Work appropriate mani Monday: Nude holo gradient and freehand black stuff

Just slippin' in a work appropriate mani Monday post here and I'm going to pretend like I've been routinely doing these... err yup, yes I am.

A simple nude holo gradient with two beauties from Cirque Colours topped off with some freehand what appears to be leaf-like design with random swirls, cause what else do I do with freehand manis, let's be honest. Swirls or die.

I, of course, used my cuticle oil trick to yield clean, smooth lines with my sumi brush! Check out my post and video tutorial on this nail art hack here.

 

VIDEO TUTORIAL AT THE END OF THE POST!

I've used these two Cirque neutral holos before in one of my very first scaled gradient looks, and evidently it was also a work appropriate mani Monday post as these colours are perfectly appropriate for those who work in a professional office setting. This includes me, but often I ignore my own advice and you may find me with neon or black etc. on my nails at work anyways... teehee.

Pic heavy cause please don't make me choose between all the pretty holo pics!! Also some bonus shots at the end about making your mani LAST with NO CHIPPING!

Cirque 'Never Nude'

Cirque 'Mink'

See look, both hands! Granted that the detail on my cinderella hand (the less often seen-hand) is indeed worse, it is still entirely possible to reproduce freehand nail art on both hands even when you're not an artistic alien.

Here's a video of me painting my opposite hand!

And guess what - the best part is, I got to wear this mani for an entire week! I generally wear the same nail art for a week during the work week (and I do several on the weekends to fuel my reserve nail art supply), and in order to make my mani last the week I have a couple tricks. Read on!

No chips whatsoever!!

My tips for making your mani last:

• Use Glisten & Glow sticky base coat, Stuck on Blu
• Use Glisten & Glow fast dry and long lasting top coat, HK Girl (this is also THE BEST quick dry top coat to use when working with nail vinyls) 
• Use the Fab Five polish wrap technique which involves 'wrapping' the free edge of your nail with your base coat and your top coat to ensure a fully sealed mani that is less likely to chip
• This may all even make your mani last for longer than a week, but I wouldn't know! Teehee I can't leave the same mani on longer than a week, are you crazy?!

1 MIN OR LESS VIDEO TUTORIAL:

(see also 15sec version on Instagram)

The Chinese sumi brush featured in the video can be purchased from Karen of @sharingvu on Instagram, just contact her via the email listed in her bio. Be sure to check out my tips for using and caring for these special brushes here!

Polishes used:
- Cirque Colors 'Mink' (chocolate brown holo)
- Cirque Colors 'Never nude' (nude holo)
- Black acrylic paint from my local craft store

Secret just for you: Stay tuned for some more Cirque holo porn, this time of the upcoming Burlesque collection!