As children, when anything in brilliant colors crossed our paths, we thought long and hard about how to capture it. As adults, not much has changed - we are lovers of cosmetics, after all. So when a pearl oyster - in all of its radiant natural beauty - catches our eye, we immediately lust for any accessory made from mother of pearl. The hints of pink and green. The almost holographic effect. We're getting gitty just thinking about it! But no matter how much we're hypnotized by its appearance, we can't justify wearing 30 bangles of nacre to get our fix. Instead, we're taking our shiny affection to our tips and sharing a mother of pearl manicure with all of you.

1. Apply two coats of white nail polish. This will be your base and allow the hints of color you'll add to pop on the nail.
2. Place a small drop of iridescent nail polish (here we used Giorgio Armani Nail Lacquer in 702) onto a plate. Then wet an art brush with nail polish remover and mix with the nail polish. This will thin the polish and give it a transparent look on the nail. Taking the brush, dab lightly across the nail in no particular pattern - cover as much of the nail as you like. We suggest using a non-acetone remover on these steps to prevent your base color from lifting.
3. Using your next shade, we started with pink, repeat the process of mixing a droplet of nail polish with nail polish remover. Remeber, you only need a drop or two. Then dab the pink across your nail. This time only covering a few spots.
4. Repeat step 3 with the blue nail polish, sparingly dabbing the polish in select areas of the nail.
5. Since mother of pearl tends to show more green when inside a shell, repeat step 4 with the teal nail polish. This time make it slightly darker and covering more of the nail. Let dry.
6. Apply an iridescent top coat with a slight halo effect. We chose L'Oréal Magic Top Coat for this look. The top coat will seal your Mother of Pearl manicure and allow you to gaze in awe for hours at your tips.

What's your favorite awe-inspiring manicure? Let us know below!