Is it weird that I've wanted to do today's mani for literally months, but I've been saving it for August specifically because there's just something about it that felt like it needed to be done this month? I think this might be one of those "nobody thinks like I do" kinds of moments, but I think I have a lot of those when it comes to when and how I do nail art designs. That said, one of my favorite mani's from last summer was a desert landscape design and I also saved that one for August, so... at least I'm consistent?

Anyway, before I go on any more of a ramble about why the desert is for August, let's get into the nails, shall we?

When it came to the color story for this mani, I knew that I wanted it to feel straight up hot, so I really kept that in mind as I was choosing my polishes. I actually chose the stamping polishes first, since those were really going to be the star of this mani, and I grabbed a mustard yellow, a ginger-y orange, a rich burgundy and, of course, black. I felt like these four shades really worked to create the gradient I was looking for.

Once I had those squared away, it was time to choose a base polish and in the end I really had no other choice than to reach for Bee-Hind The Scenes from OPI, which is a really pale creamy yellow that reminds me, honestly, of the banana flavored penicillin that you either loved or hated as a kid. It was definitely perfect for this mani though because it really worked as a beautiful base for the rest of the design. 

As my base, I applied two coats of Bee-Hind The Scenes to all of my nails and let that dry down.  

Before going in with my stamping, I decided I wanted to add some texture to the background to sort of evoke a hazy feeling of heat through the sky, so I used the two lightest of my stamping polishes to very lightly drybrush some horizontal lines through that sky, which I think drives home a feeling of heat. 

For my stamping, I started with the lightest color and applied my landscape image near the center of my nail to to create the horizon line. I repeated this step through the next three colors, using different images for each one to really try to create some texture and interest across the nail as I went. Once I got to the black, my nails still weren't full, but instead of adding another layer of stamping, I just used my stamping polish to fill in the area to the tip, which I think really grounded the design.

Once I was happy with the design, I sealed it in with a nail art top coat and then followed with a matte top coat to take down the shine and, I think, really drive home that feeling of dry heat. And voila!

Honestly, this is a color story that I don't think I've ever done anything like, but I have to say I'm kind of obsessed with it. I feel like it really brings that dry, hot feeling that is so intrinsic to the desert and I love that you can do that just by using the right colors to evoke it. 

Be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World In PINK today for more Summer themed nail art for this week's #CBBxManiMonday. And check out the video tutorial for this mani over on my Instagram @pblnails - where you should definitely follow to keep up on all of my nail art designs!

Thanks for reading!