This floral nail tutorial originally started as a basic geometric minimal ombre manicure with squoval tips. But then I started watching Outlander while I did them.
If you haven’t seen Outlander yet, you must. I couldn’t stop. I had heard from several friends that the Outlander book series is amazing, but the premise didn’t intrigue me much so I hadn’t picked it up. Outlander is a time-travel romance… See what I mean? They already lost me. In the 1940s, a woman named Claire and her husband are reunited following the end of World War II and go on their second honeymoon to a remote town in Scotland, where Claire is transported to the 1840s through Stonehenge-like ruins. In the 1700s she meets friends, enemies, and a dreamy lover. Her future husband’s relative plays the nemesis, a sadistic Redcoat.
So, there I was prepping my ombre mani, when a scene from the Gathering (some event in the show) came on and I saw this beautiful dress. I love the floral pattern on her bodice and choker ribbon.
So I switched up my mani plans and drew some lovely embroidery-looking florals instead. Use a skinny brush to paint the leaves, switching between gold and shimmer mauve to give the leaves dimension with shadow and light sides. A round-tipped tool can dot the red flowers in, and the skinny brush can layer darker red shadows and pale red highlights.
I’d like to try to pair it with a plaid like this in fall, in muted colors. For now my nails are in on-trend for spring pink, glittery shimmer red, gold, shimmer mauve, and white.
The polish is from this month’s Julep beauty box. Five-free and fancy. I love them. The glittery Aries zodiac jelly red that I bought this month in honor of my sun sign is one of my favorites.
