Trendsday - Gimicky nail art

I don't know what it is about painting really funny, cute, gimmicky things on finger and toe nails, but it seems to be quite the trend lately, and one that I'm really enjoying.

It started probably 6 months ago, and as more and more products for producing good quality nail art are released, it's catching on more and more.

My advice, when you're looking for good products to use for nail art, is to invest in some good striper polishes and practice with them.

 "Good" doesn't always mean high priced, and there are some really great options for under $10 each, including CM, BYS and pretty much any other brand that does a dedicated art polish with a very thin striper brush.

You can, of course, use nail art brushes with your normal polishes. Be sure to clean them really well between uses.

So what sort of ideas do we have for cute, funny nail polish, and where do we find more ideas?

Well, first of all, there's the Tigger tutorial on my Youtube channel ( www.youtube.com/katysbeautysecrets ).

 Then there's the ever-popular patriotic-type nails with union jacks and stars, like the ones I did for Australia day. I'm actually going to do an American version very soon.

I think I told you guys a few weeks ago that I was growing off my acrylic nails, which I did, and now I'm just waiting for the natural nails to grow a bit more before I do some more tutorials for you.

If you have short nails or you can't wear crazy polish to school or work, there is always another option.

You could try a cute pedicure, which will be hidden inside your shoes for the daytime, but will keep you entertained once your shoes come off, like my cookie monster pedi above!.

I'm always looking for nail art ideas, and the majority of my ideas come from online and Instagram. I have inherited my dad's knack for copying things, and it extends to most areas of my creativity. The techniques used are very simple, though, and once you master the art of the nail art brush, the world is your oyster. Enjoy!

How-to Monday: Tigger nails!!!

Here's something really cute that I stumbled across on Instagram and decided to try myself. It's such a simple technique, and the result is awesome and everyone who has seen it on me absolutely loves it. Even the man in my life said " I LOVE that!" when he saw it.

First, here's the tutorial that I filmed and posted to YouTube, which shows you how to do it:




Or, here's the step by step instructions:

 Step 1: Base coat.

I use Revlon quick dry base coat, but you can use whichever base coat you prefer. The brands used in the tutorial are just the ones that I had in the colours that I needed.

One light coat of base coat to get you started.

Step 2: French base.

Using any baby or french pink, lightly coat your  thumb, index finger, middle finger (yes, in the video I referred to it as my "bird" finger!) and pinky finger.

Leave your ring finger without the pink coat if you're doing a full nail of Tigger like I've done. You only need the pink layer if you're doing the "french" style tips.

 Step 3: Bright orange.

I'm using a neon orange from Orly's hot shots collection.

You need 2 coats; on the full ring finger nail and just on the tips of all the other fingers, as shown in the video.

I followed the line of my acrylic tips (the white part), so it was super easy.

Step 4: Tiger stripes.

I don't know a way to do this without a striper polish, but as you can clearly see in the video, this BYS nail art polish cost me $4.50, and it's really versatile. You'll use it for so many different nail arts.

Starting at the top of the nail and only working over the orange part, begin on one side, right at the top and using the striper to work a thick line, brushing down to a thin brush stroke three quarters of the way across the nail. You'll get the hang of it as you go. The stripes don't have to be perfect.

Step 5: Finishing.

Top coat is important so that your polish doesn't chip or flake away quickly. There is a technique to this, though. Basically, you want to work from side to side on the nail, so that if the top coat happens to smudge the striper, it smudges in the direction of the stripes and doesn't ruin the art.

And that's it. It's that easy.

Do you love this look? Will you try it out?

My nail art holiday album!

Lots of awesome nail art happened over the break, and I wanted to share some of it with you guys.

#1. Christmas tree.

#2. Gingham style.

#3. Neon madness.

#4. Winter Wonderland

 #5. Golden leopard

 #6. Hibiscus/Butterfly

 #7. Blackout.

#8. Emerald dreams.

Review: BYS Nail art lacquer

Lots of you have asked me how I put my nail art together so nicely, and I'd love to take all the credit on the back of my creativity, but I just can't. 

Nail art has never been easier, thanks to nail art lacquers and polishes with very thin brushes, and my favourite ones are the ones from BYS.

They come in over 30 different colours, so there's one to match every nail look!

 The best part is the price. Coming in at $4.95 each, they are totally affordable, and anyone can have gorgeous nails!

Working the same way as a traditional polish, but applied with a very long, very thin brush which doesn't take long to get the hang of, you simply apply straight lines and brush strokes with ease to create and kind of nail look you want.


 All of the nail art looks pictured here were created with the help of BYS nail art lacquers. My collection is growing every week!

Challenge me: Nail art!

 I'm ok with nail art. I'm a naturally creative person, and I really love to make some pretty nails for people to look at. It makes me happy.

Lately, my friend Jan has been posting pics on facebook of nail art she's seen and liked and tagged me in the pics to see if I could recreate the looks.

So what I'm thinking is, maybe you, my dear readers, could join in the challenge!

If you see a nail art that you like, post the pic on my facebook wall here: www.facebook.com/katysbeautysecrets and I'll post my recreation of the look! When I have a few to post, I'll pop the pics side by side in a blog post and we can all have a look!

You can also tag me @katylylak on Instagram and I'll see the pictures there if you happen to see something cool on there.

Nail art: Hibiscus flower

It wouldn't be a week on Katy's beauty secrets without a bit of nail art, so here's one I prepared earlier.

 Tonight I had a go at doing a hibiscus flower/butterfly-type look.

It needs more practise and a steadier hand, but for a first go, I like it, and I like the idea of it.

The idea was given to me by reader (and long-time family friend) Jan, so thank you for this idea, Jan. You know I love nail art and will try out just about anything!

Trendsday - Mattify your nail looks!

Matte nail polish is becoming a craze everywhere I look, and in my explorations on the interwebz this week, I came across some amazing ideas for nail art that mix trends, products and techniques, so I decided to give one of them a red hot go.


First of all, I want to show you how I found matte nail polish. I went looking for an actual black matte polish, and instead left the store with ChiChi matte top coat, which means that any solid colour nail polish that I have in my collection is now potentially a matte polish too! You just paint on your normal colour. I used the black from OPI's so so skullicious collection, and just used the matte top coat like I would any other top coat. It's super fast-drying and super effective, giving me exactly the effect I was after.

On my ring finger, I painted a blue and purple coloured glitter polish, as I am going for a stand-out one nail different trendy look.

Then, on top of all of my nails, I used my BYS nail art polish in black to create a criss-cross pattern.

Last of all, a coat of regular top coat over the ring fingers to seal the glitter. DO NOT use regular top coat over the matte top coat because you will make it shiny and undo all your hard work.

Here's what the finished product looks like:


What do you think? Do you like the subtle nail art?

Nail crazy!

It wouldn't be a week on katy's beauty secrets without a post about nail polish, so I decided to put together a collage of the crazy nail art I've attempted in the last week or so. If you guys see something you like on pinterest or instagram and want me to have a go at showing you how to do it, drop me a link in the comments or on facebook!

Special occasion nails

Today I was in Spotlight, and I picked up some small swarovski crystal elements in the jewellery section and thought to myself, "wow, these would make for amazing special occasion nail art!".

So here's a look I put together, using silver metallic polish, black and white nail art brushes and the swarovski crystal elements, held on with a little top coat underneath and a generous coat on top.

These would make great party nails, for a special birthday or a formal!

I have some nail tutorials for other looks coming out soon, so stay tuned.

GIVEAWAY! Help my blog grow and you could win!

I'm SO excited! I just finished packing up this box of goodies that I have to give away to one lucky reader! There are so many things inside the box that I couldn't get the lid on properly! As you can see, there are all different kinds of products, from nail polish and art to skin care, to brushes and sponges and even sunscreen, because that is THE most important skin care product that you can own. All of the products are brand new and unopened, purchased specifically for this purpose, except for a few little treats (not pictured) that I've included as a special surprise from the amazing people at Biore!

Trend Alert! Glitter nail beds.

 This month, with the change of season, I'm seeing a few different trends emerging in makeup, nails and hairstyles, so I figured I would share one with you today! I really like this little glitter-on-the-nail bed look, because you can mix it up and make a really bold statement, or a more subdued, pretty look for more formal occasions like a wedding or a family birthday.

I had so much fun experimenting with lots of different colours this week, trying out this technique, adjusting the amount of glitter I applied.The pink look with the Nicky Minaj collection (from OPI) sparkles on it reminds me of cupcakes with sprinkles on top!

I also tried out a coral look with gold glitter, which would be great to team up with a coral coloured dress this horse racing season.

Then, we have the NYC ballet collection sheer grey with the NYC ballet sparkle glitter, which would be awesome for a wedding or with a nice white summer dress. Along the same vein, on my little finger I have "Passion" from OPI's mothers day pack with a Nicole by OPI love heart glitter, which would be lovely with a pink dress or blouse.

The purple look is 2 colours from the Nicole by OPI Hit makers (Justin Bieber) collection.

The green is "don't mess with OPI" from the Texas collection, with a really cheap Ulta fuschia and green glitter on top.

I think all of these mixes look great, and could be adapted for lots of different occasions (or just because it's Wednesday!).

Review: OPI Texas collection

 I definitely have a soft spot for all things Texan, so when I saw that OPI have a collection dedicated to the Lone Star State, I just had to get my hands on it....or is that... it on my hands? Either way, I spotted green and turquoise, and several pinks and I just had to have a try of this collection.

I already have the green (Don't mess with OPI), which I used recently in a costume party look with some black and silver nail art to make it look kind of tartan-ish. It's a look I'm planning to recreate with some different colours soon, so stay tuned for that.

Today, I got my hands on the "lil shooters" mini range, which included Austin-tatious Turquoise, I vant to be a Lone Star, and Do you think I'm Tex-y, along with a gorgeous little sample bottle of rapidry top coat.

As you can see here, I've used the turquoise and the sky blue to create a cute little multi french look, using my silver nail art brush to soften the edge a little bit. Super simple and really quick to do, it's a really fun way to step away from the everyday....for any day!

I'm still growing my nails, so the ends are rounded, a look that I don't really favour. I'd much prefer a more square tip, but one cannot be picky and choosy whilst one is growing out her damaged nails. My nails really benefit from having the extra protection of a coat of nail polish, so I love to jazz it up every once in a while and make my nails really fun. It seems to do the job cheering me up, no matter how crappy the day.

There are some really great colours in this collection and I'm looking forward to picking up some more soon!

 I joined a beauty blog hop, which helps bloggers get their content seen by lots more people... Really want to thank the organizer, and the best way to do that is to send you guys to the blog! http://mimikaayu.blogspot.ca check it out!