Hello and welcome!  I’m surprised to say that this week is my first Fourth of July manicure!

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that this is my first post about 4th of July.  Considering my birthday is just before it, I typically choose to be selfish and do a birthday mani instead!  But this year, somehow, the timing worked out perfectly for me to do both.  Obviously my inspiration for this mani was red, white, and blue.  But I couldn’t decide on what part of the Fourth to focus on, so I did a little bit of everything:  fireworks, ice cream, and red/white/blue everywhere!

What I Used:

• Base Coat:  Glisten & Glow – Base Coat
• 1st Color:  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri – ASAP Apple
• 2nd Color:  Maniology – bam! white
• 3rd Color:  Pure Ice – Stars Aligned
• Top Coat:  Glisten & Glow – Top Coat
• Cuticula Dole Whip nail tape
• makeup sponge
• Maniology BM-S408 stamping plate
• Maniology BM-S211 stamping plate
• Twinkled T holo stamper
• silicone scraper & lint roller sheet
• Twinkled T clean up brush, size #2
• acetone nail polish remover

I started with my usual base coat, and then two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri – ASAP Apple.  Then I prepped for the gradient by adding liquid latex around my pointer and pinky fingers.

Two coats of Sally Hansen – ASAP Apple

Liquid Latex around the nails getting a gradient

It took a few layers of the gradient to make it look decent.  And even then it’s not very blended.  But what did I expect when going from red to white to blue?  Then I just stamped a firework design on my ring finger and thumb nail, and an ice cream design on my middle finger.

The first layer of gradient was rough

The final gradient was a little more blended

There’s a little bit of everything in this design, and it’s made me start to debate whether I like the fireworks or ice cream more.  I’m not sure about the gradient though.  It took the longest amount of time, and it’s not as blended as I’d like.  But I suppose it just means I need more practice with gradients!

Final look – left hand

Final look – right hand

Hope everyone enjoyed their week!

Update:

Well, my right thumb didn’t survive, but luckily everything else did.  And, you can see some serious nail growth on my right hand!  It’s either that, or I didn’t get very close to my cuticles when painting them in the first place.  But I like to think of it as growth.