Summer Neons

I've been mad for neons recently and I've been looking for more ways to incorporate them in my nail art.  I'm being naughty and skipping this week's nail art challenge and instead keeping these fab nails on.

I'm so chuffed with these nails and how they look.  They've been catching my eye all weekend (and they look so summery).  I went shopping yesterday and everyone commented on them and they've kept their neatness today.  I'm sure going to kettlebells tomorrow will spoil that though.

Before I explain the look I have to apologise twice.  First - I'm sorry for the poor quality of the photo.  I took this on the bus on my iPhone on my way into town because I didn't want to varnish to chip without me getting a picture!  Secondly - my cuticles look horrific.  I lost my amazing clean up brush and I've been attempting a clean up with a second rate brush and it's just not cutting it.  I literally spent an hour and couldn't get all the bad varnish off my cuticles.  Plus they're all dry but do not fear - I invested in some Lemony Flutter while I was out and they're already looking 10 times better.

So, to get this look I use a hybrid of techniques that I have picked up from various blogs.  I used the three neon limited edition colour Barry M's - Yellow, Green and Pink.  They don't have names (at least, I don't think they do and I can't be bothered to get up off my bum to go and check).  I also used Model's Own White.

So here's the step by step:

1. Before I start, before applying any lick of paint - I cut up 40 bits of striping tape of various lengths and put them around the edge of my varnish tray.  This is so that I don't have to faff about with tacky nails.
2. I then used one coat of Opi's Nail Envy (yes! I finally got a bottle!)
3. Next came two coats of white to create a base.  Once this was dry I used one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.
4. Once this was completely bone dry, I placed the tape on the nails however I fancied.  There was no set design - I gave myself 4 bits of tape per nail and just lay them on my nails however they went.  I pressed them down and made sure they were stuck all the way to my cuticles, making sure there was a bit of tape on my finger for easy removal.
5. I then painted a stripe of each colour onto a flat edge of a make up sponge, making sure they over lapped slightly.  I dabbed this on to my thumb, building up the colour to my desired opacity.  To blend the colours a bit more, I moved the sponge up and down just ever so slightly.
6. Once I got the desired opacity, I quickly removed the tape before the paint had time to dry.  I had to work quicker because the paint dries faster due to the dapping.  I find having a pair of tweezers to hand helps with this.
7. I do this nail by nail until they're all complete. 
8. I seal these with one layer of top coat (insta-dry again) before starting to tidy up.  I usually find with a massive clean up that a shower helps to soften the varnish around my nails.
9. Once I finished tidying up I applied another layer of top coat.
10. To finish off the manicure I washed my hands then applied cuticle cream and hand cream.

This is the first attempt at doing a gradient over striping tape.  I hope to try it again soon with some brighter colours.