HLHT - Mani-Thor

I've been dying to do more nail art for a while. I got a gel nail kit for my birthday a few years ago and I have been building up my colours and equipment as I have gone along. I've loved playing with make up and nail art since I was a teenager and now I think it's a great way to sneak a bit of geek into your everyday life! 

The inspiration for this nail art is Thor and his body armour. Yes I have used this as blatant excuse to stare at pictures of Chris Hemsworth. I'm not even sorry. Time well spent! I looked for distinct patterns and colours. I have tried to transfer these designs on to my nails!!! So let's take a look at what I have done. I'm not a nail artist so these won't be perfect but I had lots of fun doing them. 

To do this Mani-Thor just like me you will need: 

1. Nail Varnish - Red, Black and Silver.
2. Top and Base Coat nail varnish. 
3. Dotting tool (mine were 99p from home & bargain! Cocktail sticks work too) 
4. Scotch tape (or nail art tape which will work better I ordered some off amazon for £1 but was too impatient to wait for it to arrive) 
5. Nail art strips 
6. Orange stick to help with cleaning up when I miss my nail and paint my finger! 
7. UV lamp and wipes to set and give a shiny finish.  

Time and lots of it this isn't the manicure to be done 10 minutes before you head out. 

My breakdown will include instructions for gel nail varnish. So you might need to tweek it for regular nail varnish and add extra time for the layers to dry. I haven't tried with regular nail varnish so you'll let me know if you try it out. So let's get going! One nail at a time. Starting with a nice easy one. 

Pinkie Finger - Cape.

Apply clear base coat.

Paint two layers of red varnish.

Apply top coat.

Between each application place hand into the UV lamp to set gel varnish. 

To finish wipe the nail for a smooth hard finish. 

Ruby Ring Finger - Body Armour.

Apply clear base coat.

Paint two layers of black varnish.

Using the dotting tool and silver varnish add six dots in two lines of three on you nail. 

The dots of varnish can sometimes go on a little heavy so I left extra time for them to dry and put them under the uv lamp twice to be sure! 

Apply top coat.

Between each application place hand into the UV lamp to set gel varnish. 

To finish wipe the nail for a smooth hard finish. 

Middle Man and Peter Pointer Fingers - Gauntlets.

Apply clear base coat.

Paint two layers of red varnish.

Place scotch tape or nail art tape across the tip of your nail. 

Paint two layers of black nail varnish to completely cover the red.

Carefully peel off the tape. Here you might notice a little running or smudging so cover over the tip again with red varnish to make the line as neat as possible.

With the dotting tool add a small silver dot at the base of the nail. 

Apply top coat.

Between each application place hand into the UV lamp to set gel varnish. 

To finish wipe the nail for a smooth hard finish. 

Tommy Thumb - Chain mail Armour.

Apply clear base coat.

Paint two layers of black varnish.

Place the nail art strips in a crisscross pattern across your nail. This bit is fiddly and takes a while one handed. Press the strips down hard to reduce the chance of the silver varnish running underneath. 

Paint two layers of silver nail varnish. Or until you are happy with the coverage. I find metallic varnishes thinner and black is the hardest colour to cover. 

Apply top coat.

Between each application place hand into the UV lamp to set gel varnish. 

To finish wipe the nail for a smooth hard finish. 

And that is you Mani-Thor complete. For a first attempt I am super pleased with how it turned out! Working on my right hand with my left hand took all my concentration especially the thumb! But I have never trained in nail art I'm just playing about so I think they look awesome and not perfect but who ever wanted perfect anyway!!! If you have a geeky friend you could organise a girls night and give each other Mani-Thors!!! The process would be much quicker with two pairs of hands!!! 

I paired my new nails with my Thor Everyday Cosplay for a day out with my friends at fashion exhibition. Full details of my outfit can be found here.

I hope you enjoyed my Happy Little How Too! I'd love love love to see your interpretations of you have a go yourself. Tag me in on Instagram I'm charliefaith28. 

I have a few more manicure ideas up my sleeve but please leave suggestions of who you'd like to see me try next! 

Much Love 

Charlie x