March 27th, 2012
Rainbow French Tipped Manicure
I’ve been really wanting to give myself rainbow nails lately, but I wasn’t in the mood for something full on neon and crazy. On account of me having a lot of that going on with my neon red hair & tattoos. I thought the perfect solution would be a hint of rainbow by giving a french manicure a little more personality.
This uses an easy method that anyone can make look beautiful, it requires no freehand painting and gives a cute, colorful look that’s not too crazy to wear to work. It can be a tiny reminder of your creative heart whenever you type ;)
Step One: Paint a neutral colour as your base coat & wait until it’s completely dry so your hard work will pay off!
Step Two: Cut a small section of scotch tape or washi tape so it has a semi-circle bend to the edge.
Step Three: Apply to the nail, leaving a small section of the tip exposed. Repeat steps two & three for one hand.
Step Four: Paint your nail tips every colour of the rainbow
Step Five: Carefully peel back the tape when you’ve finished painting. Apply a top coat after the tips are dry to the touch.
Then enjoy your work!
I realized that I didn’t have pinks or reds when I was gathering my colours, so mine isn’t as rainbow-y as it could be, but I have that taken care of now and will be re-doing the manicure later this week. I think I need to do a CMYK version next…
Yes, these are so pretty and dainty! Love it!
I love this idea. Seriously. You are too cute!
Side note: I miss you.
SO pretty! I love painting my nails and love fresh new ideas. Washi tape is great to use for nail design!
Absolutely! I am in love with that ring I’d been searching for one similar but hadn’t had any luck! And 6 1/2 to 7 is my size perfectly!
Loving the idea of passing it on. Keep in touch if you have another made, good luck! :)
I need to try this. thanks!
I have short squareish shaped nails that i usually keep pretty short so I wonder if this would look good.
That’s very similar to mine- I think it could be a good experiment :)
I need to try this.
I have short squareish shaped nails that i usually keep pretty short so I wonder if this would look good.
I need to try this once I let my nails grow out a little longer..
P.S I am in love with that gold ring! Where did you find it?
I wish I could give you details, if only for my own sake! I bought it 7+ years ago at a tiny shop in Winnipeg, and it’s my perfect ring- except it’s a little too wide in one spot that makes it uncomfortable for me to wear for long periods. I keep trying to find one I like better, and I’ve even tried to find out who made it (the shop has no idea & it has no marks!) so I’m looking into have it re-made in gold – with that slight adjustment – so I can wear it comfortably forever.
If I get that done this summer (it’s not a sure thing) I would be happy to mail it to you. It’s adjustable and fits a Size 6 or 7 figer well, and has brought me much more happiness than I thought it would when I bought it. If that’s approx. your finger size I’d love to pass it on if you’d be willing to pay it forward to someone else once you’re done with it :)
This is the coolest! Im gonna try this on my toes!
Oooh, love this idea! Thanks so much for the tips. I might need a few more colors before I can try this, but I’d like to! <3
So so cute!! I painted my nails the other day in a new color called “Cloud,” which I swore was gray, but it’s actually purple! Oh well, still cute!
ACK! I am sooo doing this!! Too cute & relatively goof proof– thank you!
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Your new hair color is just perfect! Wish I could be that bold to do something like that :) You look great, and I love these rainbow french tipped nails! I’m gonna have to try this with my best friend! We love painting our nails together.
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This is such a good idea! I always want fun nails but don’t quite feel brave enough to experiment with the whole nail- now I can play with all the colours in my nail polish collection and not feel too wacky. Thanks for the idea!
So cute!! I love that, Kyla. You are so creative!
I love doing this with a grey base too. So pretty!
Simple and beautiful. Love it!! :)
LOVE it! Looks so great!
love this! the idea is too cute!
This is beautiful. Great for these spring days.
they look so pretty! i need to try the tape trick. my right hand looks like a 3 year old did it because i’m not a lefty lol
I know how you feel! Have you seen the crazy (in a cool way) nail art blogs where women are doing amazing, intricate freehand art on both of their hands? It blows my mind! I hope they’re making a living off their blogs or have found a marketable, scalable use for those skills, because they’re super human :)
I have wanted to do this for awhile now. I’m glad you posted this! haha. I’m going to try this out tonight. Thanks Kyla!
Okay I am in love with this idea. For some reason a lot of the blues and greens that I love make my hands look wierd if I do the whole nail but I think this is a perfect, colorful, more subdued look for everyday. And now I can do more than just look at my pretty nail polish collection. : ) Now I just have to find some tape.
Love this! I learned a cool thing from The Dainty Squid not long ago, if you stick the tape to your skin first it will have a little oil on it and not stick so badly to the nail. I used to always make a big mess using this method, but since I heard that simple missing step I feel like a pro! ;p
Yes, that’s a huge help- especially if you’re using reinforcements or printer labels. I’ve found that just from handling the tape while I’m cutting it I don’t have problems with it pulling up nail polish, but that might be because I’m not as precise and efficient as you ;)
I want to do this so badly, but trust me I will mess it up big time :(
That looks like fun! Time to stock up on nail polish!
This looks great. I’m sure it’ll be cool with the pinks and reds too, but I actually really love this palette as is. A bit of a sophisticated rainbow… :)
I’m constantly trying to freehand myself a french mani, with only occasional good results. I’ve used printer labels, but why did I never think to just use scotch tape? Thank you!
Definitely going to trying this…so effective and different:)
oh, what a great idea! I have to try it too, thank you for that inspiration :oD
I love this idea! My nail polish is starting to chip off, so I think it’s perfect timing to try this out!
So cute and simple! Having that little burst of color is a wonderful idea :D
I have cmyk nails right now! Dooooo iiiiiiit. Although I like the idea of tips (I have full nails with quadrants on the thumbs & they draw too much attention. I have to explain twice a day what a nerd I am)