Fuchsia and Cobalt Tribal (Matte vs. Glossy)

The other day I was raring to do some nail art, and I wanted a design that would help me to practice my fine line work. I recently did an interview with The Crumpet and one of the things I said was that I wished I was better at fine details in my nail art. Well, there's no time like the present to start practicing!

I chose a geometric/tribal concept because consistent lines are really hard to do, and I thought it would be challenging. I really like the way that it came out.

Colors I used include:

OPI - My Vampire is Buff (cream - I recently bought three backup bottles of this shade, heeehhhhh)

Essie - Butler Please (cobalt blue)

Sheswai - F*ckyeah (fuchsia, now called Hot Damn) 

American Apparel - Hassid (black)

I also want to note that I used KBShimmer - Clearly On Top as my topcoat for this manicure and was very impressed. It didn't smear the nail art when I applied it, and it dried really speedily. Definitely worth looking into if you are in the market for a new topcoat.

After finishing the manicure I decided I wanted to make it matte. I don't use my matte topcoat often enough! It can really transform the entire look of whatever it's used on.

So, I added a coat of Hard Candy - Matte-ly In Love. I'm actually almost out of it, and I don't think that Hard Candy is producing it anymore. I'm going to give the OPI Matte Topcoat a shot next.

Which way do you prefer this manicure? While I normally prefer glossy, I think in this case I like it better matte. Both have their advantages, though!