Scotch tape is very useful. Through the wonders of the Internet, I found out that it is even useful for nail art. Some of the ladies online do tape manis that would blow your mind, like Erika from the seemingly-on-hiatus blog Chloe's Nails. I have started with a simple design, while I get used to the details like when to take off the tape, how hard to press down the tape, blah blah blah.
The lovely bright green creme is Courteney, by Julep, which is I used as my base color. (Julep nail colors retail for $14.00, but are $11.20 if you are part of their Maven program. My referral link to their subscription service: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/25580/). I believe it was two coats. While Courteney is vibrant, there is a softness to the shade as well, so it is not neon.
After the base color dried, I put diagonal strips of tape over about half of each nail, and then painted on the blue shade. I removed each strip of tape after painting each nail.
The pop of blue for contrast is Mesmerized by Essie. (Essie nail polish typically retails for $8.00 and can be purchased on http://www.essie.com/shop/, or at retailers like CVS, Target, and I believe WalMart.) If you like blue, you kind of need this shade.
I adore both of these polishes. Yep, I used them again for a slightly different mani, shown below. This one was far less precise, since I didn't use any tape, just a blue brush stroke down the middle of my green polished nail.
I apologize for the older, grainy photos, but I enjoyed this color combination so much that I had to share it anyway.
What do you think? Have you ever tried a Scotch tape mani?
I like the diagonal mani a lot! Does the tape tend to pull off the base coat?
ReplyDeleteCathy B
Thank you! Yes, the tape can pull at the base color, but only if it's not totally dry. There are a lot of awesome quick-dry top coats to help speed this up. My current favorite quick-dry top coat is Poshé, because it also helps even out texture, especially chunky glitters.
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