Cath Kidston Inspired Nail Art

Topshop 'Green Room' / Revlon 'Dreamer' / Barry M 'Pink Famingo' / 17 'Mini Skirt' / Barry M 'Mint' / Topcoat (not pictured) Sally Hansen 'Insta Dri' /

I've never been one for nail art - it's not that I don't like it, more just the fact it takes rather a long time and I'm prone to chipped nails because of the hands-on nature of my jobby. However, when I had a flick through my reading list and saw a few posts on intricate flower designs including a couple of Cath Kidston-esque patterns, I took it upon myself to give it a whirl. I'm a massive fan of Cath Kidston - I have a selection of bags that I take with me to work and to uni - I just love the variety of prints and I seem to collect her designs, they're so girly and pretty - what better design to start off my nail art obsession with than one that matches my handbag? I'm rather impressed with the results of my nails to say it's my first go and I don't have a nail art pen to my name. It took a great deal of concentration, a steady hand, a bit of patience and a little help from a cocktail stick - but I managed to create something resembling the famous flowery designs (it may also help that I'm a bit of an art geek...)

After applying a base polish, I coated the whole nail with 2 coats of Revlon's 'Dreamer' for an opaque finish. I waited for this to dry completely (important you do this - the design is harder to apply if the coat underneath is still wet) and then applied little 'cloud' shapes either side of the nail using 17's 'Mini Skirt' - a pearly white colour. This is probably the most difficult bit to create without using a nail pen! Again, after waiting for this to dry I applied a generous blob (yes, blob) of Barry M's 'Pink Flamingo' and whilst it was still wet, quickly swirled in a tiny bit of the white shade again to create the rose effect (i used a cocktail stick to do this). I then applied a couple of dots using the two green polishes to resemble the leaves either side - I used two shades just for added effect. To finish off the design, I added the dots up the middle of the nail - this is where it went wrong slightly and I could have done with the use of a nail pen - I wanted the dots closer together and to follow the cloud shapes I'd previously created - but it was my first go at this after all, and to say i applied the dots with a mahoosive nail polish brush I don't think I did too bad! I then smoothed on a topcoat which seemed to soften any accidental harsh edges, and gave the nails a glossy finish whilst smoothing down any bumps created with the dots (I used Sally Hansens 'Insta Dri' which dried the design almost instantly and I really recommend it if you're a nail art fan - you can read my review here :))

I'm thinking of doing some other variations of this print - I might try to create a pink version with bigger roses next time! If you need some more Cath Kid-spiration (sorry..) then check out this post by Secret Diary of a Fashion Journalist - I have to credit her for the spark in my nail creativity as it was her post that gave me the idea, and there's also another fab post here by Pearls & Poodles.

What do you think of Cath Kidston-ing your nails?

Will you be giving this a try?

♥