I know Mr. Groundhog said there'd be six more weeks of winter, but I think he might have been wrong about the weather in my neck of the woods! It's been getting warmer and warmer here, and I took the inspiration for this mani from the gorgeous mustard growing everywhere in my area. Keep reading to find out more!
Every spring, mustard blossoms in all the fields and orchards here in Northern California. It always makes my heart happy because it's just so pretty and cheerful looking! I snapped this picture on the drive to my grandparents' house because it was just a perfect shot. In the background you can see some mountains. This is in fact the smallest mountain range in the world - the Sutter Buttes!!! I have grown up with these tiny peaks always in sight and it's just so comforting, I can't really explain it! I guess I'll have to do a mani inspired by them sometime. Hmmm...
I wanted to do an almost abstract take on the mustard fields, but it actually turned out a little impressionistic (did I use that correctly?) and I LOVE them! And oh, these colors! They make me yearn for spring even more!
For this design, I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Exotic Green on all nails, followed by a coat of Literary Lacquers Green Gables, a holographic green. I had such high hopes for this holo, since I didn't have a green holo in my collection. All the reviews I saw said it was opaque in two coats, but I'm thinking there might have been a sneaky reformulation because I tried to get it opaque and there was STILL visible nail line after four coats. FOUR COATS. So I figured that I could at least layer it over other greens and that way it would last longer, right? Anyway, when those coats were dry, I stamped on my thumb, middle, and ring fingers using Vivid Lacquer plate VL018. I stamped using OPI I Just Can't Cope-Acabana, Essie Shake Your $$ Maker, and Sally Hansen Lightening, respectively. I absolutely loved the subtle almost gradient this created! I will definitely have to try this again with another color scheme!
Oh, and here's a quick snippet to show just how strong the holo flame on this polish is in the direct sunlight. Roll that beautiful holo footage!
Materials Used
Sinful Colors Exotic Green
Literary Lacquers Green Gables
Essie Shake Your $$ Maker
OPI I Just Can't Cope-Acabana
Sally Hansen Lightening
Vivid Lacquer stamping plate VL018
Liquid latex
What's your favorite thing about the coming of spring? Let me know below! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Millie, it's Carolyn. Looooved this post!!! And, love your nails :)))) Did a great job capturing the mustard fields.
ReplyDeleteLOVE this mani! It's so bright and refreshing like spring! (But spring weather here is summer weather. Ugh!) Hmm, you remind me that I have Sinful Colors Exotic Green. LOL I should try layering a holo top coat over it!
ReplyDeleteOooh yes, Exotic Green is lovely! It's almost crelly-like, imo. Seems so squishy to me with just 2 coats :-)
ReplyDeletewow this is gorgeous! love the bright lime green! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! :-D
ReplyDeleteAwww, love the inspiration and especially how you translated that into your nails - that Green Gables is fa-bu-lous!
ReplyDeleteAw thank you so much! And isn't it just the prettiest?!?! I had to layer it because it's fairly sheer, but this way I'll get more life out of it :-D
ReplyDelete