Gelish Mani Sunday | Fashion-Inspired Watercolor Nails

So, a couple weeks ago, my nail broke. And not the chip-on-the-corner or rip-that-you-can-mend broke. I'm talking full-on ripped-off-nearly-to-the-quick broke.
I couldn't get over how... different my finger looked with the short, stubby nail. My nails have been relatively long for maybe a good six months, so it was like looking at a stranger's hand. I honestly can't remember what my nails looked like or what condition they were in before I started doing Gelish.

It was also frustrating as HELL because my nails are so long! There was no way I was gonna cut them all off just because one nail broke! So, I decided it was time to visit Sallys and I picked up an IBD Hard Gel kit. *gasp!* Not Gelish, I know! But it was an emergency situation! I couldn't wait for Gelish hard gel to be shipped to me - I had to deal with this weird alien finger that was now attached to my hand! I also picked up nail forms - idek, building a nail seems so much more elegant than gluing on a tip. Plus the tips seem to require so much more prep! Fitting the tip, filing the tip down, gluing it on, blending it to the nail bed... nah.

I went with the white builder gel because I figured it'd make it easier to differentiate between nail pate, gel overlay, and gel polish when I go to file off my gel polish. I was actually surprised at how easy the white builder gel was to apply. It's much thicker than the structure... the consistency kinda reminded me of tacky craft glue. I don't think I built the apex well, but all and all I was happy with how the nail turned out!
Upon doing my research and deciding on this gel, I had decided it was okay that it wasn't a soak-off gel; my plan was to build the fake nail and let the hard gel grow out while doing my fills with Structure, that way I woudn't have to worry about filing off the hard gel and potentially damaging my nail plate like the noob I am. Well, I'm writing this after 2 weeks of wear and... I have lifting near the cuticle. I'm just gonna go in there nail files a-blazin' and see if I can salvage the gel overlay.

For my actual mani this week, I went with fashion inspiration! I tried on a dress (that I didn't end up buying, cuz money) that I really loved, and it kinda got in my head that it'd serve as great nailspiration.
I actually took a picture of the top in the store - the online image really washed out the colors. Here's what I came up with:
I went with a dark grey rather than black just because I thought it'd look nicer. Creating the "watercolor" flowers was super easy with gel polish. Since the polish isn't too opaque it was easy to get the look! I definitely need more practice painting, but I think I'm getting somewhere!

For the above manicure I did the following:

Thumb, Index, and Pinky Nails:

1. • 2 coats Jet Set, cure all coats
2. • 1 coat Matte TIO, cure
3. • Wipe tacky layer. Using a nail art brush, paint half moons using 1 coat of regular TIO, cure

Middle Nail:

1. • 3 coats Arctic Freeze, cure all coats
2. • Wipe tacky layer. Using a nail art brush, paint flowers using Go Girl and 'Lily' in ENP Gella, flash curing as needed. Add leaf and branch accents with Jet Set. Cure for full time when complete.
3. • Finished with 1 coat of TIO, cure

Ring Nail:

1. • 3 coats Arctic Freeze, allowing for negative space half moon. cure all coats
2. • Wipe tacky layer. Using a nail art brush, paint flowers using Go Girl and 'Lily' in ENP Gella, flash curing as needed. Add leaf, branch, and half moon border accents with Jet Set. Cure for full time when complete.
3. • Finished with 1 coat of TIO, cure