Monarch Butterfly

Hi guys! I'm still working on clearing out the vault of all these summer manis that I never got posted - I've gotta make room for all these fall and winter looks that will be coming up! Today I've got another one for you. 

I attempted the monarch butterfly look when I was just starting out, on a fake nail haha - it was pretty bad. Oh, look - I found photo evidence, along with some ugly animals :/

That's just embarrassing. That giraffe! Anyway, that was before I discovered Seche Vite! Or striping brushes lol. So recently, I decided to try it again!

I'd say this attempt is slightly better, wouldn't you? I did a makeup sponge gradient using mostly Sinful Colors and Sally Hansen, but I won't lie - I can't remember exactly which ones! I know I started with the yellow base, and that is Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Glow With It, and the lightest orange is Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Dreamsicle. These two were part of SH's Spring line last year, so they are not part of the core line. I forget what the medium orange shade is there (Might be Sinful Colors Citrine?) but I know I finished out the gradient with Sinful Colors Coral Riff at the tips. Which ended up pretty much completely covered by the black tip of the wings - oh well. :(

I added a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over the gradient before going in with my Stripe Rite striper in black to create the wing details. I used a small dotting tool to add the white dots along the edge. I topped it over with HK Girl, but I obviously didn't wait long enough for it to dry because the topcoat smeared it a bit. I wish I had known about Mentality's Gloss topcoat then!! I still like the overall look of this mani though. :) Here's a shot with flash where you can really see how the colors pop! (Sorry about that unsightly cut!)

I'm really glad I attempted this again. I still have some work to do, but I think I've improved a lot since I first started blogging! I got a lot of compliments on this look too. I think we are our worst critics. While I'm lamenting over some smeared dots, strangers in the grocery store are grabbing my hand and staring in awe, and they can't believe I did this by hand. That's always such a nice feeling - it reminds me not to be so hard on myself all the time! :)

I know a lot of you probably think this look has been done to death, but I still find it really beautiful. Especially in a different color palette! I've come across bloggers who have done a blue and purple color scheme, and I've also seen it in pink. I think I'll be trying it with some different colors. Especially now that I have the Vivid Lacquer stamping plate with the butterfly wing on it (VL 002). I bought it after doing this mani and being irritated that my lines weren't very straight, haha! So, we'll see next time how it comes out using a stamped image rather than freehand.

Thanks for reading <3
Kelly