Zebra Fluff . . .

I recently purchased some MUA Fur Effect Nails (their answer to flocking powder) and nail art pens from Superdrug and Paperchase so I wanted a mani where I could test them out, check out below for reviews.

I love grey and pink together so naturally, I chose an ombre in those colours before adding the black Zebra print and pink fluffy accent. The Barry M grey (Cappucino) is a recent addition to my collection and is a gorgeous, warm grey and I love it, it's very grown up and chic! I chose the pink nail fluff because I knew I had the pink Barry M which would work beautifully as a base under it and boy, was I right.

Base Coat : Sally Hansen Complete Care
Ombre : Barry M Strawberry Ice-cream 309, Barry M Cappucino 341
Zebra Print : Paperchase Nail Art Pen in Black (No name)
Accent : Barry M Strawberry Icecream 309, MUA Fur Effect Nails Fluffy Puff
Tools : Sponge
Top Coat : Rimmel 60 Seconds Clear 740

After a coat of my base had dried I applied two coats of the Barry M grey on all my nails except my ring finger, where I painted two coats of the Barry M pink. Once all that had dried, I used the sponge technique to build up a pink ombre at the tip of the nail. Again, once that had dried, and I mean really dried, I used the the Nail Art pen to draw random lines across the nail from the left and the right side. It's important to wait for it to dry otherwise if you get a bit press happy whilst lining, you'll end up rucking up your base and fuming about it. Finish off with a coat of top coat et voila!

Now I don't know whether it's because I didn't wait long enough for the Zebra print to dry or whether the top coat is rubbish or whether the nail art pen is the culprit, but some serious bleeding happened when I did more than one or two strokes of top coat - not ideal to say the least.

For the accent ring fluff, I gently pressed my still wet nail into a container (the lid) full of the fluff. I then gently pressed the fluff onto my nail with my thumb so that it stuck on good and proper  before delicately brushing the loose bits onto a bit of paper with an old paintbrush, then transferred the left overs back into the pot for next time.

I didn't think I would love the fur effect as much as I do! I can't stop stroking my nail and it looks so deliciously fluffy I could die! I will definitely be purchasing other colours, and I can't wait to try out different effects with different manis!
The 1.5g pot cost me £2.00 (£1.00 off the RRP) from Superdrug, which if you ask me is a great deal because I was surprised at how little I actually used.

My only grumble about the MUA fluff is that it comes with a sifter lid, which on one side has it's benefits sure, but I actually wanted to load up the lid with it so that I could my nail press in. They suggest removing the sifter lid if need be, however this was impossible and I still haven't been able to get it out even with the help of my boyfriend. I was able to load up the lid all the same, but it took a while with a lot of shaking and tapping - which again isn't ideal.

 Have you tried flocking powder or any other type of nail fluff? What do you think about the "velvet" manicure, love it or loathe it?