Multicolored Striping

So, since I have been done with college for the summer for a week, I have been able to do my nails a little more often and am enjoying posting more. I have seen multiple manicures like the one I have done, but usually black is the color that goes over everything since it is so opaque. I wanted my design to look more bright and springy, though. First I applied a coat of Essie Protein Base Coat. I am really liking this. (I have noticed that my nails are still peeling, so I think Sally Hansen Double Duty is fine. They are probably still recovering from a dry winter. They are better than they were.) After the base coat, I applied a stroke of Sally Hansen Coral Reef down one side of my nails and Sally Hansen Jazzy Jade down the other:

After that was dry, I applied a stroke of Rimmel Wild Orchid down the center of each nail.

After that was dry, I applied a coat of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly so the striping tape wouldn't pull up my base color. I then applied striping tape in random patterns on my nails. I made sure most of the tape was going in some horizontal or diagonal direction on my nails because vertical striping tape wouldn't show off the tricolored base. I then painted over the striping tape with China Glaze Designer Satin and immediately removed the tape. (Remember to remove the tape in the opposite order you applied it in. You don't want to be pulling a piece that is under another piece and ruin your work.) This isn't completely opaque, so the base colors show through a bit. I like the effect, though:

I applied a coat of Dries Instantly at the end and then a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy. Matte polishes always remind me of wax. I actually messed up my ring fingernail a little because I bumped it on my paper towel right after removing the striping tape. I always get very aggravated when I mess up a nail, but I have learned to be calmer about it. You will probably be able to fix small mistakes. Just relax. I touched up the smudges with a nail art brush with the appropriate colors on it to go over my mistakes to make the lines clear again. Also, people do not notice little mistakes in your manicure. They generally look at the entire effect. So, don't sweat the little mistakes!!! =)

Squigglies and Gems

Today I bought some more scissors that cut fun patterns.  So, I decided to do a Valentine's Day-like manicure.  (The only reason I say "Valentine's Day" is because of the colors):

I started out with one coat of Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat on all of my nails.  I don't know how this will do with preventing stains, but it didn't take too long to dry and it was very easy to apply polish over it.  (So, it is much cheaper and already better than that Essie Protein base coat.)  After the base coat was dry, I applied two coats of an L.A. Colors polish (the light pink) on my ring fingers and thumbs and two coats of China Glaze Designer Satin on all of my other nails.  I then applied light pink rhinestones on my pointers, middles, and pinkies.  I stuck them on with a dots of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly.  To finish them off, I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly.

For my thumbs and ring fingers, I applied one coat of Dries Instantly so the tape wouldn't pull up my base color.  Then I applied the tape that I cut with my squiggly scissors where I wanted my light pink base color to show through.  I then painted over the tape with China Glaze Designer Satin and immediately removed the tape.  I finished off these nails with two coats of Dries Instantly.