Lifting the veil: Double-Stamped Glittery Purple Butterfly Nail Art

Hey y'all!

Alright, it's time to get back in business.  New month, new nails, new giveaway, and new order of business.  This afternoon I will have a special post going up to thank you all for staying with me during my radio silence and to help celebrate all the stuff going on around here this month.  Today I start my nail tech training, which is really exciting for me, and I will definitely be posting about the experience as well as posting some snapshots on IG so you guys can see what's up.  Because we're going to be practicing on each other's nails, I decided I needed to trim mine down a bit to make life a little easier on my classmates.  I also decided to break my nail art embargo with a manicure that embodies everything that makes me feel good right now - purple, glitter, and butterflies!

This look actually evolved over the course of several days as I was getting myself back into the groove after totally losing focus.  In the end, I used 4 polishes. and one stamping plate.

L-R:  Konad Black, Orly Oui, OPI Purple with a Purpose, MoYou Nails Lavender

Cici & Sisi 07

This whole look started with me just deciding to paint my nails one day - no nail art, nothing fancy, just paint my nails.  So, I did that with two coats of Purple with a Purpose - a gorgeous true purple shimmer.

On day two, I decided to spice it up a bit and added two coats of Oui to the middle and ring fingers.  Baby steps, I took.  Baby baby baby steps.

On day three, I decided I wanted to play with my stamping, so I randomly decided on the full-nail butterfly image on the C&S 07 plate.  I didn't like the look of it single-stamped with Lavender, so I added the double-stamp in Black just to make it a bit more interesting.  The sad part is that this kind of buries the pretty glitter underneath, so I added superfine french tips on my other nails to compensate.  When I roused from my fog, I discovered that, "Voila!" I had created nail art!

Even though it took 3 days to create, I'm super proud of this look because A) I don't hate it, and I had been hating everything I tried to put on my nails for a few days, and B) I think it's kind of symbolic for what I've been going through.  The butterfly and the phoenix are two of my favorite images because each symbolizes change and rebirth and bringing something new and beautiful out of the old.  At every major traumatic moment in my life, I have consistently fallen back on that type of imagery to help bring myself forward and put the past behind me, so in a way, this manicure is a manifestation of my need to start over, and this month is the perfect month for it.

I definitely feel ready and anxious to start a new chapter, and hopefully you're ready to come along with me on the journey!

Have a great day, everyone, and I'll see ya soon!