I’m always looking for manicure inspiration everywhere I go. Sometimes I get inspired by a piece of clothing I own, sometimes I get inspired by a holiday or what’s on TV – and sometimes I just get inspired by the nail polish and nail art tools I have sitting in my room. This manicure was inspired by the latter. I had nail art pearls leftover from a previous Nail Art Society kit and I really wanted to use them. What I came up with was flowers, a French manicure, and some pearl details – a few of my favorite things!

After my basic nail prep, I applied two coats of Essie’s Mademoiselle to every nail. I have to admit, I love this color so much that I contemplated stopping my manicure here. This color just makes my nails look so nice, healthy and long. But just for all of you, I went on.

I then created a French manicure on my pinkies, middle fingers and thumbs with Zoya’s Snow White. I have a pretty steady hand, so I just quickly painted out the French tip. If that’s tough for you, I’m a big fan of Kiss’s Nail Art Paint in White to create the perfect French tip. The skinny brush allows you to build up to the look you want and to easily fix any small mistakes.

Each French tip was outlined in pearls – I really loved this look once it was finished. I’d totally go back and do this on every nail. But once again, I wanted to finish the manicure the way I intended it for all of you. The nail art pearls work the same way as regular nail art studs – just apply a bit of clear polish to help it adhere, and then cover your whole nail with topcoat to seal them in.

Moving on to the flower nails – I love creating these flowers because they’re so easy. You really don’t even need a steady hand or much skill. I applied a few dots of Sation’s Of Corset I’ll Call You Nail Lacquer (a great Ipsy find!) to my pointer and ring fingers. This color is only slightly darker than Essie’s Mademoiselle – I wanted enough of a shadow to stand out, but not too much darker that it would be a different color.

To build out the rest of the flower, I dipped the end of a bobby pin into OPI’s Lunch at the Delhi, a pretty coral-y red that I ended up loving so much I used it on my toes! To create the flower, simply draw out an outline and place a dab of polish in the center, like the photo to the right. It’s very simple and almost abstract – but I love the way it turns out.

Finish off the flower by adding some leaves! I used two greens – Essie’s Navigate Her and OPI’s Here Today … Aragon Tomorrow – a lighter shade and a darker shade, to add some dimension. If you don’t want to add leaves, simply throw a few more flower buds in the mix to fill out the nail a bit more.

Be sure to finish with Essie’s Good to Go – because I always end up doing my nails at 11pm, and who likes sheet imprints in your manicure? Not this girl!

What do you think of this week’s Manicure Monday?

Check out more of our manicure tutorials:

• Manicure Monday: Pretty Glam
• Manicure Monday: Mint Chocolate Chip
• Manicure Monday: Back to Design