This week's #CBBxManiMonday is yet another one of those mani's for which this is my second attempt. It just happens sometimes that I try something and I initially really like it, but then as I think about it, it becomes clear that I actually want to do the same thing but different. And I realize that this probably sounds really neurotic of me... but what can you do? Anyway, without further ado, let's get into the nails, shall we? 

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I have to admit... today's mani will inevitably be one of the most intense as far as work put in and, quite frankly, struggle that I'll have through this entire month long marathon of Halloween nails. I definitely had some issues with the stamping plate and also the amount of reverse stamping I did for this mani was... a lot. But I'm pretty happy with the overall result so all of the struggle and work was probably worth it. Maybe. I do love how it turned out in the end. 

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I must admit, today's mani is one of those designs that I do some version of every year. I just can't resist doing a full coverage bat mani over a really pretty gradient base. I do change it up when it comes the colors and finishes that I use, but I must say that there's something about a neon gradient with a bold black bat design. Maybe it's the Lisa Frank nostaglia of it all, I dunno. Whatever it is, I think that a full spectrum neon rainbow gradient bat mani is a classic for Halloween nails and is one not to be missed. 

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As a girl child of the 80s, I obviously have a ton of nostalgia for Lisa Frank. Back when I was little, the binders and stickers and notebooks and pencils and all of the other goodies that were available in bright neon designs with dolphins and unicorns and kittens and pandas all over them we basically better than gold and I was in love. Obviously I've grown out of that particular phase in my life, but there's something about summer nails that just makes me want to lean into all of that nostalgia and go hard. Being that I'm also currently deep in a rabbit hole of gradients, it seemed like the perfect time.

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I have to admit, there's a bit of a strange thing in my head that tells me it isn't time for tropical neon nail designs until July officially hits. Even though I might shoehorn some neon nails in other places sometimes, I'm always super excited to get into what my brain firmly designates as Summer Nails and just go hard with the neon and the tropical and all of the other things my very specific brain has decided belong in the summer. And, of course, our #CBBxManiMonday theme for this month is Summer, so I decided to open the month with a tropical bang. 

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Sometimes I pick up a stamping plate because it has a lot of variety and I know it'll get a lot of use and other times I have a specific mani FIRMLY stuck in my head. Although the stamping plate I used for this mani definitely does still fit into the former category, I will fully admit that I picked up with some version of today's nail art design in mind for it. I didn't have specific shades picked out or all of the little details decided, but as soon as I added this to my cart I was always going to end up with some version of this mani - and because I messed up the first time, I actually ended up with two versions at the end of the day. 

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Winter finally hit here in Winnipeg over the winter - which probably sounds crazy to a lot of people not used to this particular climate, but trust me... The years that the first snow of the year isn't in October are fewer than one might hope. But over the course of 4 days, we've basically gone from a nice, warm, comfy fall into full on winter, so it's officially time for cozy. (I mean, I've been fully into my cozy since the beginning of September, but now it's justified. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that it leads into the design of this mani - this smoky blue base with tonal stamping and some graphic hygge vibes. I dunno... feels cozy and wintery to me!

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Whew!! Doing 31 days straight of nail art is no joke, you guys, and when I finished all of those Halloween mani's I was pretty much completely sapped. I actually did finish them a little bit early and I took a little bit of time to rest my poor nails and also to try and get a little bit of inspiration back since that took so much out of me. That said, I do think I need to keep it simple and soft for a bit here so I suspect that a good chunk of this month is going to be straightforward nails as my mind gets ready for Christmas!

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