So today's nail art design comes with a little bit of a story - but I'll try to keep it short. Last Christmas, due to COVID running sort of wild here in Manitoba, the province restricted what we were able to purchase in stores to only essentials... and, for some reason, Christmas things. This made for a big of a strange Christmas and also resulted in me getting several (multiples) of Bath & Body Works' Vanilla Bean Noel products from friends and family, since the store was allowed to be open but what you were allowed to buy there was significantly restricted. Recently, I pulled out fresh bottles of the body wash and moisture cream since, you know, it's seasonally appropriate, and I was very much inspired by the packaging of the moisture cream to put together this mani, which is why this is inspired by last year's packaging instead of this year's. Not too long a story, right?

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For the base polish, I did consider using a holo since that's what the background of the actual bottle I was using for inspiration reference is, but I really, really wanted to use Dam Nail Polish's Star Crossed Clovers**, which was so kindly gifted to me from NailStuff.ca. I've had this for a couple of months now and have really, really been wanting to reach for it, but I knew that it was going to be one that was going to get some serious holiday love so I held off until now so it could really shine its best shine. This polish is a rich multichrome that shifts green to blue, which you can really see in the macro below, and it packs a serious punch of shimmery goodness. 

For this mani, I applied 2 coats of Star Crossed Clovers as my base and let them dry down completely.

What really drew me to this packaging as inspiration for nail art was the depth that came from the layers of trees. I decided to go with three layers in the order that they appear on the packaging and keep them all in a créme finish. Using two tree line images from the Nicole Diary L13 Stamping Plate (serious holiday must have for nail stamping enthusiasts, in my opinion) I started by applying the first image in the lighter green and then added the same color the rest of the way down my nail for continuity. I followed the same technique with the white and then the deeper green, being sure to alternate the images I was using and also be mindful of the placement in order to get a good variation on each nail.

Once I was happy with my stamping, I sealed everything in with a water based top coat and then followed with a quick dry glossy top coat for shine. And voila!

I think my favorite thing about this design is that it's super on the nose, but at a glance also seems like it could be a little bit abstract - it's distinctly Christmasy, in my opinion, but also not too overtly Christmasy. Does this make any sense? Anyway, I love this mani and I really love how it turned out. Also, this base polish is a STUNNER. I seriously need to get my hands on more polishes from Dam Nail Polish because the ones I've tried have just been absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend checking them out over at NailStuff.ca - and if you're a new customer, you can use affiliate code TRYSH for 10% off your first order!

Be sure to keep an eye out here on the blog for more holiday themed nails every day in December up until Christmas Eve and head over to @pblnails on Instagram for video tutorials for all of my designs!

Thanks for reading!