NOTD: Cutesy Floral Nail Art

I was compelled to cut my nails down as one nail had a chip. And since they were looking short and cute, I figured it was an opportune time to try out this cutesy nail art I’ve been thinking about.

I hardly do nail art because I don’t really know where to start. However, I saw a sweet nail art using just a dotting tool on another blog the other day, and have been wanting to try something similar. So here it is finally.

Before I go on about the nail art, I thought I would just explain the different nail shapes and lengths you see in my swatches.

My nails are rather soft and tend to peel, tear, or chip too easily. My ideal nail shape is a square edge and slightly long. Yet, when they get to a certain length, they are more likely to get caught on clothes and such, often causing slight chips. This gives me no choice but to file them down., or at least to file the edges round. I think I may have to keep them rounded for they do seem less likely to chip or break that way.

Also, you may see that the length and shape vary from post to post. This is because I often swatch a few colours in each sitting. I will select and edit the photos, and then write the posts, as and when I have time to spare. I try to ensure I have at least a couple of posts scheduled ahead so that I will have new posts up on a regular basis. As and when I have a more interesting Nail of the Day (NOTD) that I want to share, I will post it within a couple of days rather than schedule it for later.

So, these are the reasons why you are likely to see my nails looking different from post to post at times. They are all my nails, just photographed at different times.

Now, back to the nail art. I shall start with the finished look this time. Please pardon the bubbles on a couple of nails. It was caused by the thickening top coat (this is a problem I can’t seem to overcome, even with polish thinner).

Other than the flowers achieved with dotting tools, I also decided to experiment with something different on the thumbs.

Left hand [with flash]

Left hand [natural light indoors]

Right hand [with flash]. The super short ring finger was the reason for the nubbins.

Right hand [natural light indoors]. Not pleased with the bird but I did paint it with my non-dominant hand.

I nicknamed these my “Laura Ashley nails”, because they are so floral and spring-like. So, while others are spotting snowflakes and icicles, here I am sporting pastel blooms! The look is making me like my nubbins a lot more.

Here are the colours I used; there are quite a few of them.

For the base, I alternated between Orly Snowcone and Gumdrop.

Orly Snowcone and Gumdrop

These are the colours use to do the flowers. OPI Alpine Snow was used to do the clouds on my right thumb.

L-R: OPI Come to Poppy; Nubar Pink Lily; Nubar Orange Crush; Nubar Yellow Primrose; OPI Alpine Snow.

And for the rainbow on the left thumb and the bird silhouette on the right thumb, I used Nubar’s two-way nail art pens.

L-R: Nubar Red Frost., Bronze Frost, Gold Frost, Mint Frost, Blue Frost, and Black.

For a first attempt, I am quite pleased with the results. My dotting skills could do with more practice, so I hope to try other designs soon.

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