Polish for Paddy's Day! St. Patrick's Day Clover Manicure

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

It's been a rough week in my household.
My boyfriend, roommate and I all caught a horrible stomach virus that left us delirious, nauseous, unconscious or a combination of the three for the majority of the week. 

So if you're like us and aren't much in an "all-out partying for Paddy" kinda mood, you can still create a subtle-but-spirited mani that won't get you pinched.

(Who came up with that horrid tradition anyway?)

Colors and Tools Used:

Steps

After applying one layer of Avon Gel Strength Base Coast to all nails, I applied two coats of Julep Adrianna for my base color.

I then took the small dotting tool and placed two dots of Julep Fiona and dragged then down into a heart shape to create a leaf. I repeated the steps on each side of the original "leaf" to complete the clover.

After randomly painting clovers on the nail, I used the small nail art brush to touch up the edges of the leaves and ensure the clovers were smooth and opaque.

I then took the same nail art brush and dabbed on a thin layer of Julep Colbie.

For my ring finger I made a jelly sandwich beginning with a thin layer of China Glaze Budding Romance. Scraping off most of the glitter off of the brush, I layered a very thin coat of Julep Colbie (normally very full coverage) on top of CG Budding Romance. Next I added a second layer of CG BR to complete the sandwhich.

Following the same steps for the other four nails, I randomly painted clovers with Julep Adrianna all over the nail and touched up with the small nail art brush.

Finally, I took a small angled brush to clean up any stray polish on fingers and cuticles and topped the design with two coats of Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat.

This is my first time-intensive design in a while. I obsessed over touch and clean up knowing I was going to take photos, so I'm satisfied with it.
The greens make my hands look a bit pinker than usual, but for a holiday I can suck it up.

What do you think of the pattern? Did you party for Paddy?
Comment below or let me know on facebook or twitter. Thanks for reading!

-Melody