Browsing Tag:

Striping Tape

Nail Art

Patchwork Nail Art with Barry M Coconut Infusions for Autumn/Winter 2016

2nd November 2016

7 Comments

barry_m_coconut_autumn_2016

Now that we’re into November, I feel like it’s acceptable to start raving about Autumn/Winter everything. Starting with the latest additions to the Barry M Coconut Infusions range: the first AW collection that actually got me excited. When I laid my eyes upon it, I was immediately taken by the range of shades and just thought, ‘YES. Yes. THIS is a winter collection’. We’ve seen bolds a plenty and berry shades have started to leave a sour taste in my mouth. But a whole collection of muted tones (I’m conveniently ignoring the obligatory bold red) is something at least slightly less done. Read more

31DC2015: Purple Candy Stripes

15th September 2015

12 Comments

Striping tape is the oh-so-obvious choice for Day 12 of the Challenge but it’s a classic and I just couldn’t resist. This is another technique that I went through a huge ‘phase’ with a few years ago and I haven’t really revisited it properly since last year’s challenge.

I didn’t go in to this with a plan – just my striping tape and tweezers in hand. I took it one nail at a time and just went with my instincts, trying to make sure no two nails looked the same. I really love this look and especially how the colours work together. This base colour (Sally Hansen Ion) is what I would describe as a white-greige but I think it really takes on the tone of the purple in this close proximity.

For the Nails

My base colour is Sally Hansen Ion and I topped that with a thin coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl to dry it fast and hard.

On top of that, I laid out my patterns using some White Striping Tape. I painted over the tape one nail at a time with NYC Lavender Blossom and removed the tape immediately.

It’s all finished with two more coats of HK Girl to smooth things over.

31 Day Challenge, Nail Art, Studs

31DC2015: Green Nails with Stripes and Studs

5th September 2015

10 Comments

Today’s Green Nails for Day 4 are a remix of a design I did a long time ago. I remembered the stripes and stud details but wasn’t sure what the colours were. When I looked back to find the first version, I saw that mint green was quite a prominent feature last time around too. Why mess with a good thing, I suppose!

I realise that we’re less than a week in to the challenge and I’ve already fallen behind but I’m determined to catch up asap! The worst thing is, I worked tirelessly all Thursday night to get my Green nails done (since I knew I wouldn’t have a chance on Friday) and then just totally forgot to schedule it. Dang!

The Nails

The mint green on the ‘solid colour’ nails is Nicole by OPI Alex by the Books.

I used Barry M Coconut as the base white for the stripes and topped with a thin coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl. I placed two strips of Striping Tape down where I wanted the white to show through. I made the mistake of using purple tape so you can see where the colour has stuck at the edges. Note to self: next time use white striping tape!

The colour at the edges is OPI Gelato on My Mind (a shade that teeters right between mint green and candy blue) and the middle strip is Kriston 10. Finally, I added the 1.5mm Gold Studs on each nail and topped with another coat of HK Girl.

Glitter, Nail Art, Snippet

Snippet: Pastel Colour Blocking

21st July 2015

23 Comments

Items Used

Sally Hansen Green Tea
China Glaze Tarty for the Party
China Glaze Pink-ie Promise
Sally Hansen Razzle Dazzler
Gold Striping Tape

31 Day Challenge, Glitter, Nail Art, Uncategorised

31 Day Challenge: Honor Nails You Love

6th October 2014

12 Comments

Better late than never! I’m here at the finish line of the 31 Day Challenge and amazingly only a few days late. For the very final day of the challenge (oh god, it feels so good to say that!), I have to Honour Nails I ♥ so I’ve selected a design by one of my favourite nail artists – Paulina’s Passions. Paulina was actually inspired by Very Emily – another one of my favourite nail ladies so this mani has given me the chance to pay tribute to two talented artists that I admire!

As you may know, I’m in the running for the Best Established Beauty Blog award at the Cosmo Blog Awards and the ceremony is tomorrow. I’ve had a busy evening spent packing and I’ve managed to get everything I need in to a reasonably sized duffle bag so I’m feeling like a packing pro right now! This is the third year I’ve been nominated but only the second time I’ll be going to the ceremony. Last year was amazing fun and I’m sure this year will be another night to remember. I’ll be meeting up with Lucie and Alice in London and we’ll be representing the nail blogs this year! If you want to follow any of the action, keep up with me on Twitter and Instagram.

For this nail art, I put down my base colours: Barry M White, Essie Go Ginza and Barry M Majesty.

For the patterned nails, I used striping tape to mark off where I wanted the white to show through. I created a textured saran wrap pattern over the top using Nicole by OPI LeaPink for Joy, Sally Hansen Himalayan Blue and Essie Go Ginza and removed the striping tape immediately. There’s a tutorial for the textured saran wrap technique here.

It’s all topped off with two coats of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Nail Art, Uncategorised

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by a Movie

23rd September 2014

9 Comments

I was grocery shopping on the weekend when I saw a real-life Herbie in the car park. I knew then and there that I would have to do some nail art dedicated to the famous Bug and luckily for me, it fits in perfectly with today’s prompt – Inspired by a Movie. There’s quite a selection of Herbie movies to choose from and it’s been a very long time since I saw one. I mostly remember watching the TV series in the middle of the day on the weekends as a kid and wanting a Beetle so badly!

For the nail art, I used a base of Sally Hansen Ion then a quick coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl to make it dry swiftly.

Next, I did the racing stripes using striping tape for the red and blue, then filling in the middle with a white striper polish. The red polish is NYC Rooftop Party Berry and the blue is NYC Hudson Breeze.

For the ’53’, I painted on the white circle using the polish from my white striper and added the black details with a black liner.

It’s all finished with another coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl.

31 Day Challenge, Nail Art, Uncategorised

31 Day Challenge: Geometric

17th September 2014

5 Comments

Art Deco Striping Nail Art // The Nailasaurus

Let’s revisit that old favourite – striping tape – for today’s nail art. Day 16 of the challenge calls for geometric nails so I knew I wanted to do something in an art deco style. You wouldn’t normally expect to see an art deco design in bright blue and green hues but I like that it’s different. Black and gold will never get old, but sometimes it’s good to mix things up a bit. I kept the design nice simple instead of attempting to add more lines at the risk of going overboard and/or ruining the overall look.

I used Rimmel Keep Calm & Play as my base colour with a thin coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl to make it dry quickly.

Next, I placed striping tape with a pair of tweezers where I wanted the green to show through.

I painted over the tape using Barry M Malibu, then immediately removed the tape using the tweezers.

It’s finished off with two coats of Glisten & Glow HK Girl to smooth everything over.

Geometric Striping Nail Art // The Nailasaurus