Valentine's Day Freehand Design

 With Valentine's day almost here, here's some beginner-friendly nail art I wanted to share! 

Polishes used: Cirque Colors Chiffon, Zoya Ming, P*O*P and Polished Organ Harvest, ECO Created Colors White Out, Maxus Strengthening Base and Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthening Top Coat.

I've seen a lot of versions of this wave line negative space manicure floating around this Valentine's and wanted to try it out for myself. No particular inpso this time, I just decided to grab some of the colors I had on hand and try some nail art for the first time in a while.

First I used one coat of Maxus Strengthening Base, then two then coats of Cirque Colors Chiffon,  pictured here on my left hand, with three coats on the index finger and two on the rest. Two coats of this rather sheer formula left a visible nail line on my nails, which is what I was after today. Nude, but better! And with some pink to it. I really like this formula.

 

Next, I added one layer of Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthening Top Coat. This allows me to touch up small flaws in my design without messing up the base as long as I use a light hand.

I must say this isn't my usual topcoat, and while it claims to be cruelty free its parent company COTY does not. Sally Hansen is also considered 3-free although this is not a part of their Good. Kind. Pure. line which claims to be 16-free. However its fast-drying and the price is right, and something I can get at my local drugstore instead of ordering online so it is something I recently grabbed a bottle of to try. I was pleased with how quickly it dried but that's no surprise!

Next I used the bottle brushes and thin, chisel-tipped nail art brushes to freehand lines and swirls of color on my nails, leaving the "natural" base coat showing through as I liked. I added a heart in Organ Harvest on my ring finger. Have I mentioned how much I love the name of this shade?!

All of these colors worked well for nail art painting except White Out, which was a bit thick and streaky for me but worked well enough.

Once my design was complete and reasonably dry, I topped with a slightly thick, quick layer of the Sally Hansen top coat. This allows the brush and top coat to glide over and coat the design rather than making the colors drag or bleed as the top coat re-wets the polish underneath. The goal is that the brush shouldn't touch your nail but rather float over it leaving behind an even layer of polish that's not too thick.

Photos taken indoors in bright CFL near a window. 

Freehand may not be as flawless as stamping but I think it allows for some fun, freeform creativity. I have to say I didn't try to do my other hand. Its been a while but it was nice to try this again. What do you think?

Happy Valentine's Day and Keep Shining!

Rebecca aka @moonbloombeauty