It should be noted that this article was originally going to be a tutorial of sorts—perhaps a pared down "how-to" or maybe even a basic guide to nail art: “DIY V-Day Manicures Made Easy!”

Alas, after raiding my nail-polish collection and making several messy attempts, I came to the following conclusion: I will never, ever be a “nail artist." My hand just isn’t steady enough and I don’t have the technique—or the talent. Or the patience. Or the free time. (No, I most definitely don’t have the free time.)

Truth be told: I don't know what I was thinking. I can barely stay in the lines when coloring with crayons—so painting tiny hearts with a mini brush on a super-small canvas sounds like a slight stretch. I guess I'll stick with simple manicures and GIY (glue-it-yourself) decals for now, and leave the delicate design work to the pros. But, you know, A+ for effort, right?

In lieu of a fancy DIY lesson with intricate instructions, I’ve rounded up a little artistic inspiration à la Pinterest. These Valentine’s Day manicures are creative, beautiful, flirty, and fun. They’re also probably somewhat impossible to nail (get it?). But, hopefully, you'll have a little more luck and a whole lot more skill than I.

(From top-left to right)

Cupid Manicure - Pinterest
The Ironic Iconic V-Day Candy Manicure – She Knows
LOVE Scrabble Manicure – One Nail to Rule Them All
Heart-Tip French Manicure – Cosmopolitan
Printed Paper-Heart Nails – Harpers Bazaar
Red Hearts on Pink Nails – Gurl.com
Washi Tape Glitter Heart Nails – The Beauty Department
Pastel Sweetheart Manicure – Californails
XOXO Studded Nails – Seventeen
Love (in Morse Code) Nails – The Beauty Department
Simply in Love Manicure – Being Geneieve
Tri-Color Heart Manicure - PopSugar

You didn't think I was done yet, did you? To be fair, I was... But then I found, like, a million more I loved.

(From top-left to right)

Love & Amour Manicure – Her Campus
Chocolate-Box Manicure – BuzzFeed
Tri-Color Bow Nails – Lana Red Studio
Red Lip Nails – Avon Insider
Opposites Attract Manicure – Total Beauty
Graphic Nail Art – PopSugar
Hearts and Bows Manicure – Small Good Things
Love Letter Manicure – Ink 361
French Macaron Nails – SheFinds

P.S. While I may have thrown in the nail-art towel, I haven't give up on a pretty Valentine's Week manicure. After a solid hour of pink-tacular fails, I had to change things up a bit, so I went with this simple, but gorgeous go-to: Essie Sand Tropez with Summit of Style Lux Effects layered heavily on top. It may not be the most obvious choice for V-Day, but it's still ultra girlie and super glamorous—and, for me, that's all that counts. Incidentally, it would also look great with a pretty pink base—like, Essie Fiji.

The Shopping Mama was not compensated for this post.