My Nail Journey

This was one of the first sets I ever did for another person. My best friend sat patiently as I only slightly ruined her nails. Looking back, lots of things could have been better: the cuticles, the shaping, and the art. I'm not overly proud of this set, but I love it because when I look back on it, it shows just how much I've grown. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: May 22, 2025

Back when I was still using dip powder on my nails, this set was one of the first ones I was actually proud of. I was in the process of mastering French tips while also being majorly obsessed with cheetah print (that obsession will never go away). When I first started doing nails, I was in a rental house. My setup was completely temporary and a jumble of random supplies. I had no clue what I was doing, but I loved it nonetheless.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: May 28, 2025

This set was another one of my earliest sets that I did for another person. It was messy, with thick lines, clumpy application, and shaky art. I was not proud of this one, but again, it shows just how much I've grown. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: May 28, 2025

I honestly feel like it would be a crime not to add this one. I am still laughing about this nail to this day. One day, I randomly decided to attempt character art, and surprisingly, it actually turned out well. It was infinitely better than I thought it would be, and I still feel the need to brag about it to this day. 

Mediums: half-nail tip, gel polish

Date of picture: June 20, 2025

This was another set in my "needs severe cuticle help" era. I was really struggling to clean up the edges and keep the polish within the lines. This was also my first (and last for the next little bit) attempt at gingham and flowers. The colors of gel polish I had at this time were limited, but I made it work

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: July 11, 2025

When I did this set, I was lacking the correct colors, shaping tools, and overall skills to complete it. I persisted either way, and while the outcome wasn't the best, the skills I adapted from this set (and all of the other ones) are priceless.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: July 17, 2025

At the time of this set, I was still struggling with fine lines and detail, so when I achieved this look on another person, I was extremely happy with the results. This set was so fun to do, since I got to talk with my client while actually doing well on her nails. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: July 19, 2025

I will admit that this set was rough. My mom was gracious enough to let me practice on her nails, and honestly, she probably regretted it... Recently, however, I have done some amazing, detailed sets on her that I hope will be able to make up for the more interesting sets of the past. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, chrome

Date of picture: July 20, 2025

THIS set was the turning point for my entire nail game. I made it for my homecoming dance, and while I can definitely do better nowadays, this was when my nail art really started to improve.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, charms

Date of picture: September 18, 2025

As one of my first chrome attempts, this set wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. It definitely doesn't beat Hailey Bieber's glazed donut nails, but I don't hate them. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, chrome

Date of picture: November 13, 2025

When I made this set, it was such a big achievement of mine. Not only did I do very well on the frenchies, but the cheetah print was the best I had ever done. My shaping back then was still a little questionable, since I was still using dip powder and I didn't have an e-file yet (by the way, I do NOT recommend hand filing for everything). I also didn't have the right base color for my dip, so it turned out to look a little funky. Overall, though, I was and still am pretty impressed with this set. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: November 29, 2025

This set is a little iffy for me, but I still like it. I think the frenchies could have been touched up a little, but the cat-eye base was amazing. This set was back when I was redoing my nails just about every other day. And when I say redoing, I mean taking off the dip and applying new product every single time. It was super damaging for my nails, so I definitely don't recommend.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, cat-eye polish

Date of picture: December 11, 2025

To this day, I am still proud of this set that I did for my friend. Again, I think the color of the base dip could be a little better, but overall, those frenchie lines were CRISP. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: January 10, 2026

I genuinely am in love with every aspect of this design. I designed it myself, making it my very first freestyle set (I still struggle with freestyles). This was the first nail set I have ever done that I can still look at and be like, "Oh yeah, I'm literally the coolest because I made that with my own two hands." Also, this was only my second time ever using 3d gel. I am infinitely proud of this set, and I think it's safe to say that it will definitely hold a place in my heart as a favorite for a long time.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, 3d sculpting gel

Date of picture: January 18, 2026

This was my Valentine’s Day set, and it's safe to say that I met every goal. The idea was for the set to be classy, yet spunky and romantic. I don't use glitter polishes that much, so it was super fun to be able to try something new.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: February 12, 2026

I literally DREAM about this set. I haven't had the chance to recreate it yet, but it's most certainly at the top of my bucket list. I wasn't usually one to use rhinestones at the time I made this set, but I feel like this was the spark for my sparkle obsession. Also, let's just admire he shaping of this set! I was still using dip powder at the time, so all of my shaping was done from scratch. I feel like I definitely did a good job on this one.

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, rhinestones

Date of picture: February 23, 2026

If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I absolutely ADORE a dark red solid set. This set had a little twist, though. I added silver cat-eye on top of a red base and then a jelly red over that. The shimmer doesn't show up very well in the photo, but trust me, it was definitely there. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish, cat-eye polish

Date of picture: February 28, 2026

When I made this set, it had been on my Pinterest board for literal YEARS. I am absolutely obsessed with everything that involves Mediterranean vibes, and being able to put it on my nails was so amazing. I also ended up doing a similar set for my mom a few months after I did this one on myself. 

Mediums: dip powder, gel polish

Date of picture: March 14, 2026

This was actually one of my very first press-on sets! I was going for a fun, summery set, and I think it's safe to say that I achieved just that.

Mediums: Gel-X tips, gel polish

Date of picture: June 7, 2026

This is the Mediterranean set that I did on my mom. I absolutely adored this one, and even though I'm not the biggest fan of super-detailed art on super-short nails, this set was perfection. 

Mediums: gel polish

Date of picture: June 12, 2026

Here's a close-up of my personal favorite nail- the thumb. This nail itself took about twenty minutes to perfect, but it was completely worth it. 

Shoutout to my most loyal client, who you can probably tell by now is my mom. This was her 4th of July set, and it was a perfect balance of national pride and spunkiness. 

Mediums: gel polish

Date of picture: July 1, 2026

I can't even begin to say how much I love this set! Summer sets with bright colors, 3d elements, and cute designs will always hold a special place in my heart. This was one of my best attempts at doing 3d flowers, and I am still so happy with how they turned out! Also, you can never go wrong with a little pink-and-yellow moment!

Mediums: Gel-X, gel polish, rhinestones, 3d sculpting gel, 3d liquid gel

Date of picture: July 13, 2026

Here's a close up of the 3d flower thumb!

As another one of my most loyal clients, my best friend never fails to pick out the cutest designs. I absolutely adore her nail taste. This set was a simple navy frenchie with a white outline, and let me just say, it was adorable. She also gets short nails, giving me the opportunity to continue practicing shaping, since I use the full-length Gel-X tips. 

Mediums: Gel-X, gel polish

Date of picture: July 15, 2026

This set took me forever, and if I'm being honest, I probably only finished one hand before giving up. It was SO worth it, though. Everything about it was amazing- the colors, the stripes, the adorable little 3d buttons- everything. 

Mediums: Gel-X, gel polish, 3d sculpting gel

This is part of my very first fall collection, and I love it! I am so proud of the lines (straight lines are extremely hard to achieve), and though the set isn't perfect, I think it is so cute!

Mediums: Gel-X tips, gel polish

Date of picture: August 16, 2026

The girl who got this set most definitely chose well! I love doing her nails because she always chooses the most fun designs. I'm a nail maximalist, so it's always a relief to know that there are still people who want something besides a white frenchie (not that a white frenchie is bad; I just love color and design more).

Mediums: Gel-X, gel polish

Date of picture: August 19, 2026

These were my nails for my Senior year Homecoming! It was a huge fiasco trying to match them to the dress, since I started the nails before changing my mind about my old dress and getting a new one. I thankfully found my dream dress that just so happened to match my nails I had spent hours on beforehand!

Mediums: Gel-X, gel polish, caviar beads

Date of picture: September 19, 2026