Deconstructed Patterned Mani

Lately, there has been a resurgence of what is being called "tribal" nail art. It's a beautiful technique, characterised by dividing the nail up into sections with horizontal lines and then filling in the sections with different patterns, often with a gradient background. To my mind, there is nothing 'tribal' about it, and I try to stay away from words like that, anyway.

In light of all that yammering, here is my deconstructed take on the trend.

This did take as long as it looks like it did. I started with a base of two coats of Guy Meets Gal-veston (which is actually a neon pink jelly; so, not the red that appears here!), taped off the lines, and then sponged on two coats of a gradient of Electric, Aciiied, and Green with Envy. I coated that with Seche and then went to town with a fine detail pen to get all the designs. In a way, using a pen is cheating, compared to a detail brush, but I really wanted to use small shapes. Plus, the time, effort, and necessity for a steady hand all remained the same. ;) Another coat of Seche to seal everything and it's done!

Polishes used:
OPI - Guy Meets Gal-veston
Revlon - Electric
Models Own - Aciiied
Sally Hansen - Green with Envy
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat)
striping tape
fine-point tweezers
Pigma MICRON .005 pen
makeup sponges
microscope eyes

I think I'll leave these be for a day or two before I move on to the next thing. (My left hand currently has only the lines and gradient, gotta work on that one slowly!)


J.