Stripes and Dots

*The products in this post were purchased with my own money.

Today's mani came to me in a dream. No, seriously, I woke up with the idea so I must have dreamed it. And it looks really awesome in my opinion.

What do you think? I'm reminded slightly of Doctor Who Dalek. The stripes on the side don't fit a Dalek, but the resemblance is there.

I started with two coats of OPI Strawberry Margarita from the OPI Best of the Best mini collection. Strawberry Margarita is originally from the Beach Party Collection, and I can see why. It's such a yummy bright pink — perfect for the beach.

I used tape to create the thin lines up and down on either side and filled them in with Petites Black. Then I used a nail art brush to create the thicker stripes across. You could also do this with tape, but I found it faster, if less neat and precise, to freehand them.

I added a coat of Seche Vite and thought it looked bare. It needed something, so I dug out my Born Pretty Store studs. I vowed to use these more often and this was the perfect opportunity. I decided on the black studs. I've never found the perfect mani for these so I've never used them before! Exciting!!

The best way I've found to use these types of studs is to lay them on your nail over dry polish first so you can get the perfect spacing and positioning. Then pick them up one by one with tweezers and lightly dip the bottom in clear polish and set them back down. It gives you more leeway as you can decide you don't like the design and move them around. You can't do this if you just pick them up and slap them on wet polish. There's no changing your mind after that! I really hope this tip helps someone. :)

*The products in this post were purchased with my own money.