Striping Tape - Episode I

Hello readers! I've had some striping tape sitting around for a few months but hadn't worked up the time/nerve/courage to actually give it a try. In honor of my 'Moar Nail Art!' new years resolution I decided to take the plunge. The results were... better than I anticipated. Based on reading other nail blogs and forums there were two key tips that stood out. 1) Wait until your nails are 100% completely dry before taping. Not dry to the touch or just after using a fast drying topcoat. Dry all the way through. I used a mani that I had already had on for a few days already as my base colour, so no issues there. 2) Make sure you pull the tape off while the polish is still when for crisp edges. Ok, I think I can handle that. I used Enchanted Polish Octopus's Garden as my base colour and China Glaze Cords as my taped accent colour. Here's what I came up with and how I did it.

 1) Tape a star pattern onto your nails using three pieces of striping tape.  For my design the pieces didn't really need to extend up past the top of my nails, but I found that made it easier to pull them off later.  I also taped up both hands right from the start.

2) Use your accent polish (CG Cords for me) to fill in the three triangles at the bottom of your nail. Then while the polish is still wet, peel off the striping tape.  For this design I found painting a whole hand and then removing the striping tape from that hand after worked alright.  Then, just repeat for the other hand.

3) I wanted to go a little further with my design so I used a small nail art brush to paint a smaller triangle of the base colour (EP Octopus's Garden for me) inside the center taped triangle.

4) Wait for the polish to become tacky/not easily smudge-able and then add your favorite top coat.

I really happy with this, especially for the first try.  As long as you make sure that your base polish is 100% dry and you peel the tape off while your accent polish is still wet striping tape isn't so hard.  I could see it being a small nightmare though if you didn't adhere to those two guidelines though.  Have you given striping tape nail art a try?  Do you have any must know tips to make it any easier?  I need to scour the interwebs now for other striping tape designs that catch my eye and can go on the "nail art to try" list.

Happy Polishing!

- Michelle

Enchanted Polish Octopus's Garden Swatches & Review

Happy New Years readers! Today marks my first review of 2014.  2014...have to get used to typing that now.  I decided to start the year off with an holo multichrome, Enchanted Polish Octopus's Garden.  I've actually had this one in my collection for about a month and a half but this is the first time I've worn it.  Let me tell you.  This polish has officially got me addicted to multichromes.

Octopus's Garden is a shimmery polish that shifts from blue to purple to coppery orange.  It has a soft scattered holo and applies flawlessly.  In indoor lighting I find it looks more blue but in sunlight purple seems to be the more predominant colour.  I used three coats but you could definitely get away with two.  No issues with streaks, sheerness or smoothness with this one.  I went a little photo crazy since this polish takes on new look with every change in angle and lighting.  Photos show three coats of Octopus's Garden with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat in natural lighting.

You may have noticed a few small bumps in this polish in the photos.  This is not the EP's fault.  I used an older base coat and I should have know better.  It was starting to get a little bit thicker than I liked and apparently had a some tiny dried up bits in it.  Time for that bottle to go to polish heaven.  Over a proper non-dried out base coat Octopus's Garden will be 100% smooth.  So, do I really have to say anything else? Not really.  The pictures speak for them self.  I've had this polish on for three days now and still catch myself examining the colour shift as I move my nails back and forth.  I'm pretty sure this is how I look to others.

Source

My goal for the new year is to do more nail art so I'm off to play with striping tape for the first time.  I'll have the results of that experiment up tomorrow.  Until then, happy polishing!

Best of 2013

Hello readers! Happy New Years!  I know I'm a bit late with this post.  I've been fighting a nasty cold for the last week or so and am finally starting to feel better.  I woke up this morning to find that I could actually breathe again!  Time to go through all the posts from 2013 and pick out my favorite nail art, mainstream polishes and indie polishes.  So, without further ado, her are my fav's from 2013!

Nail Art

This past year was the first time I experimented with more that a solid colour or glitter over a base colour.  It's amazing to look back at how much I've improved.  Though there are many designs I love, these three made the top of the list.

Peacock Nails

I really love how these nails catch the light.  The tiny bit of micro glitter makes them pop and they definitely give the impression of layered peacock feathers.  If you want to give these a try you can find the tutorial here.

Glitter And Gradient Mash Up

 I love this gradient look.  I used Ruby White Tips This Is My Swamp and Bay Breeze to do the teal-green gradient and then added Maybelline Clearly Spotted over top.  The glitter adds an extra dimension and also helps disguise any small flaws in the gradient.

Spots And Stripes

I love this shimmery whimsical look of this mani.  I also can't resist the mix of so many shades of blue and teal.

Mainstream Polishes

Max Factor Fantasy Fire

Just look at it.  Do I really need to say more? That shimmer!

Maybelline Clearly Spotted

Deja vu? Yes, as well as being part of one of my favorite mani's this year Clearly Spotted was one of my favorite mainstream polishes.  I love the combo of black and white and this glitter goes with pretty much any polish.

Essence Miss Universe

I'm a sucker for a good flecked polish and this polish fits the bill.  A gorgeous mix of teal and navy this polish shimmers in the sunlight and bonus, it's only $2!

Indie Polishes
I had a really hard time narrowing down which indies were my favorites.  There were just so many awesome polishes to choose from!  I don't think I could choose a number one favorite no matter how hard I try so here are my top 5 indies in no particular order.

Picture Polish Hope

This polish just looks so shiny and squishy!  The formula was flawless and it shimmer and sparkles like crazy.  Definitely worth the price tag in my opinion.

Glittering Elements Voodoo Princess

This is another shimmery squishy jelly polish.  The part I love most about this polish is the way the larger glitters catch the light.  They seem to appear and disappear depending on the angle.  The result is that they appear to twinkle on your nails.

Candeo Colours Springberry

I'm normally not a pink polish kind of person but I absolutely love the look of this one.  It's soft, sheer and shimmery.  It represents spring perfectly.

Model City Polish PB&J

This polish is just delicious! The mix of purple and gold with a flawless formula is irresistible.

Enchanted Polish August 2013

This polish officially got me addicted to holo's.  The perfect balance of shimmer and holo.  The teal-blue base colour is gorgeous too!

Conclusion

Well there you have it.  Those were my favorites from the past year.  Can you tell that blues, teals and purples are my favorite colours? :P  This year I hope to focus a little more on nail art.  I have so many pictures and ideas bookmarked that I really need to catch up on.  What were your favorites from 2013 and what do you want to try next?