LGBT History Month Inspired Mani

In the UK, the month of February is recognised as LGBT History Month-celebrating the achievements and lives of LGBT people throughout history and today, which I think is a pretty important thing. Possibly even more important is that this is part of a larger scheme of charities and support groups working to help LGBT people, charities like Schools Out, working to eradicate homophobia and transphobia in schools and aiming to make them more inclusive.
In this month of saccharine sweet candy hearts, fluffy teddy bears and enormous bunches of roses, it's also worth remembering that around the world people are still fighting for the basic human right to love whoever they want to without fear of any repercussions, to be the person they've always felt like inside with the support of their governments, to marry the person they want to spend their lives with without people telling them it's wrong and immoral.
Though I myself am not LGBorT, the fight for equality and respect for all is one I fully stand behind because at the end of the day it doesn't matter if the person you love is the same or opposite gender to you, if you feel like you were born in the wrong body or the right one-we're all people. We should all be able to live and love as we choose to, and all be recognised for the awesome human beings that we are.

In celebration of LGBT history month and the fact that the UK is now one step closer to allowing gay marriage (hurrah!), I've done a mani based on their rainbow logo.
I started by painting my little, middle and index fingers with 2 coats of Barry M's Black Multi Glitter, followed by a top coat of Seche Vite as normal. Then I started my rainbow accents in a myriad of polishes:

Rimmel I Heart Lasting Finish in Double Decker Red, 
Rimmel I Heart Lasting Finish in Tangy Tangerine, 
London Girl in Shade 148, OPI in Don't Mess With OPI
Barry M in Cobalt Blue, Rimmel 60 seconds in Blue My Mind, 
Topcoat of  Rimmel I Heart Lasting Finish in Disco Ball

I'm sure there must have been an easier method than the one I used, which was ridiculous really-I taped off a small section of my nails and painted 2 coats of starting colour and waited for them to dry, then moved the tape up a little and started on the next colour. It took FOREVER and left me with a lumpy finish in stripes across my nail.

As you can see here...

After waiting an age for all the layers to dry naturally (as I didn't want to smudge them with top coat!) I added a layer of the glittery Disco Ball polish to add a little bit of extra sparkle and shine to my rainbows, followed by 2 coats of Seche Vite to take me to a (mostly) smooth finish. 

To be honest I really love how this turned out, even if it did take me hours. I've always loved rainbows and think they look really awesome on my nails-I'm just glad I only did accents as I was originally planning a full set!

The final effect!

Only including this one to show how lovely the black Barry M is too,
it's very sparkly and multicoloured.

I did each hand in opposite colours so that they're slightly different-here's a comparison shot of my thumbs so you get what I mean:

I like the fact they're not exactly the same =)

I'm not sure I could love this mani any more if I tried-it's amazing. By far the most complicated thing I've ever attempted but with the best results!

Hope you like it as much as I do!

~Nail Art Novice~

NB: I am entering this mani in The Crumpet's Amateur Nail Art contest this month. The theme is Love & Heartbreak, and I realise this doesn't really fit but it was inspired by a movement all about love so I'm going to enter anyway. Beautifully manicured fingers crossed!