Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Technicolor Nails & Tutorial (Pic Heavy)

Hey all!  I did a mani with this design as the accent finger for Polish-aholics' Monday theme mani yesterday.  A lot of people liked it and Janelle from Life. Love. Nailpolish. requested a tutorial so here it is. :)  I wasn't sure what to name this look, but one of the members said it reminded her of a technicolor version of Jem and the Holograms.  In the end I decided to call it a technicolor mani. ^^



 Here's the original look I did for Monday.  The theme was tape nail art. ^^



And now the tutorial. :)  I hope it's clear.  If there are any questions, don't be afraid to ask in the comments.  Here are the polishes I used.

L-R: China Glaze BFF, ChG First Mate, Zoya Charla, Zoya Ivanka, OPI Simply Smashing




Step 1:  Cut a piece of tape off and cut it into thin strips along the longer edge.  A variety of thicknesses will make the design look more interesting, but try to keep them all on the thin side.



Step 2:  This is one tape piece's worth.  I used about two pieces of tape for four nails.  I recommend cutting up all the tape before you start painting.  This way you don't accidentally ruin your nails with the tape.



Step 3:  For my base I used 2 coats of China Glaze BFF.  Wait for the base to dry before placing the tape.  I painted all my nails and waited about 30 mins.  The waiting time may depend on the polish you use.



Step 4:  Before placing each strip of tape down, press it against the back of your hand to get rid of some of the stickiness.  This will prevent the tape from pulling up the base color, but since these strips are thin it shouldn't be a problem.  Try to place the strips in a random design and keep them from overlapping in the same place too many times.



Step 5:  Paint ChG First Mate near the cuticle by dabbing a small amount onto the nail in a rounded shape.  Use enough polish to make the color opaque, but keep it thin or it may lift the base color off with the tape or create messy lines.



Step 6: Sponge on Zoya Charla using a generous amount where it meets First Mate and make it gradually fade out as shown in the picture.






Step 7:  Do the same with Zoya Ivanka, using a generous amount where it meets Charla then fading it out.  And again with OPI Simply Smashing.  The yellow should mix with the green and create a light green color.  As it fades out near the tip, a bit of the pink base may shine through for a hint of orange.



                                                                                                     Step 8:  Now it should look like this.  Gently pull the tape off one by one.  It may be hard to see which tape is on top.  Start by pulling up the tape covered by First Mate as much as you can, since the creme polish dries faster.  Then peel the ones layered near the top off.  Don't worry if not all the lines are crisp, since it's mostly glittery/shimmery it won't be noticeable.





Finally, seal the design with top coat.  I used Seche Vite fast drying top coat.  I originally thought top coat would dull the holo, but for this particular holo it doesn't seem so.  As you can see, the holo base is still very holo.  After repeating the above steps for each nail, the final product should look like this!


It's super sparkly and holo in the sun!  And because I took way too many pics and couldn't decide which to publish, I will now picture spam you. :P  I did cut it down a lot though.








If you love the nail art I do, please support me by voting for my nail art entry *here*!  You can vote once a day (on a 24 hour basis) so if you haven't voted today, please do!  Thank you!

I also just noticed I passed 500 followers while writing this post!!  Thank you everyone for sticking with me for this long and welcome to all my new followers! :)  I will be airing my 500 follower giveaway tomorrow and it will be international, so please drop by then as well!

And here's a pic of Max watching me take pics of my nails from the window.



Thanks for reading!

Liz

39 comments:

  1. Love this so much! Great job!!

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  2. That is gorgeous, great job and thanks for the tutorial!

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  3. Gorgeous!!!! THANK YOU for the tutorial! I'm on holiday now, and I'll probably have the time to play around a little ;) Anyways, great mani!
    And your dog is sooo cute!!!
    Hugs!!! <3

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  4. that's pretty amazing! I love the design and colors you used for this mani! can't stop looking at your pix!!

    cute puppy!!

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  5. and congrats for your 500 followers!

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  6. Really amazing design! I love everything about this mani! n_n

    And your dog is just too cute :3

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  7. Thank you Cristina! I'm glad you liked the tutorial. I'd love to see yours if you do this mani. It is a little time consuming, but fun to do. :) And I hope you're enjoying your holiday! ^^

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  8. Thank you Karine!! It looks even better in person because it's so sparkly. :) Ahhhh I can't believe you're in Korea. So jealous! Hope you're having an amazinnngg time. :D

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  9. Aw thank you Lumi! I'm glad you like it! And Max says thanks! :3

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  10. holy cow i don't think i could do this but i love it! Good job!

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  11. wow its awesome<3

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  12. Thanks for the tutorial! I'll have to try this out sometime!

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  13. so freaking amazing!!!! What a great tutorial. You have loads of pictures and I love that!

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  14. This is amazing, easily my favorite tape mani EVER!

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  15. Haha thanks! Yeah, I don't know if I'd do it on all 10 nails, but I think it's cute as an accent nail or on a few nails. :)

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  16. No problem! I'm glad you like it. :)

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  17. Thank you Amy! Ah I'm so glad you liked the tutorial and pics! I'm always worried that all the pictures look the same, and that I'm posting too many. :P

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  18. The result is amazing *.*
    You're so unhurried! I can't imagine cutting the tape, I once tried and it was a bit hard!

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  19. Absolutely stunning! I will be trying this for sure :)

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  20. This is one of the best tape nail art ive ever seen so far!!!

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  21. Thanks! And you definitely should! I'd love to see yours if you do. ^^

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  22. Thank you! What I did was stick the tape on my palm as shown above, then rest my hand against a table. Then I put the scissors against the edge of the table while cutting. This gives you a steady hand and makes it easier to cut thin strips. :)

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  23. Thank you! I'm glad you like it. :D

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  24. wow!! thanks for the idea!! by the way, i love the colors.. :)

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  25. No problem. :) And thanks! I'm glad you like it. ^^

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  26. at first when i saw your pics i said WOW that must be really hard to do .!! but now with the tutorial i might have a shot of getting it right. hahah thanks ! i'll try this & then link back to you :)

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  27. I love step by step tutorials!!! Great job! You are so talented!!!

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  28. Really amazing design! I love everything about this mani! n_n

    And your dog is just too cute :3

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  29. This is an amazing tutorial! Love the pictures. :-) It's so inspirational!

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  30. Were the polishes used on top of the pink holo polishes too? I'm LOVING this look. I want to find some nice prism/holographic colors that won't break the bank. Can you help me out with that? We're on a limited income so they can't cost $20 per bottle. LOL. I am going to start volunteering at the local nursing home and help my grandma do the residents' nails. I know one in particular that would love this sparkle and shine. Can you suggest some prism/holo colors for me, please?


    Thanks with love,
    Your newest blog follower and addict. :o)

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  31. Hi April! Thanks for following! :) The only holo polish in this mani is the pink, which is discontinued. Other holo options are the milani holos, but they're a little different since the holo is more scattered (the purple and green have the strongest holo effects). Another option is to buy Brazilian polishes, as many Brazilian brands have strong holos. You can buy them from sites like Llarowe. Check out: http://shop.llarowe.com/Jade-Holographic-Nail-Polish_c37.htm They're $10 each and you will have to pay for shipping. Nfu Oh also has nice holos: http://www.fabuloustreet.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_63 $12 with free shipping I believe.

    However... if you can wait maybe a few months? You might be able to snag holographic beauties comparable to the discontinued China Glaze OMG polishes at your local stores. Not sure how they will be priced, but I imagine it'll be less than the other options currently available (if you're looking for strong linear holos). Recent pics from Cosmoprof (a beauty convention) revealed that brands like China Glaze and Color Club will be releasing holo collections in the near future.

    A bit of a lengthy response, but I hope this helped! :)

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  32. Thank you SOOOO much!! I absolutely adore doing my nails, my mom's and my daughter's. So we're always looking for new polishes. I have got to add some holo polishes. I have several Kleancolor (Holo Bluebell, Holo Purple and Chunky Holo Black) but I want something with more a prism effect. I can't wait to see if I can find and afford the ones you mentioned above. I'll definitely be back to check your blog daily.

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