The Lacquer Legion - Garden - Gardens of Versailles

Hi everyone! It's Lacquer Legion time again today and this month's theme is 'Garden' (#LLgarden). 

I decided to steer myself away from a floral mani, even though it was difficult because I love doing them. 

I was inspired to create this textured manicure inspired by the gardens of Versailles with its perfect hedges and rows of trees! I find this type of garden really stunning. As I live in France, a famous French garden seemed like a good choice for inspiration! 
 

The Lacquer Legion - Garden - Gardens of Versailles - Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 & Julie G Mistletoe

To create this manicure I started off by painting my nails with two coats of Cerro Torre 2 from Elevation Polish. I am obsessed with this polish right now (see more manis with it here and here). It's a perfect nude creme with a fantastic formula. I then used Butter London's Matte Finish topcoat. 

The Lacquer Legion - Garden - Gardens of Versailles - Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 & Julie G Mistletoe

I used a fine detail brush and some acrylic paint to sketch myself a guide, placing the main shapes of the design I wanted to recreate. I then used Julie G Mistletoe from the Frosted Gumdrops Holiday 2013 collection to fill in the hedge parts of the garden. This is a super sparkly bright green textured polish, and I wanted to imitate the texture of the hedges against the smooth sandy ground. 

The Lacquer Legion - Garden - Gardens of Versailles - Elevation Polish Cerro Torre 2 & Julie G Mistletoe

I'm happy with how this mani turned out and glad I decided to step away from what I would normally have done. I love the end result. What do you think of it? 

Be sure to check out all of the other #LLgarden manis with the hashtag on social media!
You can follow me on Instagram (@themanicafe) here.

Elevation polishes can be purchased from the Elevation Polish store and Llarowe.    
Julie G polishes are available at various retailers and the Jesse's Girl Cosmetics site.