a-england Christmas Gradient

For my one truly Christmasy manicure this year, I went to some of my favorite polishes to create what I think is a really classy holiday gradient that I ended up loving a lot.

This is a-england Saint George and Rose Bower on the tips of my nails done in a gradient with Bridal Veil. I wore this to an evening holiday event so I wanted something festive but not too over the top, and I think this fit the bill perfectly. I'd wear a-england polishes in various gradients every single day if I could! They just blend so beautifully and create a flawless look every single time.

Because the darker color was at my cuticles for this manicure instead of on the tips, I tried a slightly different technique for the gradient. I started by just painting the tips of my nails with Saint George and Rose Bower (just freehanding it with the brush from the bottle, nothing fancy), and then doing the same with Bridal Veil, but starting at my cuticles and stopping about halfway up the nail. And then from that point, I used the usual makeup sponge method to dab more of the two colors onto each nail to cover up the harsh, unblended line and create the actual gradient. I had no idea whether this was going to work when I started, but I think it went really well and I'll definitely be doing it again! I love the look of the color emerging out of the black from the cuticle.

Since my Christmas tree was right there next to me as I worked on this manicure, I grabbed an ornament off a nearby branch and experimented with a more "artistic" shot for my last photo, just for fun. :)

Sadly, I chipped this manicure like nobody's business while I was cleaning house in preparation for holiday visitors; otherwise, I'd definitely still be wearing it! Next time I'll show you what I ended up wearing for actual holidays (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) themselves.

Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone!

Christmas Candy Gram

I've been wearing this manicure for a few days now, and I can't decide what it reminds me of more: mint candies & other delicious holiday goodies, or an over-the-top holiday sweater. Either way, I think this is definitely a Christmasy look through and through!

I started with a base of tenoverten Carmine on all my nails (except the ring finger—that got a base coat of Zoya Trixie). Then I stamped the snowflake-y pattern from MoYou's Artist Collection Plate 04 on my index and middle finger with Trixie, and used striping tape and Carmine to do the stripes on my ring finger. Finally, I painted/dabbed on a generous coat of ILNP Candy Gram on my thumb and pinky.

This manicure marked my first attempts using my new MoYou stamping plates, and I'm really loving them so far! MoYou is the hot new name in nail stamping right now, and I can definitely see why. The plates are very high quality and full of gorgeous images that transfer really well. I'm kind of a terrible stamper—my New Year's resolution is going to be improving my stamping skills, in fact!—but even I had a pleasant experience using these plates. Check them out if you have the chance!

Thanks for looking!