9 de Julio Original Nail Art

I was going to say "I'm back!", but if you follow me on Instagram you know that I never actually left...

I did, however, make a few small changes to the blog. I hope you like them!

On a day like today but 197 years ago, Argentina, the country I'm from, became independent from Spain. The design on today's mani is a combination of what is commonly known in Argentina as "Guarda Pampa", a geometric design used by the Mapuche tribe; and a gradient in blue and white, with a yellow sun in the centre, to represent the national flag.

The Guarda Pampa is something very traditional in clothing, accesories and utensils and often seen in souvenirs. I chose the Chakana, a staggered cross which originally comes from the Incas. Black is used for nobility.

I used OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and a black nail art pen. I imagined the design would be much harder to do, but I copied it from a picture I found online and just drew it on my nails, freehand. I repeated it twice on my right hand but the results are a little less sharp.

For the flag I did a double gradient using Essie Blanc and China Glaze For Audrey. Then I painted a circle of Kiko 279 onto a piece of sponge and placed it in the centre of the white stripe. I finished everything off with top coat, of course.

Last but not least, I'll tell you a little bit about the item I am holding. It's called "Mate", pronounced MAH-te (the last "e" sounds like the one in "test"), and it's a traditional South American infused drink. You can read more about it here.