Spring is taking it’s sweet time to make itself felt in New York. I’m finding nail art to be a fun way to channel warmer weather by wearing lighter colors when a coat and boots is still de rigueur. The Illustratednail takes the classic French manicure design and reduces it to a black outline on a white nail. The result is sleek yet edgy.

A great use of color and contrast, Sophie from Illustrated Nail worked on this look for Borders nails. The result is of course, fierce! See the reader favorite black version here.

Fiending over the latest creation by Sophie of Illustrated nail for Papercut magazine. A blush and purple ruffian talon nail ,with gold crystals. See another image on the flip.Photos by Claire Huish.

Lovely blinged out nails by Illustrated Nail. #fierce!

Definitely on my list to rock are the latest “Ankara” print inspired nails by Illustrated Nail. Tough to pick a favorite, see other set on the flip.

In our minds there would have been a plethora of snob worthy nail art showing love to the Gucci brand. That seems to not be the case as most Gucci-themed nail art tends to be really kitschy and overdone. The Illustrated Nail’s version however fits the bill. One logo nail with the rest of the set in red or that same blush tone would work really well.

Each nail of this set really could be it’s own theme. The kiwi thumb is a favorite. Take a look on the next page for a closer look at each hand.Via the Illustrated nail.

We loved the MIA and Donatella image from W magazine’s “Music & Fashion” editorial in the July 2011 issue, and now Illustratednail gives us a closer look at the floral painted nails MIA sported during the shoot.Very pretty!