Born Pretty Store Review: Simple Striping Tape Manicure

Hi everyone! I'm running on about four hours of sleep and I don't know if I can stay up until this evening (it's about 4pm here), so I'm posting earlier than I normally do. Yeah for getting things done!

Along with the clear rhinestones that the Born Pretty Store sent me a few weeks ago (you can find that review here), they also sent me a roll of striping tape to try out. Since I had never done a striping tape manicure before, I decided to keep it simple. For my inspiration I headed over to Pshiiit blog. Camille has many beautiful designs using striping tape, and most of them are very simple, yet beautiful nonetheless.

Simple striping tape manicure

About the tape: This is a single roll of silver striping tape. It has a holographic effect, which I really like. It's about 1mm wide and you get a sizeable amount on one roll. I know you can find cheap striping tape on eBay or Amazon where you get 12 rolls of tape, but I like that you can get them individually. That way you can only buy the colours you want, or just buy one roll to try it out first.

Simple striping tape manicure

Overall, the striping tape worked well, and it does what it's supposed to do. However, since this is a new thing for me, keep in mind that I have nothing to compare it to. But I'd like to hear from you. Have you tried striping tape from different retailers? Are they generally the same in terms of quality or do you find that there's variation depending on where you buy it from?

Simple striping tape manicure

About the design: Since it's also Autism Awareness month I wanted a design that was predominantly blue. I started with three coats of Enchanted Polish Ballerina Sprinkles. It's a beautiful pale blue scattered holo with a subtle golden/peach shimmer. Unfortunately though I don't think this one is still available. I applied a coat of Seche Vite, waited for it to dry then taped off the sections where I wanted the darker blue. For that I used Lacquer Lust Pow Chica Wow Wow, a navy blue linear holo. The striping tape was applied when everything was dry. I just made sure to line up the edge of the tape on one end, then trim with small scissors on the other end. On my accent nail I used Fanchromatic Nails Broken Holo Theory, a silver holo glitter topper with micro-glitter and shards.

Simple striping tape manicure

I found the striping tape very tricky to use, and I'm hoping it will be easier with more practice. But it might be a while before I get the patience to try something like this again!

You can get this striping tape from the Born Pretty Store. Don't forget to use my coupon code MSL91 for 10% off!

What do you think of this? Do you like striping tape manicures?

*Product provided for review, all opinions are my own. See my disclosure policy for more details.*

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente and Sweet Georgia Peach

Hi everyone! For the second night in a row I'm featuring a new-to-this-blog indie brand. I first saw Lacquer Lust on Instagram and I have been following Jo and her creations for several months now. Her polishes have been in high demand, and while she creates many different types of polishes, her most popular seem to be her holos and thermal polishes (which change colour with temperature changes). Up until recently I had only been able to admire her polishes from afar since she does not ship outside the US, but I was recently able to snag a few from Shoppe Eclecticco during a launch/restock.

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente and Sweet Georgia Peach

Harlow & Co. is going to start stocking Lacquer Lust starting tomorrow with a launch scheduled for 12pm EDT (Monday March 25th). S-muave-mente will be available then along with a few others. Check out the Harlow & Co. Facebook page for more details.

S-muave-mente is a muted mauve linear holo. Don't ask me why the polish is spelled muave instead of mauve. :/ The linear holo on this one is not super strong but it's there. I photographed this polish under direct lighting hoping to capture more of the holo but it was not the most successful endeavor. I am still learning how to photograph holos under artificial light, so bear with me.

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente (direct lighting)

I love this polish because it is very work appropriate, but the holo adds something special. This is two coats and the formula was perfect. It went on very smooth and was completely self-leveling.

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente

Lacquer Lust S-muave-mente (direct lighting)

Sweet Georgia Peach is a pale muted pink with a strong gold shimmer. Check out the shimmer in the direct lighting photo! Like *wow*! This polish is very soft and feminine, and like S-muave-mente is also work appropriate but not boring. The formula on this one was also excellent, and it also went on very smooth and was completely self-leveling. I used three coats here, but you could get away with two.

Lacquer Lust Sweet Georgia Peach

Lacquer Lust Sweet Georgia Peach (direct lighting)

Lacquer Lust Sweet Georgia Peach

I'm so happy that I finally own some of Jo's polishes, and my first experience with Lacquer Lust was excellent. Both polishes are available now at Shoppe Eclecticco, and S-muave-mente will be available at Harlow & Co. tomorrow at noon. If you like holos I recommend you check out Pow Chica Wow Wow, a dark blue with a strong linear holo. They are sure to sell out fast so I recommend being at your computer at noon! If you are in the US you can buy directly from Lacquer Lust's online store, but everything is sold out at the moment. Follow Lacquer Lust on Facebook or Instagram (@lacquer_lust)

What do you think of these polishes? Do you have to wear work appropriate polishes during the week?