Blou to make an easy and bold striping tape design:  What I used: Block nails:– Striping tape (silver, from …

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Permanent Marker Nail Art Tutorial (aka I’m Nail MacGyver!)

I feel like I’ve been on fire with DIY nail things lately! Here’s my latest discovery – how to successfully use permanent marker on your nails. I’m not too shabby with a fine brush (years of weighing out micrograms in a lab will do that to you), but I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to just throw …

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Guest Post: History of the Half Moon by Cassie (The Reluctant Femme)

half-moon-manicure

Cassie of The Reluctant Femme is today’s guest poster. Cassie’s blog is not your run-of-the-mill nail blog – as well as pretty nail photos, there are thought-provoking posts about feminism, media, queer identity and general geekery. And she writes like a pro – her hilarious articles on Lacquerheads of Oz are worth checking out too! Today she’s marrying nerdery to …

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Guest Post: Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay by Rosemarie (Every Little Polish)

Today’s guest blogger is Rose from Every Little Polish. She’s in charge of the graphic design at the massive community group blog at Lacquerheads of Oz, and at the moment I actually work with her at my short-term day job. As you’d expect from a design nerd, her photos are spectacular and her nail art is definitely worth checking out. …

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