BFF Friday: Negative Space

Hello! Myself and Naileymabob try to do BFF Friday whenever we can but our jobs/lives often get in the way! We managed to fit one in this week though which we were both happy about as it encouraged us both to actually do some nail art!

(I've just found out that Laura can't post her blogpost yet as she's sorting out some family stuff, but if you head over to instagram she's posted her nails there for now!)

This week's theme, chosen by Laura, is Negative Space. As you all know this means leaving some of your nail 'blank' or 'polishless' while still creating a design. I've done negative space nails before here (half moons) and here (single chevron) and really liked the effect both times. I wanted to do something slightly different this time, so decided to add dotted flowers over a bare nail. I decided to do this on the middle two fingers of each hand - mainly because I've got a repair going on on a break on my index finger, so couldn't leave it polishless, so thought I'd incorporate this into the design!!

I already had these two polishes in mind for the design, before I even bought them! I knew they'd look nice together and quite autumnal. This is Mustard and Chilli from the new autumn/tribal range of gelly polish by Barry M.

I also used my prize from a recent competition ran by Orly on Instagram. The winners all received a bottle of Orly BB Creme which is a new product designed to be like a BB Cream but for your nails! The website has this to say:
"ORLY BB Crème is ORLY’s biggest innovation since the Original French Manicure itself. It’s everything you need for beautiful natural nails in a bottle. It whitens, it brightens, it smoothes and it protects – giving your nails an instant make over and a healthy glow. Containing UV filters, it also helps prevent discolouration of the nail too. Instantly transform your nails in just two coats. Wear alone – no other polish needed." 
...So basically, this isn't a nail treatment as I first thought, but a polish designed to keep nails looking natural but improve the colour/texture and general appearance of the nail. I was a bit skeptical at first - why not just use a clear or sheer peachy shade to get this effect? But actually, after using this, I think it's rather good! It does everything it says and makes my natural nails appear so healthy - whilst still looking natural. 
I reckon this would be great for someone who has their nails bare a lot (for work or whatever reason) but wants to keep them looking nice. Not so great for someone like me who always wears polish, but now I have something to use if ever I need to have naked nails. 

So anyway - after that digression - I used this as a base for the negative space nails, which made my nails appear really healthy and clean, and hid any staining from excessive polish use. 

I added the flowers randomly using my Models Own dotting tool, and then created a gradient with both colours on all my other fingers. I really love the look of this manicure - I wish I could have done the flowers on all my nails! They look really 70s!

To tone these down for work, I sadly removed the gradient nails and just painted these with the Orly BB polish. I love how it makes my nails look! Although I don't know if I'm keen on having designs on just two nails and the rest plain - people at work thought I'd forgotten to do the rest of them, and also I kept catching sight of the dark red and thinking I had blood under my nails!!