Mandala

This is my first time doing a mandala design, despite what a popular nail look they are. This is mostly because I don't have any stamping plates or vinyls with mandalas and I've only just gotten the courage to try freehand painting one. I used China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint,  China Glaze Capacity To See Beyond, China Glaze Shower Together, Zoya Tru, and a little bit of China Glaze Tart-y For The Party.

Vertical Stripe Watermarble

I wanted to go a little bit out of my comfort zone with this watermarble; we have red, a color I hardly wear, shimmery polishes, which I also don't wear a lot and never marble with, and a design pattern that is completely new to me. Despite all of this, I ended up loving the outcome! I used Zoya Cyma, China Glaze Awaken, and a black polish.

Abstract Geometric Skittlette

It's actually pretty rare that I wear nails that are this bright, so this was definitely a fun one to wear, and stare at, for a few days. Every aspect of this manicure I came up with on the fly, so in hindsight, there are some parts of the design that I'm unhappy with. This is also entirely freehand, which makes it a "better from afar" look, but regardless, I am still fond of the overall effect. I used China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes, China Glaze Let's Jam, China Glaze Boho Blues, and Orly Lemonade. I seriously love these polishes, but I typically stay away from them because I find that they can be difficult to accurately capture on camera, however this one went pretty well!

Hot and Cold Scales

 These were initially going to be rainbow scales all mixed together on one nail, but the colors weren't really meshing, so instead I decided to split them up. My only issue with these was that I have basically done the right side before. I used a bunch of polishes, but for the gradients I used Xtreme Wear Caribbean Coral, Xtreme Wear Coral Reef, Zoya Cole, Color Club Disco's Not Dead, Color Club Pucci-Licious, Xtreme Wear Royal Hue, China Glaze Rain Dance The Night Away, and Essie Vibrant Vibes.

Geo-Matte-tric Triangles

Now that I work full time, I don't have as much time to spend on my nails anymore, so I've been creating more simple designs during the week and then going all out on the weekends; this was the first weekday manicure done with my new "schedule". The base is China Glaze Jagged Little Teal, and the details are done with Orly Rage. I created this design with the intention of making it matte, so it's no surprise to me that that ended up being my preferred finish to wear it with.

Soft Lace

    I recently went on a job interview and while I wasn't really concerned about my nail art, I thought I would play it safe and paint something soft and subtle anyway. I have done lacey nail art similar to this before. While the designs aren't exactly the same, they are basically the same concept, but I do think it's nice to revisit older designs sometimes and hopefully see improvement. The base that I used is Zoya Megan, a personal favorite, partially because its my namesake, but I also love this dusty light purple tinted color.

Cool Waves Watermarble

Since my last Pastel Watermarble, I got into a little marbling groove and ended up putting this design together. This was initially going to be a full rainbow, but I couldn't get my oranges and reds to cooperate in the water, so I just decided to omit them completely. For this marble I used China Glaze What a Pansy, Xtreme Wear Royal Hue, China Glaze Rain Dance The Night Away, Xtreme Wear Hustle Up, and Color Club Disco's Not Dead.

Sophisticated Skittlette

Other than picking the colors, I didn't really pre-plan for this manicure at all; I just sat down and started piecing a design together as I painted. The black is China Glaze Haunting and the light blue that I used is an unlabeled bottle of Essie, however after a quick google search, I think it may be called Who Is The Boss; at least that's my best guess.