One of my favorite things about fall - not just for my nails, but for my makeup and my wardrobe and really just everything - is that everything can get a little bit darker and more vampy after months of aggressive brightness. Honestly, after an almost oppressively hot and sunny summer this year, as soon as September hit, the skies got cloudy and it started to rain and I basically started basking in it like the rain loving fall fiend that I am. Anyway, being that this month's #CBBxManiMonday theme this month is all about Fall Shades, I like to go for the richer, smokier shades and I knew that I wanted to include a teal based look and I really, really wanted to finally do some nail art using 'Ard As Nails' Anita*, which I've had in my collection for quite a while now but was just waiting for some inspiration to reach for.

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I think it's become fairly clear recently just how much I love a smoosh and one of my favorite ways to do a smoosh is to use polishes that live in the same family but have different finishes and shifts in them. For this smoosh, I started with a base of 'Ard As Nails' Anita and paired it with Color Club's Across The Universe, which is a smoky teal grey shade with an iridescent shifty shimmer to it, as well as Cadillacquer's Summer Rain*, which is a soft smoky blue packed with chameleon flakes and holo glitters. I had a sneaking suspicion that these three shades paired together would really create an interesting base and I really love how it turned out. 

I just recently picked up a whole bunch of stamping plates from Nicole Diary and obviously I had to reach for Nicole Diary L14, which is filled with leaves designs this fall, right? There might be more designs from this plate to come! Anyway, I really liked this negative space design and thought it would work well with this base, so I applied it using my new favorite black stamping polish - WhatsUpNails Neither Noir and the WhatsUpNails Magnified Clear Stamper. I tried to arrange the stamping thoughtfully on the nail to give a different look to each nail and I love how it turned out! It's definitely quite dark overall, but I think it still gives some good dimension and depth, especially with the different shimmers and flakes in the smoosh. 

All Products Used

'Ard As Nails - Anita*

Color Club - Across The Universe

Cadillacquer - Summer Rain*

WhatsUpNails - Neither Noir

Suncoat Water Based Top Coat

Starrily Antimatter All Purpose Gloss*

Nicole Diary L14 Stamping Plate

WhatsUpNails Magnified Clear Stamper & Scraper

If you're interested in a video tutorial for how I got this look, head over to @pblnails over on Instagram to check it out and be sure to follow me there for more nail art tutorials!

Also, if you're interested in trying out 'Ard As Nails' Anita* or Cadillacquer's Summer Rain*, they're available from NailStuff.ca* and, if you are so inclined, feel free to use my affiliate code TRYSH for 10% off your order!

And, as always, be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World In PINK to check out what Fall Shades Jayne and Renee are reaching for this week!

Thanks for reading!