Outwardly, I’m a pretty big cynic when it comes to love. Inwardly, I’m a total mushbag. I cry at particularly poignant commercials and “awwww” probably far more than my fair share. But hey- that’s a secret! I’m Ms. Ice Princess to everyone else. So to honor my cynical side this hearts-and-chocolates season (shhh I actually love Valentine’s Day- I send a card to my grandmother every year!), I did this optical illusion-inspired look. I’m tinking of it as my “is love just an illusion?” mani.

The base is one of my favorites- KBShimmer “Alloy Matey!” (reviewed years ago here, if you’re in the mood for a deep dive into the blog) Over that, I stamped using PaintedPolish by Lexi’s “Midnight Mischief” (the only black stamping polish I use these days) and UberChic’s Collection 7-03 (I seem to find myself using these plates pretty often lately, huh). That plate has two coordinating designs on it. one of which has a little heart and the center of the swirl. I choose to highlight that by handpainting in the little heart with MoYou London’s “Mesa Sunrise” (which I swear looks orange online, but which I keep end up using as a red in manis). One of these days I’m going to practice handpainting things, so I can actually do it without wishing there was an eraser on the back of my tiny brush. I’ve just got very shaky hands, so everything ends up looking like I painted it while sitting in a moving vehicle.

Anyways, I really like how this turned out. I wore it for days and then was really reluctant to take it off. What do you think? Do you have handpainting tips? Are you a romantic or a cynic (or both, like me)?