Year in Review - 2019

This is a much belated post to summarize the nail year of 2019!

Historically I have divided this post into three parts, starting with reader favourites. Here I have used number of comments to track engagement. This past year has seen engagement lower than ever, with comments being rare and only a few posts having more that one. That's why I am cutting that part from this year's summary (I don't think post views make sense to track engagement, as it is feels very unreliable). That being said, I am very grateful for the reader's I do have! A special shout out to Ananka for commenting on many posts, thank you for engaging!

That leaves us with two parts:

• Favourites from my favourite everything S, as he often enjoys different things from myself so it's always fun getting his take on the year.
• My personal favourites.

If below nail art is not enough for you, you can easily see all the manicures I posted in 2019 on Pinterest. I ended up switching from two posts per year to only one, so my total mani count lands at 60. If you are curious about my previous summaries, you find them here: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and finally 2013.  

Favourites of S (click image to go to original post)

Both S and I really enjoyed this manicure, one I did for Chinese New Year back in February last year. This might be my most intricate stamped look I did in 2019.

Another stamped manicure, this one with cacti.

So happy S picked this one, as the swirl marble was one of my favourite techniques from last year!

My Personal Favourites (click image to go to original post)

This pattern might not be the most advanced, but there's just something about repeating dots. I should really use the dotting tools more!

This manicure I didn't have a clear vision of, I simply liked the print (found on a cup from Ikea) and started to paint something like it. In the end I'm loving the bohemian vibe and the intricate flowers.

Finally a swirly design I did for the Swedish national day back in June.

På svenska:
Jag har bara översatt den inledande texten och inte den som ligger vid varje bild, hoppas det är okej! Oj va sen jag blev i år för min sammanställning över årets manikyrer för 2019! 

Historiskt har jag haft tre avsnitt i detta inlägg, där jag börjar med läsarnas favoriter (baserat på antal kommentarer). I år har jag dock fortsatt på den negativa trenden med färre besök och än färre kommentarer. Jag har få inlägg från 2019 som har mer än en kommentar så väljer faktiskt att ta bort detta avsnitt från årssammanställningen. Med det sagt är jag fortfarande förstås glad och tacksam över de läsare jag har! I år är det särskilt Ananka som har synts i kommentarerna, så tack snälla du för att du fortsätter att vara aktiv och skriva fina ord.

Det ger att jag bara har två avsnitt på årets inlägg. Det är dels S favoriter som jag tar med och så förstås mina egna.

Om manikyrerna ovan inte är tillräckliga för dig så kan du enkelt spana in alla manikyrer jag publicerat under 2019 på Pinterest. Jag har försökt hålla mig till mina två inlägg i veckan men det blev bland annat ett litet sommarlov så totalen för året landar på 88 manikyrer. Om du är nyfiken på tidigare års sammanställningar så har jag dem här: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 och slutligen 2013. 

Year in Review - 2018

I'm starting off the new year with the annual retrospect of favourite manicures of last year.

As always, I will divide this post into three parts: 

• Part one features the three posts that have received the most comments from you who read my blog. Thank you so much for doing so and especially when you take the time to comment! 
• The second three are picked by my favourite everything S, he often enjoys different things from myself so it's always fun getting his take on the year.
• The final three are my personal favourites.

If below nail art is not enough for you, you can easily see all the manicures I posted in 2018 on Pinterest. I've been pretty regular trying to post twice weekly but had a bit of a summer break so landed on 88 manicures this year. If you are curious about my previous summaries, you find them here: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and finally 2013. 

Reader's Favourites (click image to go to original post)

This year has seen a drop in both post views as well as comments here on May Contain Traces of Polish (something I gather is also happening in other blogs as people are moving to new and quicker social media). An extra thank you to you for continuing to read and sometimes comment, it is much more fun for me when there is feedback! I still really like the blog format and will continue to publish semi-regularly also in the new year.

First up we have some striking orchid nails.

I remember struggling with this folklore bird nail art so much but I'm glad it was well liked! It took forever to get the stamping to look decent and I redid all nails multiple times.

Thirdly we have another stamped look from the beginning of 2018. If I remember correctly also this one caused me some pain to get in place as the thin stems of the hearts dried while I was filling them in and didn't transfer well.

Favourites of S (click image to go to original post)

A bit surprised that S fell for this floral look but he really liked the translucent effect so I'm happy to add it to the list this year.

I'm glad S liked this abstract landscape as much as I did. 

Third favourite of S and quite fittingly a manicure inspired by Harry Potter. We just finished a marathon watching all 8 movies the other night and are also on the final chapters of the last book.

My Personal Favourites (click image to go to original post)

I did quite a few swirl marbles this year. This was one of my first and still a favourite. How perfect is that green KIKO by the way?

Second favourite is an abstract floral for the 31 Day Challenge. After some debate I picked this over the lavender look but I very much liked both of them!

Last but not least a Christmas design. This ended up so great with the brown holo base and the green mistletoe design on top.

På svenska:
Jag har bara översatt den inledande texten och inte den som ligger vid varje bild, hoppas det är okej! Jag inleder året med det årliga inlägget med favoritmanikyrer från det gångna året. Som vanligt så delar jag in dessa i tre grupper: 

• De tre inlägg som fått flest kommentarer från mina underbara läsare. Jag vill verkligen tacka dig som läser och tar dig tid att kommentera, det betyder väldigt mycket för mig!

• Sen kommer S favoritmanikyrer. Jag gillar att inkludera hans favoriter för att de ofta skiljer sig mycket från mina.

• De sista tre manikyrerna är de jag själv gillar mycket.

Om manikyrerna ovan inte är tillräckliga för dig så kan du enkelt spana in alla manikyrer jag publicerat under 2018 på Pinterest. Jag har försökt hålla mig till mina två inlägg i veckan men det blev bland annat ett litet sommarlov så totalen för året landar på 88 manikyrer. Om du är nyfiken på tidigare års sammanställningar så har jag dem här: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 och slutligen 2013. 

31 Day Challenge 2018: Summary post

Now it's time for the 31 Day Challenge summary post! I really enjoy looking back at each year's challenge as both a display of my own development and as a review of the times if you will. By that I mean that there are many nail art trends that come and go, and usually in the challenge you will see that being reflected, such as negative space design, advanced stamping, dotticures and more. This year I did two swirl marble designs, and for me that is definitely a 2018 trend.

You find my previous challenge summaries here: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. 

Day 1, Red Nails, starting off the challenge with a floral
Day 2, Orange Nails
Day 3, Yellow Nails

Day 4, Green Nails, the colours in this manicure really married so well
Day 5, Blue Nails, I really love this coral and blue swirl marble design
Day 6, Violet Nails, not to mention how much I liked this lavender look!
Day 7, Black and White Nails, this reciprocal gradient got a lot of likes on Instagram and I can see why

Day 8, Metallic Nails
Day 9, Rainbow Nails
Day 10, Gradient Nails, I love how this circular gradient came out
Day 11, Polka Dots, this was another look that I really liked

Day 12, Stripes
Day 13, Animal Print
Day 14, Flowers
Day 15, Delicate Print, this painting style poppy design is another one of my favourites

Day 16, Geometric Nails
Day 17, Glitter Nails
Day 18, Half Moon Nails
Day 19, Galaxy Nails, this classic galaxy look was a pleasure to wear

Day 20, Water Marble Nails, whoever invented this technique is a genious! So much fun
Day 21, Inspired by a Colour
Day 22, Inspired by a Song
Day 23, Inspired by a Movie

Day 24, Inspired by a Book
Day 25, Inspired by Fashion
Day 26, Inspired by a Pattern
Day 27, Inspired by Artwork, the original artwork has so much nail art potential

Day 28, Inspired by a Flag, I like the manicure but I don't think flags is what comes to mind ^-^.
Day 29, Inspired by the Supernatural
Day 30, Inspired by a Tutorial
Day 31, Honor Nails You Love, this design is hard to miss and just up my alley!

I hope you enjoyed this years spread of designs in the challenge. Based on how few participants there were this year (towards the end only 5 in the InLinkz), we will see if the challenge returns also next year.


På svenska:
Nu är det dags att summera den stora utmaningen. Jag tycker alltid det är roligt att se tillbaka på varje års manikyrer, både för att se på min egen utveckling men också som ett litet tidsdokument. Med det menar jag att det ändå finns så många trender inom nagelkonsten som kommer och går och vanligen ser man i utmaningen vilka de är för tillfället. Det har tidigare varit en hel del negative space, avancerad stämpling och längre tillbaka också prickar. I år blev det två manikyrer på temat swirl marble och det är för mig verkligen en 2018-trend.

Du hittar mina tidigare summeringar från tidigare utmaningen här: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 och 2013. Jag hoppas att du gillat årets manikyrer. Baserat på hur pass få deltagare det varit i utmaningen i år (fram mot slutet endast 5 personer) så är det kanske tveksamt om det blir något nästa år men vi får väl se.

Year in Review, 2017

Time for my annual "best of" post where I share some favourite manicures of the past year. 

As always, I will divide this post into three parts:

• Part one features the three posts that have received the most comments from my awesome reader. My sincerest thanks for taking the time to read and comment, it means so much to me.
• The second three are picked by my favourite everything S, he often enjoys different things from myself so it's always fun getting his take on the year.
• The final three are my personal favourites.

If below nail art is not enough for you, you can easily see all the manicures I posted in 2017 on Pinterest. This year I was a little less active than previous years but still managed to publish just over 100 nail art designs. I will also link to my previous summaries, you find them here: 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Can't believe I'm well on my way to my fifth blogoversary!

Reader's favourites (images link to original posts)

I really enjoyed this colour combination but feel a bit surprised to see it's the most commented post I published last year! It now has 16 comments, half of which would be mine.

Simple and sweet look combining two very different greens. I should do more "clean" nail art like this!

My first look for this year's 31 Day Challenge. The beginning of the challenge always boosts views and comments a bit and so also this year. And it is a nice manicure too ^-^.

Favourites of S (images link to original posts)

This look could qualify in any group really, it had as many comments as two of the manis above, I really enjoyed it but as it was the manicure that S liked the most, I decided to put it in his group.

My annual galaxy nails from the challenge was more memorable than usual this year.

This I don't understand why S liked but he insisted it should go on his list!

My personal favourites (images link to original posts)

Perhaps this manicure is nothing extravagant but I just love how it came together. A glitter gradient and a water decal are both simple techniques and here they just combined really well.

I wasn't really sure what I was painting as I started this manicure but in the end I was completely smittened with it.

Finally another manicure for the 31 Day Challenge that I enjoyed a lot, both because it looked good and since it symbolized the completion of the dissertation that S had been working on for over five years. Wooho!


På svenska:
Jag har bara översatt den inledande texten och inte den som ligger vid varje bild, hoppas det är okej! Dags för mitt årliga inlägg med favoritmanikyrer från det gångna året. Som vanligt så delar jag in dessa i tre grupper:

• De tre inlägg som fått flest kommentarer från mina underbara läsare. Jag vill verkligen tacka dig som läser och tar dig tid att kommentera, det betyder väldigt mycket för mig.
• Sen kommer S favoritmanikyrer. Jag gillar att inkludera hans favoriter för att de ofta skiljer sig mycket från mina.
• De sista tre manikyrerna är de jag själv gillar mycket.

Om manikyrerna ovan inte är tillräckliga för dig så kan du enkelt spana in alla nail art jag publicerat under 2017 på Pinterest. I år har jag varit lite mindre aktiv än tidigare år men det blev trots det dryga 100 manikyrer att vara stolt över. Om du är nyfiken på tidigare års sammanställningar så har jag dem här: 2013, 2014, 2015 och 2016. Jag närmar mig mitt femårsjubileum här på bloggen!

31 Day Challenge 2017: Summary

Time to look back at the 31 Day Challenge and what really went into it! I have put together pictures of everything and of course links back to the original posts and commented on which looks were my favourites. The same can be found for my previous challenges here; 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

I try to challenge myself during the challenge and that usually means there is slightly less stamping than I generally post. Generally I also find that I enjoy the non-stamped manicures more. I love the way stamped nail art looks, but it just feels like I put a little less of myself into it compared to using other techniques, it's less personal for me somehow.

Day 1, Red Nails - My first manicure ended up looking so nice despite my feelings of hesitation mid-way. For sure a personal favourite!
Day 2, Orange Nails
Day 3, Yellow Nails - As Sharpies are quite imprecise I was super happy with this flowery manicure.

Day 4, Green Nails
Day 5, Blue Nails
Day 6, Violet Nails
Day 7, Black and White Nails

Day 8, Metallic Nails
Day 9, Rainbow Nails
Day 10, Gradient Nails
Day 11, Polka Dots

Day 12, Stripes
Day 13, Animal Print
Day 14, Flowers - This is one of the challenge manicures I wore for longer than a day and I'm very happy to have done so! A personal favourite.
Day 15, Delicate Print

Day 16, Geometric Nails
Day 17, Glitter Nails
Day 18, Half Moons
Day 19, Galaxy Nails - Personal favourite!

Day 20, Water Marble
Day 21, Inspired by a Colour
Day 22, Inspired by a Song - A great song inspired this manicure and I must say I think it's a great mani!
Day 23, Inspired by a Movie - My favourite stamped look of the challenge!

Day 24, Inspired by a Book
Day 26, Inspired by a Pattern (picture ended up being in the wrong order)
Day 25, Inspired by Fashion (picture ended up being in the wrong order)

Day 27, Inspired by Art - I'm over my initial criticism about the fence and just enjoy this fun nail art.

Day 28, Inspired by a Flag
Day 29, Inspired by the Supernatural
Day 30, Inspired by a Tutorial - Initially felt annoyed it didn't end up looking like Paulina's but now I'm loving these nails just the way they are!
Day 31, Honor Nails You Love


På svenska:
Dags att se tillbaka på den stora utmaningen och vad jag egentligen hann med! Jag har bilder på alla 31 manikyrer och förstås länkar tillbaka till inläggen samt små kommentarer på de manikyrer som jag själv gillade bäst. Du hittar samma sak för mina tidigare utmaningar här; 2016, 2015, 2014 och 2013.

Jag försöker att utmana mig själv lite under utmaningen och det betyder vanligen att jag har lite mindre stämpling än jag vanligen visar. Det brukar också visa sig att jag gillar de manikyrer som inte är stämplade lite extra. Jag tycker ju verkligen om stämpling och resultatet du kan få till men samtidigt känner jag att det är lite mindre av mig själv i de resultaten (även där jag sliter mitt hår för att få ihop det) jämfört med om jag använder andra tekniker.

Year in Review, 2016

I love seeing all the "best of" posts that we get when the old year turns into a new one! You can find all the manicures I posted in 2016 on Pinterest but below are some of the highlights. 

I will use the same strategy as in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and divide this post into three parts. 

• Part one features the three posts that have received the most comments from my awesome reader. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment! It means so much to me <3
• The second three are picked by my favourite everything S, he often enjoys different things from myself so it's always fun getting his take on the year.
• The final three are my personal favourites.

If you happen to read this post on my website rather than through a feed like Bloglovin or Feedly you will also noticed that I kicked off this year with a fresh blog design! It is not completely different from my old one but it has a few extra features like being responsive (working well on mobile + tablets) and cleaner sidebar. This is the first design that I actually paid for. Previously I have done everything myself using various tutorials and long hours trying to tweak code I don't fully understand. This time I paid around 7$ and got everything more or less plug-and-play. Awesome. If you feel like upgrading your Blogger blog, I can highly recommend Etsy shop Blogger template. The owner is very helpful, both with responding to messages and even offers to install the template for you, for free.

Apart from the manicures in this list, I also did 100 more. How many will 2017 bring?

Reader's favourites (images link to original post):

My most commented look of the year is the first look from the 31 Day Challenge. The beginning of the challenge usually means an increase in visits and comments, so I'm not sure this is actually the best post of the year, but certainly the one that got the most engagement.

Second most commented post is from a few days later in the challenge when I posted this coherent green look.

The third reader favourite holds a bit of a lesson for myself. As I've mentioned, I sometimes felt like I need to push myself and do more advanced nail art, just to keep developing myself and the blog, rather than just doing nice manicures that I enjoy wearing. Seeing this rather simple nail art on the list here just proves that more complicated is not always better. Thank you for that!

Favourites of S (images link to original post):

S was immediately drawn to this manicure because of the colours used and the stamping pattern. I really like it too!

Second choice is this water marble which S liked due to the nice effect and also knowing how finicky water marbling is.

Finally S liked the composition of this water decal look. So do I, I must say ^-^.

My personal favourites (images link to original post):

Finally my own favourites. I always struggle narrowing it down to three looks because there are so many aspects to take into consideration. Did it wear well, did the design come easy, did I struggle painting it and so forth. That being said, this year it was fairly easy to find my favourite look. I love the lavender manicure I did for the 31 Day Challenge. It was also a big wow-moment for me when it ended up looking just as good as I had hoped. Usually when I freehand something it doesn't so this was a big win for me!

My second favourite manciure was posted just the next day. There is just something about this colour combination that completely won me over.

Finally a manicure from this summer which was quite time consuming to make but  was striking enough to make it well worth it!

På svenska:

Jag har bara översatt den inledande texten och inte den som ligger till varje bild. Hoppas det är ok!

Jag älskar att se alla inlägg med favoriter från det gångna året. Du kan hitta alla mina manikyrer från 2016 på Pinterest med ovan visar jag några av favoriterna sammanställda. Jag kör samma sätt som 2013, 2014 och 2015 och delar upp inlägget i tre delar. 

• Den första delen är de tre inlägg som fått flest kommentarer från mina härliga läsare. TACK för att ni tar er tid att kolla in vad jag gör och även kommentera! Det betyder massor för mig <3.
• Andra delen är S favoriter. Han gillar ofta andra grejor än vad jag själv gör så det är alltid spännande att se vilka manikyrer han gillar mest från det gångna året.
• Slutligen kommer mina tre personliga favoriter.

Om du råkar läsa det här inlägg på min webbsida hellre än via någon prenumeration/feed såsom Bloglovin eller Feedly märker du förhoppningsvis att jag kickat igång det nya året med en ny bloggdesign! Den är inte jätteannorlunda från den tidigare designen men har några viktiga förbättringar såsom responsiv design (funkar bättre på surfplatta och mobil) samt snyggare sidomeny. Det här är faktiskt den första design jag betalar för. Tidigare har jag alltid gjort alla ändringar själv och använt mig av massa olika tutorials och lagt timmar på att justera kod som jag knappt förstår för att få det som jag vill. Den här gången la jag typ 60kr på en färdig design och fick allting mer eller mindre färdigt. Fantastiskt! Om du också bloggar på Blogger och känner för att fräscha till din design kan jag verkligen rekommendera Etsy shoppen Blogger template. Ägaren är väldigt hjälpsam och svarar snabbt på meddelanden och erbjuder även installationshjälp, gratis.

Förutom alla manikyrer som är med i det här inlägget hann jag med exakt hundra till i år. Nu till att se vad 2017 har att erbjuda!