Geometric vs. Organic Floral Nail Art

Hey fine folks, I'm sorry I've had such a large gap between posts lately. Like I briefly mentioned earlier,  I've been really busy working on a huge project at work. I'm going to do my best to prepare some posts this weekend though, so hopefully there won't be too many more big gaps!

I was determined to do some nail art last night and decided to start with a floral. Now, I love florals (I've definitely done my fair share of them!), but I wanted to punch up the design a little bit. I thought it would be cool to contrast a harsh, black and white geometric checkerboard against the soft organic floral nails. I love the way they stand out, so rebellious!

I freehanded everything in this manicure with my medium length striper brush. I probably have a checkerboard stamping plate somewhere but I did want to challenge myself a bit and freehand those nails, too. I did force myself to be a little less controlling about the checkerboard lines than I normally would have been. That's kind of ass-backwards, huh? Controlling myself into being less controlling?

Colors used in this manicure include:
Cult Nails Tempest (white)
American Apparel Hassid (black)
OPI My Vampire is Buff (bone)
Lime Crime Peaches and Cream (lighter orange)
OPI Call Me Gwen-ever (darker orange)
Illamasqua Jo'mina (lighter purple)
China Glaze Crimson (darker purple)
China Glaze Def Defying (green)

I wish the Lime Crime polish would have shown up better in my photos. In person it has a much better contrast to the pale cream background.

So, what do you think about this geometric vs. organic manicure? Too much, or just bold enough?

Simple 70s Gradient

There is something quite beautiful about a simple, two color gradient. I will rock crazy nail art like nobody's business, but sometimes you just want something clean and pretty.

The other day I asked Sean to pick two colors for me so I could make a gradient out of them. He picked green and brown. Initially I felt kind of apathetic about the choices, but I had told him that I would do whatever he chose so I had to follow through with it. As I began sponging together my colors, I realized that they went beautifully together. The combination was a little out of my wheelhouse because I usually go for the pastels or brights. I was surprised to find that this earthy, 70's combination was really working for me.

China Glaze - Desert Sun (brown)
OPI - Jade Is the New Black (green)

Chalkboard Nails for What I Wore: Spring Floral

Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't had a post for you lately, I am busier at work than I've ever been before. I just come home and go to sleep immediately! BUT here's the good news: my next What I Wore collaboration post is up! Stop by and check out my manicure inspired by a gorgeous floral skirt.

Succulent Plant Pattern Nail Art (Inspired by Lindsay Nohl)

Occasionally, while aimlessly surfing the internet, you get lucky and something awesome happens. This happened to me a few weeks ago as I was browsing around on the Paper Bicycle Creative blog. Something seriously lovely caught my eye, and I knew I wanted to do nail art inspired by it.

My inspiration was this gorgeous succulent pattern by Lindsay Nohl. I love the almost watercolored look of these, and I wish I could have represented the soft, faded colors better on my nails! Still though, it can be hard to translate specific details into nail art at times, and I feel good about the modifications I made to get this to work for nails.

I started with a white base, and then freehanded my plants on using four different colors.

China Glaze - Westside Warrior (olive green)
China Glaze - Fancy Pants (blue)
China Glaze - Grape Pop (purple)
China Glaze - Purr-fect Plum (burgundy)

So yeah, I'm obsessed with the inspiration pattern and now I'm obsessed with the fact that I have a tiny version of it on my nails.

I thought it would also be interesting to include my palette for this nail art. When I do nail art I work off of pieces of wax paper, and often when I finish a design I'll fold up the palette and save the clean outside for my next design. Unfortunately, I think I waste quite a bit of polish because of how quickly it dries. Oh well, such is the life of a nail artist I guess...?

A pinnable combination image, if you are into that sort of thing. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this look. Nail art is really an amazing thing, isn't it? It makes me feel so happy, not just while wearing it but also while painting it.