Sweet Valentine's Day Stripes: A Tutorial

Tips on Tuesday is back with an easy Valentine's Day nail art tutorial!

For those of you that regularly follow, you know that I am dedicated to bringing you easy nail art tips, tricks and techniques. Tonight is no different! We will be adding a small flare to a technique I already showed you in this Color Blocking Tape Mani HERE.

We are going to create the look above, similar to the color block I showed you a few months ago, but we are going to use 3 colors, instead of just 2.

Things you will need:

1. 3 Valentine's Day polishes: Think white, pink, red and mint greens! Even yellow will go nicely!

2. Tape (scotch tape or masking tape)

3. Patience

Start off by painting you accent nail with the lightest of the 3 colors you chose. My lightest shade was white, so I painted 1 coat of white onto my accent nail.

While you wait for your accent nail to dry, use one of the other 2 shades to paint 

2 coats onto the rest of your nails.

I used A England Briar Rose, a lovely deep reddish magenta.

Note: You can use 2 coats of white (or your lightest polish) on your accent nail if you want, but I wanted it to dry fast, so I only used 1 coat.

Once your accent nail is completely dry pull out 2 pieces of tape. 

Your nail must be completely dry or the tape will pull the polish up!

I like to stick the tape to the palm of my hand a few times to make it less sticky 

(and less likely to pull your polish)!

Then I covered the bottom bit and the top bit of my nail with the pieces of tape, leaving a single strip of white polish in the center.

Gently press the tape down to your nail so no polish can seep under the tape line.

I then used the second lightest shade of the 2 polishes I chose to paint in the center. I used Zoya Sweet a cute bubblegum pink. I painted onto the tape a bit to make sure I covered the enter center section.

I used just one coat for full coverage. Don't put it on too thick, because you want it to dry in a reasonable amount of time.

After painting on your pink stripe, immediately (but carefully!!) peel back each piece of tape. Do this slowly to create clean, even lines.

Let the pink polish dry completely. I told you you would need some patience! 

Read some articles on this website here while you wait! :)

You are totally welcome to stop after this step, because this is a super cute look!!

You need to wait until the pink is completely dry, because we will be covering that portion with the tape to paint the third stripe. If you feel like your hands are steady enough, feel free to skip this tape step and freehand the last stripe!

I lined up a piece of tape with the very top edge of the pink stripe as shown. Gently press the tape to your nail to seal the edge to create a clean line.

Use the darkest shade of polish you have left to create the last stripe. I used AEngland Briar Rose again for the tip.

I painted just a bit onto the tape to make sure I covered the whole nail tip. 

Slowly peel the tape off.

And Viola! This look definitely takes a little bit more time than you might be used to, because you have to wait before you can tape.

I think the result is really cute festive nails! I bet your date will be impressed! 

Or in my case, my coworkers & friends! ;)

Here is a view of the finished result!

If you like double accent nails (like me) you can add a small stripe onto your pointer or middle finger like I did here:

Just a little something extra!

What do you think of this look? What color combination will you use?

Try this look out and tag me on IG @possiblychrista I want to see your recreations!

Talk to you soon,

Christa