Chevron Nails and Stylist Live London

Last weekend I went to London for two of the three days of Stylist Live.  Unintentionally, I matched my nails to the show design at Olympia, with these Chevron Nails. I’ll share some images from the show, along with my nail art, so keep on reading and scrolling!

Stylist Live at Kensington Olympia

First up, the nails…

Polishes and tools

Nailtiques Formula 2+
Picture Polish Lakodom
Bundle Monster Classic Beauty BM-XL355
Painted Polish Midnight Mischief
In The Name Of Polish Too Turnt You Got Burnt and Two in the Pink
Seche Vite
Dotting tool
Rainbow Connection angled clean up brush

I started with my normal nail preparation routine, and then used Nailtiques as a base coat.  Instead of a pure white base, I used the pale grey of Lakodom, which is a slight crelly glitter polish, if you look closely. This polish takes two to three coats to be fully opaque, but it’s definitely easier than working with white, which I always find a pain. If a white polish is pigmented enough to be opaque, it’s too thick to be nice to use.

Chevron Nails for Stylist Live 2017

I stamped in black, and I think I must be losing my stamping mojo! This time, I found it really difficult to pick up a clean image from the plate.  So, my design might not hold up to close inspection this time…

After stamping, I used bright neons from the ITNOP Fun Days and Neon Craze collection and a dotting tool to fill in the circles of the design and then sealed it all in with Seche Vite.

Quickfire Coding on the Thrive stage with Anisah Osman Britton

Stylist Live

I visited the show on Friday and Saturday, so I got the chance to hear some great talks and workshops.  On Friday I was at the Thrive stage, listening to Anisah Osman Britton’s Quickfire Coding workshop, where I got some great SEO tips and inspiration to develop this blog.  Later on, I listened to June Sarpong, Coco Khan, and Ateh Jewel talk about beauty and cultural appropriation on the Grow stage.

Stylist Live – spot the chevrons!

The next day I was back, but this time with my brilliant friends Kim and Lisa (go read their blogs too!). Lisa and I sat near the front for ‘Don’t Hate the Shake’ with Sofie Hagan, Harnaam Kaur and Megan Jayne Crabbe. The talk was brilliant and emotional, especially Harnaam’s description of her depression and suicidal thoughts. Megan was brilliant (I am loving her IG feed) and Sofie was hilarious (near the end she revealed all the cards she was holding were blank!).

Don’t Hate the Shake at Stylist Live 2017 – credit to Stylist Live for this image

I didn’t go crazy buying anything, although I did look closely at the Little Ondine stand a few times.  I couldn’t quite justify buying any though, when a good peel off base makes any polish peel-off.  While Kim was getting a manicure at the Diet Coke stand, I was chilling back and waiting for her, and chatting with the staff on the stand.  When they saw my nails they offered to set me up a mani station at the bar!!

Chevron Nails

Chevron Nails for Stylist Live 2017

I’m still wearing these, a week later, but they are looking rather worn out now.  I really like this design and the colours, and it was perfect for the show.  I coordinated with a mostly monochrome outfit with a black leather jacket from Michael Kors.  I’m not the most stylish, but I felt I fitted in well.

I’ll be trimming my nails down tonight following a break on my index (traitor!) and I’m contemplating a new shape…

Chevron Nails for Stylist Live 2017 – Keely’s Nails on Pinterest

I really want to go back next year, and hearing about Kim’s experience on Sunday, I might even splash out on a VIP ticket.  See you there!