Merry Christmas Manicures!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Eve, whether you spent it with loved ones or just had a quiet evening to yourself.

I know that tomorrow's generally a pretty hectic day (if you celebrate Christmas) with family and friends and food and presents and more food (if you're like me, probably way too much food). I'll be with family (shhh! My mom doesn't know it yet, but Mr. G is going to be calling us from Spain, which will totally make my mom's day!).

So I wanted to show you the manicures I did for Christmas--I tried two different designs and I'll let you guess which one I settled on.

I just have to say that it's become a tradition for me to bust out Sinful Colors San Francisco for Christmas--it's my favorite favorite Christmas green of all time and I used it for my Christmas mani last year too.

Here's the first design I did, using scotch tape (inspired by the lovely Chloe, of course):

For this one, I used a base of Sinful Colors San Francisco, and then I taped off the sides to paint a white stripe down the middle (yes, I said white) using Milani White, which is my go-to white these days (it's the only non-streaky white I've ever owned from the drugstore!). For some weird reason, even though I put a layer of Seche Vite over the green before I painted the white stripe, the white stripes turned light green. Gah! I was so mad!

Anyway, after that, I used Milani Gems over the white (light green) stripe. Kind of cute, kind of a fail. I don't know..I can't decide whether I love it or hate it.

Next up, I did a gradient manicure using a base of China Glaze Red Stallion and for the glitter I used Milani Gems (of course):

Gems is so darned BLINGY that it really gets in the way of you seeing all the pretty shades of glitter. So here's a pic I took without flash, in low lighting, so that you can see the glitter in detail a bit more:

If you want a way better look at what Milani Gems has to offer, check out my review here. It's such a gorgeous glitter--I fall more in love with it every time I use it. It's perfect for the holidays, don't you think?

So, which mani do you like better? I won't be offended if you say "neither'! I know these looks aren't for everyone, but I usually like to go a bit over-the-top on Christmas. Hey, it's the only day of the year where you're practically encouraged to be tacky!

So, what's your Christmas manicure like this year? If you have a blog, photobucket or some other picture-hosting site with pics of your mani, leave a link in the comments! I'd love to see your holiday nails!

PS: I hope each and every one of you reading this has a wonderful day tomorrow, whether you celebrate or not, and whether you're with friends or family or by yourself. It's rough for me to be without Mr. G this year, and I know that if you're missing a loved one right now, it can feel pretty lonely. So just know that you are NOT alone, and you've always got your friend G! Love you all so very much!

Disclosure: Milani White and China Glaze Red Stallion were provided to me on behalf of their respective brands for previous reviews. Sinful Colors San Francisco and Milani Gems were purchased by me with personal funds.