Nail of Thrones: Lord of Light (Nail Art/Tutorial/Episode 6x02 Review *SPOILERS*)

So we all know I'm a BIG fan of Game of Thrones and there has been a time or ten where Game of Thrones has influenced my nail art. One of the main reasons I started this blog was to share nail art inspired by TV and film. I've kind of lost my way and motivation with the blog (I still post on Instagram and Twitter on the regular) but posting here has almost become a chore. To challenge myself, I decided to try and create a nail art associated with each new episode of Game of Thrones. I know what you're thinking: Yeah Rebecca you've already kind of failed since we are on episode 2. Yes, you are right anonymous person BUT I did post my Episode 6x01 nail art over on Instagram because I had originally planned for that to my ~debut~ YouTube video but various circumstances meant I didn't get to film everything I needed for the video. The same thing has happened this week so instead of sitting on this nail art like last week's, I thought f*ck it and post anyway. I really do want to get on YouTube VERY soon but I'm still trying to figure out my filming set up, whether I want to film little intro/outros and actually discuss the episodes (let me know your thoughts below!) While I'm figuring out what the flip to do with YouTube, let's begin with the good ol' blogpost and some .gifs!

Now, there will be spoilers in these posts. I'm sorry but I can't NOT talk about this so if you haven't seen this week's episode, either don't read the text and look at the pretty pictures OR head over to Instagram and have an ogle there. I'll not post spoilers there but I can't say the same for the comments below so travel there at your own peril or you know watch the episode! Anyway, let's talk about the episode and some actual nail art, yeah?

 The Night Is Dark and Full of Spoilers

I think it's safe to say that A LOT happened in this week's episode. I think it was put rather well by someone on Twitter (I can't remember who) but it was something along the lines of 'Most shows would call that a season finale, in Game of Thrones that's episode two!'. Since so much has happened, you can only be optimistic and presume that the rest of the season is just going to be plot bombs going off everywhere. Let's try and put together some clear throughts on this week's episode yeah?

I honestly thought they would have held off on revealing Jon Snow's fate. I mean, we all knew he was coming back but it was just a question of how and when. Now, I'm not a book reader but I know enough from theory videos and the fonts of book knowledge that are my brother and father (I have tried reading them but I still struggle to get past the first book but I will persevere!) to know the implications of Jon's return to the living and to say I am excited for next week's episode (TOWER OF JOY R+L=J AZOR A'HAI THE PRINCE WHO WAS PROMISED I MEAN WHAT?!?) would be a teensy bit of an understatement. Like I said, I thought he would have come back next week or in episode four so it'll be interesting to see how they keep up the excitement and momentum of Jon's return in the next 8 episodes. I mean, they could have played their best hand WAY too early but time will tell.

Right so what else happened? Oh yeah, Ramsey was being his regular psychopathic self. Roose's demise at the hands of his bastard was another inevitable plot point and much like Jon, it was a question of how and when. While I'll shed no tears over Roose, poor Fat Walda and little baby Bolton. We all thought we met the worst human being in Westeros when Joffrey graced our screens but Ramsey is definitely in competition for the title, if not at the head of the pack. Like Joffrey, Ramsey's inevitable death (because everyone's death on this show is inevitable, let's be honest) will be a cause for celebration and I'm already counting down the days (let it be this season!)

Comic relief moment of the week goes to The Mountain and Flashing Kings Landing Peasant #1. Who knew FrankenMountain could do a funny? I also loved Bran's return. That flashback was awesome. Hodor/Wylis used to talk?!? And of course, emphasising Lyanna's badassery at such an early stage, I wonder what that's all about...

This week's episode was dominated by HUGE What the Frack moments so it's hard to reflect on the episode as a whole since I am still internally screaming (and I've watched it twice). Last week's season opener was a solid effort, it tied up loose ends, introduced new threads that intrigued us. This week? Well we have the resurrection of a beloved character, the death of an antagonist, his wife and an innocent baby, the death of the last surviving "King" from the War of the 5 Kings and a whole lot of other stuff inbetween. While the excitement of this week's episode is slowly but surely dissipating, I can't help but think that perhaps Game of Thrones has peaked too early. Jon's return was something they have been openly lying about since last year and two weeks into the new season he is back. Is it a case of hooking the audience by assuring them that our favourite bastard will always be present or is it a case of there's so much to actually get through this season that it HAD to happen this early for all the pieces to fall into place later down the line. Let's agree with the latter for now and see what happens...now THE NAIL ART!

Since episode 6x02 will be remembered for Jon's miraculous return, I thought I'd pay tribute to those responsible and that's Melisandre and the Lord of Light. I've taken the Lord of Light sigil (the flaming heart) and created a modified heart tip, complete with yellow flames.

As always, the thumb, the one you don't get to see as well, turned out the best but I'm pretty pleased with this look. Yes, they might look like narly apples or strawberries but I'd like to think that those in the know would get what the nails represent. 

For this particular look, I used Models Own Marsala, Sarong Wrap, Barry M Cotton and Black. The steps for this nail art are pretty straightforward.

1. Outline your heart shape and fill in with red polish

2. Outline the top of the heart in black using a fine nail art brush

3. In white, paint the flames surrounding the heart and out of the top of the heart

4. Paint over the white with the yellow polish. Using the white base means your yellow will stand out on top of the red and black

5. Outline the flames in black using a fine nail art brush and add accents

6. Patch up any problem areas and clean up any mistakes using nail polish remover

7. Seal of top coat and be on your merry way!

Of course, wait for the polish to dry in between steps so colours don't merge and get mixed up.

Even if you don't watch Game of Thrones or have no interest, I still think this is still a pretty cool look.

DIFFICULTY RATING: Medium
It's an exercise in patience and steady hands as some of the detailing can be quite finicky but in all honesty, you don't have to be all that neat if you're not going to be staring at it from 2 centimetres away LOL

I hope you've enjoyed this post, be it the ramble about this week's Game of Thrones, the nail art or tutorial. Let me know what you think of the whole YouTube idea as well. I'd say let me know what you think about this whole episode review situation but to be honest with you, I'll probably keep doing it regardless, let's just hope this promotes some consistency. I still have so many polishes to swatch for you guys and that will happen eventually, this girl just has to get her groove back! Follow me on the social media sites at the side and until next time :)