NOTD - Coachella Festival Vibe Nails

Hey there lovely readers!

There is one event that is currently on everyone's social media's right now..the pinnacle Oscar caliber festival of festivals...Coachella. Alas I was not one of the lucky humans to go...my invite must've gotten lost in the post....Until then I'll have to get my festival vibes in another way...Now these nails are totally giving me ALL the Coachella vibes, what do you think? I may not be there in body but most definitely am in spirit!

If I'm perfectly honest, I am NOT what you would call a festival kinda gal...camping, portaloos, no showers, mud...NO. But if there is one festival you can definitely sign me up for then Coachella is the one! California sunshine, great bands & summer styling...I'm there. Who knows...maybe one day...

Until that day comes however I can still get into the festival vibes by living vicariously through my nails ;) I was in the mood for some ombre sponging & have wanted to try a nude/beige with pale pink ombre for ages & it did not disappoint! I absolutely love this slightly different take on a french manicure.

I used two Models Own for the sponging, Nude Beige and Pink Veneer (PS can we just take a moment to pay respect to my long talons before they all got filed to nubbins whilst I was on holiday?! *sniffs* But I am currently using my HOLY GRAIL basecoat MicroCell Nail Repair which will hopefully have them looking like this again!)

Start with painting one coat of white to every nail. This is very important otherwise you will be spending ages sponging on dozens of layers for an opaque finish! Once dry, apply a strip of Pink & the Nude polish side by side on a makeup sponge & dab onto the nail to create the ombre effect. Check out my more detailed post on the sponging technique HERE.

I wanted to add a subtle sparkle so applied a coat of Essie Shine Of The Times flakie topcoat but I actually wish I hadn't bothered with this step as it didn't really show up well on the light base...oh well!

But on to these gold decals which really make the manicure...aren't they just dreamy?! Very reminiscent of the gold metallic tattoos you see adorning many a festival go-er at Coachella! I actually picked these up ages ago from brand DIY Nails but after searching online I can't seem to find them anymore! How sad!

These are water decals, so to apply, simply cut out the design, soak in water for 10-20 seconds, once out, dab on to dry tissue to get rid of excess water before sliding the transfer off the backing & placing on to the nail, pressing down with the dry tissue or a dry sponge. Finish with topcoat to seal.

Fear not if you can't find these though because the gold/silver/white metallic tattoos used for the body work just as well on the nails & can be found on Etsy, eBay & Amazon! You can also of course find lots of lovely metallic transfers on my favourite nail art supply website Born Pretty Store. If you shop around you can find some gorgeous patterns with which you can create your own custom nail looks!