NAIL ART: Muted Minimalist Mountain Smoosh Mani

by - August 25, 2021


When I got it in my head that I wanted to dedicate a summer week to wilderness inspired nails, I knew that I wanted to do something with mountains and specifically with the image that I used for today's mani from the Uberchic Woodland Chic stamping plate. I've seen so many nail artists do really beautiful designs with this image, which obviously gives inspiration, but I wanted to take my own spin on it. Some of my favorite designs with this image have been simple, high contrast designs on a dark base... so clearly I had to go in entirely the opposite direction, because why not?

Keep reading for more!


Like I said, I knew that I didn't want to go with a dark base and that I wanted something that had much less contrast than what I've seen other artists do with this design, so I decided to not only go with a really soft contrast for the stamping but also with the shades I used for the background smoosh. I decided to use three polishes from Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri line, which are some of my favorites in the drugstore to use for nail art, and apply them in a smoosh. The shades I chose are an almost-white cool toned pale pink, a super soft dove grey, and a super soft pale lavender. Honestly, this was a bit of an experiment because I didn't know if there would even be enough contrast with these really pale, similar shades, but it actually really worked out.

I started by applying one coat of the light pink to all of my nails and let that dry down before applying a latex cuticle barrier to make clean up a little easier. Next, I applied dots of each polish to the head of a stamper sort of randomly and then just pounced it onto my nail a couple of times until I got the blend I was looking for. (If these instructions are confusing, head over to @pblnails on Instagram to check out the video tutorial!)


Once I was finished with the smooshing, I cleaned up some of the excess polish around my cuticles using clean up brush dipped in acetone. Trust me, you don't wanna let that dry or cleanup will be a nightmare later. I don't like to take off the latex at this point unless I have to, so I tend to leave it while the polish dries. 

For my stamping, I kept it really simple. I picked up the same image for each nail using a white stamping polish and just adjusted my placement so that each nail is different and the overall look very much evokes a sort of minimalist mountain range vibe. Once I was happy with my stamping, I cleaned up completely and then sealed it in with a water based top coat. I finished with a layer of matte top coat to all of my nails to really drive home the soft, minimalist feel.

And voila!


All Products Used
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish - Pink Pursuit
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish - Heather Hustle
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish - Against The Grey-in
Maniology - Bam White!
Maniology Smudge Free Top Coat
Anchor & Heart Sea Glass Matte Top Coat
Uberchic Beauty Woodland Chic Stamping Plate
Whats Up Nails Magnified Clear Stamper
NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper**
Pueen Liquid Peel Off Cuticle Guard

**PR Gifted from NailStuff.ca - use affiliate code TRYSH for 10% your first order!


Not even gonna pretend that I'm not obsessed with how this turned out. I love a smoosh mani, it's probably the technique that I'm most known for at this point, and I think it worked beautifully as a base for this design. In the end I think this is the kind of nail art that doesn't necessarily look like nail art until you really get a good look at it, and then when you really see all of the details, it sings. I love it. 

Thanks for reading!


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