February

Catching up on February! I did a Hard Gel Conversion course this month with Francesca Gomm of F.G. Studio and Academy in Plymouth and brushed up on E-filing, One stroke painting, and had a real Nail Play Weekend. Lots of glitters and pigments, paints, swapped ideas and had a few treatments. Have to mention the Boob Buster, a fab treatment and I can’t believe that it worked. Its so good I’m doing the course next month! Read more here

Playing in Plymouth

February Nails, Lashes and brows

A selection of Nails, lashes and brows from February 2017.
For more up to date nails and news see my Facebook Page here and for details of Nail and Beauty Training Courses in Dorset Somerset and Wiltshire see Lorraine Connelly Beauty Training in association with Jane Bryan Beauty Training

Gel painting flowers

Blue Acrylic overlay with glitter

Brow threading and Lash Lift

Brow threading and Lash Lift

Disco Glitter and Chameleon Flakes

Neon pigment, holographic pigment and glitter

Glitter accent finger and silver stamping

Valentine Nails. Ombré with 3d hearts and foil accents

Gelish Gossip Girl with glitter

Nude gel polish with striping tape

Matte Blue nails with gloss dots and a handpainted butterfly on the thumb

Rich purple with caviar beads

Pink with Black Filigree design

Valentines Nails with Bows on thumbs

Matte Wedgewood Blue with 3d detail

July Nails and One Stroke with Keiko Venner

Over half way through the year already. It’s been a busy month as everyone is getting their nails holiday ready. I started the month attending a class in Bodmin with the amazing Keiko Venner learning One Stroke. We all learned a lot and I love the Orgasmic Paints, they are so creamy and lovely to work with Keiko is such a patient teacher and her work is out of this world. I learned a lot and now just need some spare time to practice!

The last week of the month was so hectic as I was getting prepared for my trip to Stoke On Trent for my TNG Stage 2 Course with Kirsty Meakin.

Hotels are all busy this time of year so I booked myself an Airbnb near to the training venue which was luxury! 3 bedrooms all to myself, my own patio area (which I didn’t get to use as it rained but it was useful each night while I e-filed my day’s nails off ready for new nails every morning!). I figured self catering would be the way to go as I could get my own shopping in and do my own thing rather than eat in a hotel and be stuck in a little room. The house had every amenity you could wish for and there was a huge welcome pack waiting for my arrival. Bread, fruit, cereals, croissants, fruit juice, butter, milk, pasta and rice, condiments… everything I could need. The start of a great week away… more in the previous blog. Definitely the way to stay!

6 hour return journey and Satnav brought me via Stonehenge again, it’s like a magnet. 45 minutes crawling along while people take pictures of an underwhelming bunch of rocks! Will go a different route next time!

Here are some of the nails I created in July. I’m gradually catching up… just Feb, March, April, May and June to do!

Purple gel with diamond glitter design

This design started life as a lovely Sharm effect. Dark and light purple roses blending beautifully on my colour pops. Looked fabulous! Alison was really keen so we started on the nails… as you see no roses! Total failure. The leaves would not blend, they looked terrible. This is Plan B!

One stroke flowers

These are Ann’s natural nails with an acrylic overlay. Using techniques learned from Keiko and Orgasmic paints I painted 4 nails with onestroke.

Honeymoon nails

Cat eye Caramel with gold foil swirls

Watermelon with diamond glitter and chevron design

One stroke Tulips over black gel polish burnished with blue

Pale pink wit shimmer pigment and silver chunky glitter over

Prom Nails for Chloe

Chrome pigment overlay

Practicing Paua shell for client’s party

The finished Paua shell nail.

Paua shell Nails

Emily’s designed her own necklace for her 40th birthday party and asked if I could design something to go with the paua shells she had used. I used a mixture of foil, sheer gels, handmixed gels and detailed lines to achieve this effect.

Encapsulated pink and iridescent glitter in acrylic

Sharm effect roses

French acrylic with a little 3d

Matching Pink and white toes

Pink, grey and glitter with bling

Lilac gel with french glitter

Classic colour over acrylic

A variation of plums

New Year New Nails

It’s New Year 2017. New Year, New Nails. It’s actually July but I’ve just got round to posting. I’m gradually catching up!

Here are some nails from January.
For more up to date nails and news see my Facebook Page here and for details of Nail and Beauty Training Courses in Dorset Somerset and Wiltshire see Lorraine Connelly Beauty Training in association with Jane Bryan Beauty Training

Natural nails with acrylic overlay, pink with handpainted flower

Pink gel, pink glitter and and holographic pigment

Foil and Gelish Night Reflection

Foil and Gelish Rendezvous

Night Reflection and sand flowers and bling

French with butterfly stamp and glitter

French with flowers and silver

The Gel bottle sparkly blue nails

Gel painting practice

Ink London gel polish and fireworks over natural nails

Silver and purple Glitter and striping tape

Matte cashmere lashes

Red gel polish with gold lines

Teal bubble nails, matte base with a dew effect

Wedgewood design on velvet

Wedgewood on velvet swatches with flash

Christmas Nails

Yes, I know I am six months late publishing these nails to the blog! What can I say… events overtook me 🙂 These are some of my Christmas designs.
To keep up to date as I publish see my Facebook Page here.

Jewelled xmas swatches

Xmas design over red gel with hand painted trees and glitter baubles

Xmas stamping over blue gel

Blood diamond with 3d gel

Acrylic frost with stamping and hand painted icicles

Ink London with glitter and handpainted 3d gel xmas nails

Felicity the Fairy ready for a trip to Lapland

Christmas nails in red and green glitter with stamping

One stroke presents, baubles, bells and tree on xmas nails

One stroke presents, baubles, bells and tree on Christmas nails

Frost and baubles swatches

Holly and music One stroke swatches

Blood Diamond with bling. Xmas Design

Sparkly pink nails with 3d christmas detail

Green and red festive glitter snowflake nails

September Nails

Some of my September finger nail and toenail designs. Still catching up! What else to do on a rainy Dorset Sunday afternoon?

Pigment over gel polish toes with 3d petals

Acrylic extensions, aqua background with pink one stroke

Acrylic extensions with pink and gold sparkles

3d silver detail over black nails and a blingy glitter ring finger

Assymetric french with silver accents

Black, silver, chrome and Rockstar nails

Gelish Shake it til you Samba with 3d designer gel detail on fingers and toes

Gelish Tahiti Hottie with 3d designer gel detail on fingers and toes

Ink London Gel with Holgraphic pigment

Forbidden love with silver stamping

The Gel Bottle 146 and one stroke petals

Gelish with 3d silver gel and glitter on purple

Gel polish french with chrome silver swirls

Peach cobbler with onestroke and bling

Starburst with one stroke, holo pigment and gems

Starburst, Lilac with one stroke, holo pigment and gems

One stroke on french nails

Gelish Tahiti Hottie with 3d designer gel detail on all nails

Tahiti hottie with bling

August 2016 Nails – eventually!

I’ve let myself get a little behind in posting the latest nails to the blog. Next few posts are just catching up!

To keep up to date and see my latest designs see my Facebook Page here.

Reverse french acrylics with pink and blue glitters

Onestroke roses painted over french nails

One stroke butterfly on Ink London gel polish

Illumina Gel Polish on fingers and toes. It’s impossible to capture the colours in these. Purple in one light, blue in another and green in another!

Gel polish with pigments, glitters and 3d designer gel detail

Gel polish with pigments and 3d designer gel detail

Blue chrome effect nails

Super holo over pink gel polish

Glitter base with double stamping in black and gold

Cat eye effect with purple and pink flicks

I’d forgotten I did these. Hand painted for a photo shoot. Geometric designs inspired from a pinterest picture

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is here again! Lots of hearts and flowers on the nails. Have you any plans for tomorrow?

I’ve taken a day off as I have the house to myself so it’s going to be a play day, this time I need to get ahead so probably do some Easter themed nails, Spring nails… summer… I can’t wait!

Valentine Nails with hearts and foil detail

Red and Black ombré Valentine Nails with hearts

I took part in an online course yesterday via Periscope with Dega Mosane in which she showed various One Stroke, Zhostovo and Foil techniques. That’s on the agenda tomorrow too. I have a set of lashes to do later this afternoon then no more clients til Wednesday so lots of time to get messy and get all my pretties out! Pics to follow.

I’m also working on my new site www.lcbta.co.uk which was launched last week. You will find nail and beauty training courses here which I am adding to all of the time. I’m off to Plymouth on Friday for advanced training in various techniques and skills, more details to come! I also have a new Facebook page linked to that site. Come along and have a look.

St Patrick’s Day Nail Art

St Patrick’s Day – Topical Nail Art!

March 17th is St Patrick’s day (and is also my parents’ wedding anniversay – double celebration!) and every year the Irish, or Irish at heart celebrate the day. It began as a religious feast day for the patron saint or Ireland and is now an international festival celebrating Irish culture. Across the globe there are parades, dancing, drinking and lots of green! I have seen St Patrick’s Day celebrated in the UK, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, India and Australia and almost always Guinness is involved!

Nail swatches of Shamrocks and Guinness

Last year, my client was off to Dublin and was after Shamrocks for her nails so I did a couple of swatches and couldn’t resist doing a Guinness one.

Shamrokl

This year another client is off to Dublin for St Patrick’s Day so she opted for the emerald green glitter nails with the Guinness harps on her ring fingers. This design is a combination of glitter and hand painting. I’m hoping Fran sends some pics of the nails on location with a Guinness in hand!

St Patrick’s Day nails with Guinness Logo

According to Wikipedia ‘On St Patrick’s Day it is customary to wear shamrocks and/or green clothing or accessories (the “wearing of the green”). St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. The colour green has been associated with Ireland since at least the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation.’

Seven things you didn’t know about the saint, the parades, and Guinness

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Flying Visit, more Onestroke and a New Table!

Frantic February!

In between nails, brows and lashes I’ve been housesitting again as well as practicing more OneStroke designs and having new furniture built for my studio. I’ve been looking after some beautiful Labradors and a lovely cat, and with the help of my colleague, have been able to run back and forth between appointments!

Spring seems to be on it’s way and lots of nails and even a few toes have been gelled this month! Glitter is still being requested, I suppose as an antidote to the awful weather! Lash Lift is again proving very popular and the Cashmere Eyelash Extensions are so soft and light, clients don’t know they’re wearing them!

French with one stroke butterflies

Ink London i67 with Onestroke

L&P scuplted enhancements over badly bitten nails – clients own pic!

Having made prototype nail desks a few year ago, my husband has been busy again – I now have a custom made L shaped nail desk covered in glass with chrome legs. Pics to come once it’s finally finished. He’s working on conduits for wires and cables to keep me tidy and stop my chair rolling over them and pulling my gel lamps off. Another coat of paint and I’m good to go! My studio is looking sleek – as sleek as it can get in a rural 17th century thatched cottage! New windows and doors are also in the pipeline. This will all give me more room for Nail Classes… still in progress!

I’ve just received some BrillBird Designer Gel and have been having a play with that, no images yet but I can’t wait to use it. It’s lovely and really finishes off some of my designs. There are so many fabulous products out there to embellish nails, we’re really spoiled for choice! I can’t make it to Pro Beauty next weekend so I will have to have a play online and order some treats! I have my eye on a few new ideas…

Onestroke Sample Sheet

I printed blank black nail shapes onto a plain piece of paper then matte laminated it to have a working surface similar to buffed nails. I still haven’t got round to doing them on tips yet though a few clients have had some onestroke this month. As a bonus, it’s a handy way for clients to be able to choose what’s available.

I finally finished the sheet of Onestroke samples.

Gelish My Forbidden Love with stamping

Mermaid glitter ans stamping

Gelish Shake it til you Samba with bling and holographic glitter

Black Gel Polish with pink glitter lunulas

Blue Pink Glitter Ombré

French with lace stamping

French with Handpainted Fine Lines

Ink i55 with one stroke

One Stroke Painting Designs

This month is all about One Stroke Designs!

It’s been a while since I’ve added to the blog! I’ve been on holiday but I’m back in the swing now. I had a manic week last week catching up and I now have a little breather. I’m putting together some One stroke samples, tips and nail designs for my upcoming class. I will be holding courses teaching this technique, among others in the very near future. One Stroke or Onestroke? I can’t decide!

Double loading the paintbrush for Onestroke

Close up of a double loaded Onestroke brush

Onestroke is always popular and such an easy technique to master. The paint brush is double or triple loaded with paint and applied to your surface creating simple leaves and shapes. It is these basic shapes which can be used for all designs. Simple basic shapes can produce the following designs quickly and easily.

Simple flowers
Layered flowers
Closed leaves
Roses
Lilies
Butterflies
Foliage
Grasses

Would you like to learn this technique? I will take you through the basics of proper brush loading, brush care and of course the strokes that you need to complete each design. More details to follow.

One stroke samples painted onto a printed sheet. These are Level 1 Onestroke.

A little one stroke flower can add the finishing touches to a manicure. Add in some fine linework and you can create stunning designs with a little practice. Some of the pictures below are from a couple of years ago, I will be adding the new designs and practice sheets as I finish them. I’m finding it very therapeutic!

One Stroke Painting has been around for many years. Donna Dewberry is a great resource for ideas and tips. See Painters Online for Basic Techniques of One-Stroke Flower Petal Painting Donna Dewberry tips

Practice sheets for Onestroke designs

I practice on many surfaces before committing to nail tips or real nails. Matte laminated sheets are ideal to paint on as the paint grips really well, just like a prepared surface. Parchment paper is another good surface. I prepared some print outs so I can design to basic nail shapes in order to fit the designs in.

One stroke pansies painted on parchment paper

One stroke Poppies painted on parchment

One stroke blue flowers