Monkey See, Monkey (try to) Do

Is it just me, or is nail art huge nowadays? It seems to be everywhere I look. When I say nail art, I am referring to multicolour nails, intricate patterns on nails, embellishments creating a 3D nail - basically anything other than one solid colour.

On TV the other day, I saw a beauty segment where the host went to a nail salon and got a different design on each nail. One nail had very tiny beads glued to it, another had a black and white check pattern, and so on. Although I wasn't necessarily taken with any of her designs, I did start to think a little more about trying something myself. Enter: Pinterest. I saw a cute design that involved a neutral base and a glitter overlay. I figured something simple like that would be a good start for me (I like colours but didn't want to start with anything crazy).

The inspiration on the left and my handiwork on the right.

For my base I used the OPI colour At First Sight. I applied my usual two coats and let it dry fully (like 12 hours). Then I took a piece of regular tape and laid it diagonally across my nail, choosing to cover the cuticle as was done in the picture I was working from. I then did two coats on the exposed area, one after the other, on each nail and removed the tape pretty much right away. I worried if I let it dry too much the tape would take some of the polish with it. I did a quick clear coat over the whole nail and - VOILA!

Overall I'm quite happy with the result! A very subtle first foray into the world of nail art. Have you tried any designs or embellishments on your nails?