Eight years ago today I decided that I would take the scary step into the world of Instagram and shared my very first mani. I was so surprised to see some people actually like my mani and then even follow my little account. Safe to say over the years my account has grown and it has changed a lot. My watermark has changed over the years, I also originally framed all my pictures with a black border and I also changed my name (I use to be @oliviajade19). Another thing that has changed is my nail art style. Over the years I have done a lot of different nail art and I thought it would be fun to have a look at some of my favourite nail art that I have done. Just as a heads up this post will definitely be really picture heavy because I suck at narrowing things down. So let's take a trip down memory lane.
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I thought what better way to start this post than with my first ever nail art that I posted. I still cringe at the pose (definitely learnt how to hold bottles better now). It's a nice simple mani that I would wear again now. Just hopefully without the smudges.
I want to say that this was my first ever skittle mani. It's not perfect but I still love it. It was a mani inspired by someone but the name escapes me right now. I did credit them when I originally did this mani.
Oh neon stripes! This is definitely one of those manis that I didn't want to take off.
Who remembers when cartoon nails were a big thing? This was definitely my best attempt at them.
Once upon a time I thought it was a good idea to dabble in some free hand nail art. Art is definitely not my strong suit but I have to say that after a LOT of practice I am not completely terrible. I am quite proud of this mani I did for my daughter's third birthday.
I have a pretty big range of little nail art gems and studs and once upon a time I use to use them. This is definitely one of my favourite manis that I did.
Gradients are still one of my favourite types of nail art to do (along with stamping!). I love this mani.
I have basically done different variations of this mani over the years and this mani is probably my favourite of them all. I love that my not so great free hand triangles is hidden by the stamping.
Making my own decals has always been a struggle for me but this mani actually worked! I believe I even have a tutorial on my blog for it somewhere.
This mani is my most liked nail art on Instagram.
Did I mention that gradients are a favourite of mine? This colour combination is also a favourite of mine but sadly my bottles are basically empty and I can't seem to find the same colours (damn you China Glaze for changing the colours but not the names of your polishes).
This was the mani that kicked started my love for nudes with neons. Still don't know if I like the matte version better or the shiny.
I absolutely love the base of this mani! I love it by itself as well as with the stamping. If I could put this exact mani back on my nails I 100% would.
This is a unique colour combination that I really should re do. I think it looks gorgeous when I did it however many years ago and I still love it now.
There are some nail polish collections in the world that the colours work so well together that they need to be used in nail art. Like OPI's Retro Summer Collection. Seriously love these colours and this mani.
I have no clue what you really call the base of this mani but these types of bases have become a bit of a go to for me. They are quick and easy and always make for a great mani (you'll see more of them in this post). Add a negative space stamping design over the top and it's magical! Especially if there is neons involved.
Matte gradient nails - always a love. It is also one of those rare times where I didn't use a mix of colours or pinks/purples (which are my go to).
Over the years I have tried and tried with vinyls. They just aren't the greatest thing for my curved nails. I did have some success like this mani and I love it. In particular I love the mix of the tints together.
This mani is probably the most reposted mani of mine. I think every few years I repost is because I just love it so much. It is definitely one of my all time favourite manis that I have done.
Sometimes simple manis are just the best. I also love that some free hand was involved.
One of my favourite colour combinations is this. I have done this combination with different stamping designs every couple of years. I'm probably due to break it out again soon.
This mani is a stand out for me because it started off as a fail and then turned into this. I loved the combination of stamping so much that I also did a pink version of it (the blue is my favourite).
Dry brushing is one of the easiest nail art manis you can do and I love it. You can never go wrong with it.
I think of all the glitter gradients I have done over the years this is my favourite. I even recreated I want to say last year? I don't think I photographed it though. Sometimes I like to wear manis just for me.
Aside from manis with neon polishes I love pastels. I also love them with white stamping.
One of the things that I love about this mani is the matte base with the shiny stamping. I also just love these colours with the design.
This is hands down my favourites autumnal/fall manis that I have ever done!
Radial gradients are something that I really should do more often. I really love this one with the design.
This is one of my all time favourite manis too. It's simple and the stamping image is so crisp!
This is another one of my favourite colour combinations. Smoosh it together and add a negative space image over the top and I am in heaven!
I was on the fence about including this mani. I didn't love it on my nails (I love it in the picture though) but it is one of the manis that always catches my eye when I scroll through my IG page so I figured it should be included.
I still remember doing this mani and how obsessed I became with matte bases and metallic stamping. I can't even tell you how many colour combinations I have now done but this is the mani that kick started the love for me.
Another prime example of the whole matte base with metallic stamping.
Did I mention that you can never go wrong with dry brushing? This was a super quick mani and I still love it!
Tint polishes over a metallic base are always so pretty. I also love this stained glass image.
This is another all time favourite of mine. I love the neon gradient combination (which I should do again!). I also love the stamping.
This is one of those manis that started off as one thing and took a turn....a very good turn! I love how this turned out.
And last but certainly not least - this is my favourite mani that I have done this year.
Thank you so much to everyone who has followed me through the years both on Instagram and here one my blog. It has definitely been really fun looking back on all of the manis that I have done (there has definitely been some really cringy manis along the ones - and there are quite a few that never made it to the photo stage).
