How is it already the last week of September? Very sincerely, I can't believe we're already almost to Halloween nail art time, but I always resist posting any Halloween themed nails until October hits, so I'm still sticking with a fall theme. For this week's #CBBxManiMonday, I was in the mood for what has sort of become a classic for me - some abstract dry brushing with layered leafy stamping. 

Let's get into it!

Unlike the last mani I posted, with this one I did want to fully lean into the pumpkin spice of it all. To start, I wanted a base that was a bit sheer and a very neutral nude shade that would almost, but not quite disappear on the nail, so I grabbed for ILNP's Poised, which is a stunning sheer nude that I really, really don't use as much as I should. I applied two coats of Poised to all of my nails and let those dry down.

For the drybrushing, I decided I wanted four different colors and because I wanted them to be quite pigmented I went with stamping polishes from KADS. I chose a sort of turmeric yellow, a pale burnt orange, a light olive green, and a much deeper burnt orange. I applied swipes of those polishes in that order at a diagonal across the nail until I was happy with the look. 

For the stamping, I decided that I wanted to layer two different leaf images on each nail to really kind of amp up the abstract vibe. On all of my nails I started with the same large leaf image stamped in gold stamping polish, alternating the direction of placement as well as alternating between placing it at the base or tip of the nail. Next, I went in with black leaves and I used three different leaf images for this step across the mani. Again, I alternated the placement and direction of the images to both fill the nail and add visual interest. At this point, the edges of the mani were looking a bit bare, so I also added some dots to each nail.

Once I was happy with the design, I sealed it in with a nail art top coat and then finished with a generous layer of glossy top coat for shine and volume. And voila!

I think I will forever love this style of drybrushed abstract nails. Not only is it one of the most versatile designs to do - and trust me, I've done this style for pretty much every occasion, but it's also quite easy and straightforward, which I always love. 

Be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World in PINK for more #CBBxManiMonday Fall Themed nails! And head over to @pblnails on Instagram to check out the video tutorial for this mani as well as all of my nail art designs.

Thanks for reading!