MANI MONDAY: Remembrance Day Poppy Nail Art
I feel like Remembrance Day is hitting a little differently for me this year and something tells me I'm probably not the only one. For a good chunk of my life, November 11 was just a day off, but as I've gotten older I've cultivated a lot more respect for what this day means. I think this year, it's important to really sit with it, to remember with respect the people who fought and died so that we could have the way of life and the freedoms that we have, but also to remember the cost of war and why we should try to find other ways forward. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box now. I pretty much always do some kind of poppy nails for Remembrance Day and this year, especially with how much is on my mind, it seemed pretty necessary.
Keep reading to see how I did it!
Choosing a base polish - the perfect poppy red, if you will - was difficult until it became very, very clear that there was only one choice in my collection and that choice is OPI's DS Reflection. It's not a polish I reach for often because this sort of warm red tone isn't generally my thing, but it's absolutely perfect for poppies, in my opinion, and it just has such a pretty punch to it. I applied two coats for this mani and let them dry completely before moving onto my stamping.
I'm not really sure if this image from the What's Up Nails B044 From Ground Comes Life stamping plate was intended to be poppies, but the shape and placement of the leaves as well as the center of the flower just sort of screams poppies to me. To amp up the poppy feeling, I decided to do layered stamping because it felt like the white would pop and add even more dimension. First I applied the image to all of the nails using white stamping polish and then I followed by applying the same image, slightly shifted, using black polish.
To finish, I first sealed in my stamping with a layer of water based top coat and the followed with a layer of glossy top coat for shine and voila!
All Products Used
OPI - DS Reflection
Clear Jelly Stamper - 002 Jenny's Gonna Love This
What's Up Nails - Neither Noir
Suncoat Water Based Top Coat
BioSculpture Ethos Mirror Top Coat*
Pueen Liquid Peel Off Cuticle Guard
What's Up Nails B044 From Ground Comes Life Stamping Plate
What's Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper
Like I said, I think this is one of those years when we really, really need to remember the human cost of war, not only to be a little bit more grateful for what that sacrifice has afforded us in our lives, but also so that we might avoid more wars that cost lives.
Be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof and See The World In PINK today to check out their #CBBxManiMonday. This month our theme is Whatever November and we're all taking a little bit of a free for all between Halloween and Christmas.
Thanks for reading!
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