NAIL ART: Black & White Graphic Nails

by - January 04, 2021


Happy New Year, everyone! Can you believe we've finally escaped 2020 - hopefully mostly unscathed? Admittedly, my optimism about this year being better than last is cautious at best, but it's something at least. It seems fitting that my first post of the year is a #CBBxManiMonday. We technically don't really have a theme this month, but we're all planning on using some new or untried polishes this month and... well, I've gone a little bit mad with indie polish power lately so I definitely have some beautiful polishes to share with you guys this month. If you checked out my Christmas Nails marathon last month, you might have also noticed that I'm having a bit of a love affair with sheer bases and black and white designs and that's exactly what I've got for you today!

Keep reading for more!


Ever since it launched, I've had my eye on KBShimmer's License To Chill, which I believe launched last year and was the namesake of their entire winter collection. At that point, though, sheer polishes weren't really my thing and I didn't know how much use I would get out of it. Fast forward a year and I'm obsessed with sheer polishes, especially ones with flakies in them, and I really just had to have this so I picked it up. For this mani, I applied only one coat because I really did want that sheer vibe. While I would definitely say this is a sheer crelly polish, it actually provides a surprising amount of coverage on that one coat and I find that the addition of the flakies helps to camouflage even without coverage.


For the stamping, I've actually had this stamping plate from Nicole Diary for a few months now but I hadn't gotten a chance to use it, so I was excited to pull that protective film off it and get it on my nails. I really wanted to do a mani with a crisp graphic feel and this felt just about perfect for that. I decided to keep it simple and use the same image for all of my nails, alternating the direction that I applied it in on the nail using a black stamping polish.

Once I was happy with the stamping, I first sealed it in with a water based top coat and then finished with a quick dry glossy top coat to really bring the design and base polish to life. And voila!


All Products Used
KBShimmer - License To Chill
Whats Up Nails - Neither Noir
Suncoat Water Based Top Coat
Quo Flash Dry Top Coat
Pueen Liquid Peel Off Cuticle Guard
Nicole Diary L26 Stamping Plate
Whats Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper


I always find January a little bit tricky when it comes to nail art and it can be hard for me to find inspiration, so I'm super, super excited to have a bunch of new polishes to share here on the blog. I'm in love with this one - KBShimmer is quickly becoming a favorite indie polish brand for me with each polish that I try from them - and I already have a few other mani designs in mind for later this year with this polish as a base!

Be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World In PINK to check out more nail art for this week's #CBBxManiMonday!

Thanks for reading!

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