Nail Art: Happy Memorial Day!

For most people, this is simply the last Monday of May. To Americans, today is Memorial Day - officially meant to remember those who died in service of the country, but unofficially the start of the summer season and a reason for people to get together, have barbecues and otherwise enjoy the long weekend and the (generally) good weather. Here in the Philadelphia Area, it's also the beginning of shore season, and thousands of familys flock to the Jersey Shore for their first time at the beach after a brutal, cold and snow winter.





I wanted to keep my Galaxy Nails on longer, but unfortunately a long day of gardening yesterday chipped the heck out of them. So, as I reluctantly removed my pretty galaxy,  I decided that I would throw together a quick patriotic manicure for the holiday.

There's so many things that you can do with the American flag and colors in a manicure. This is actually a pretty simple mani  that started with 2 coats of white on my pinky, middle and pointer, a coat of red on my thumb and 2 coats of blue glitter on my ring finger.

For the striped fingers, I used the straight Nail Vinyls and painted red over top. (Incidentally, she's having a Memorial Day sale this weekend!) Sadly, the lines weren't dry enough when I put on the top coat before bed and they smeared :(

Next, I used two coats of Julep's (much maligned) America over the red on my thumb. It's a fun and festive polish that I picked up in a mystery box, but I know I'm not goign to get much use out of it.

I originally kept my middle finger white, but it just seemed too plain next to the other nails.  This morning, I decided to throw on some stamped stars. They didn't come out perfect since I was in a bit of a rush, but it definitely doesn't look nearly as stark.

Polishes / Items used in this manicure:

• Red: OPI - Over & Over A-Gwen
• White: Sinful Colors - Snow Me White
• Blue Glitter: Julep - Tracy
• Red, Silver and Blue glitter (thumb): Julep - America
• Blue stamping: Butter London - Royal Navy
• Stamping Plate: Pueen - Love Elements plate 44
• Nail Vinyls: Straights

So, do you have any plans for this long Memorial Day Weekend?  Have you ever thrown together a patriotic manicure? I'd love to see it!