Fireflies in the Field at Sunset

We don't have fireflies where I live, and I've always been fascinated by them. I've spotted them off the side of the road on a couple of family vacations, but nothing more! There's something so romantic about them, isn't there? I attempted to recreate a bit of their firefly magic in today's gradient nail art for the 31 Day Challenge.

Nail polishes used:
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs (purple)
Misa Lovely Lychee (pink)
Seche Wild One (coral)
China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (yellow)
American Apparel Hassid (black)
OPI Matte Topcoat
Yellow acrylic paint (firefly halos)

This nail art started with the sponged gradient. I painted on my purple base, and then used a triangle makeup wedge to sponge on a gradient of purple, pink, and coral, with the coral at the tips to mimic a setting sun. After that was finished, I used a small nail art brush to paint on the grass/rushes with black polish.

I used the bubble technique and yellow acrylic paint to make the firefly halos. Be sure to check out my quick tutorial for this technique if you've never tried it before! I added a dot of yellow polish in the center of the halos for the little fireflies themselves, and finished the manicure with a layer of glossy and then matte topcoat.

This manicure has quite a few steps, but none of them were particularly hard! It's all about layering techniques and styles for good effect. I'm so pleased how these turned out and I think they really read as fireflies in a field.

Check out my gradient manicures from past challenge years:

• Pink ombre manicure
• French manicure gradient
• Textured leather gradient

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Raindrops and Cloudy Bubbles, with Tutorial

I recently purchased and wore Illamasqua Raindrops, which used to be a cult favorite (and difficult to find, at that). It was lauded for it's soft shimmer and delicate flakes in a pale grey-blue base, and I loved a lot of the swatches that I saw of it online. Unfortunately, the polish fell flat for me. I didn't think it looked great on my nails, and I expected it to be a bit more soft and jelly-like vs. opaque. I decided to embellish it with some cloudy bubbles.

Though I think the technique has been tackled by a few people, I first saw this specific technique, with acrylic paint, on @madamluck's Instagram, though a few people have mentioned that nail artists may have been doing it for a while now. I filmed a video while I was doing this nail art, and the process is pretty easy.


Thin out acrylic paint with one part paint and one part water. Place a bead of the thinned paint on your nail and then use a dry brush to soak up the excess paint from the middle of the bead. This should leave a ring of paint on your nail like a bubble. Repeat as necessary, wiping off the brush in between bubbles. Finish with topcoat.

I do think the cloudy bubbles helped me enjoy this manicure a bit more, though probably not enough to make me keep this polish in my collection. Sorry Illamasqua! While I normally love your lacquers, this one just didn't do it for me.

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