reverse french

i finally decided to implement studs into a nail design. too impatient to wait for ebay to send my order, i purchased a stud set from kiss. also seen here was my attempt at a reverse french which is similar to a half moon but upside down.

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tools:

kiss metallic nail art studs

tweezer

essie chinchilly

essie smokin' hot

page preforators 

seche vite fast dry top coat 

step 1: paint the pinky, ring and index finger with two coats of essie- chinchilly.

step 2: paint the ring and thumb finger with two coats of essie- smokin' hot.

step 3: paint one coat of seche vite fast dry top coat on each nail. 

step 4: when the nails are completely dry, cut the page preforators in half and place a half on to each nail, oval part facing down so it looks like a "U". firmly press down the edges of the tape so there are no bubbles or gaps to avoid polish from seeping underneath the tape as you paint.

step 5: after the preferators are set in place, paint the top part of the nail in the opposite color. paint pinky, ring and index finger in smokin' hot and ring and thumb finger in chinchilly. 

step 6: paint one coat of seche vite fast dry top coat on each nail and allow 10 minutes to dry.

step 7: apply the studs of your choice using a tweezer to pick up the stud and to place onto the nail. after carefully placing the stud in the desired place, press the stud down firmly using the tweezer. 

step 8: finish it off with one coat of seche vite fast dry top coat!

the ari

this gray and yellow manicure was inspired by a facebook friend, ari zapata. ari is one half of the duo of erikmotta.com. she is a photographer and especially loves wedding photography. what's her favorite wedding colors you might ask? yellow and gray! being an august baby like myself, she is fierce and knows what she wants and so "the ari" manicure was created.

step 1: apply the base coat, orly's lemonade.

step 2: once the base has dried completely, rip off a piece of sotch tape. using the corner of the tape, point the tip towards the center of the nail, leaving room for the next color. push down all sides of the tape, so there’s no bleeding then paint the top part of the nail using essie's chinchilly. for the black leopard  i used a black  '2 way nail art brush pen' from ebay (please see my "leopard' post for the link).

step 3: peel off the tape IMMEDIATELY after painting the nail, pulling from the center upwards

step 4: for the additional accents i lined the "v" of the chevron with a silver glitter nail polish and topped it off with a small black rhinestone (see the link on my "leopard" post). 

i love how scotch tape can be easily used to create a nail design. the only downside is the wait time. i recommend to paint the base one day and the design the day after or if you have the time, wait an hour or two before applying the tape so that you don't ruin your base color.