Welcome to the 5th Mani in my Rockabilly Luau Theme Week!
I was contacted by Rockabilly Luau asking if I could come up with some Luau themed nails they could show the ladies attending the event as inspiration. I was so excited I decided to dedicate an entire week (or more) to it!
Most of the manicures you will see for this theme will include tutorials, I imagine a lot of people viewing these won't be familiar with some terms and techniques, so I am going to try and break it down as best as I can for everyone, and not just my regular readers.
To see all of the manicures in this theme - click here!
To see all of the manicures in this theme - click here!
So let's get started on these Vintage nails!
A vintage manicure is essentially bare nails mixed with red. A true vintage manicure is bare tips and moon with red in the rest - and it is always best suited to almond shaped or stiletto style nails.
I don't have that nail shape and I did a reverse vintage here. I also used a nude base instead of a clear polish because I have some yellowing from a previous polish and you don't need to see that!
Here is what you will be achieving:
You will want to start off with your base coat. This can be a nude or it can be clear polish.
I used XOX Betsey by Sephora by OPI. Best nude ever. 2 coats.
There are different tapes you can use for these tips. You can use the hole reinforcers (Left) for the moon and the french tip guides (right) for the tips or you can use the french tips for both top and bottom. I used french tip guides for top and bottom.
I forgot the next step and just applied my guides and painted. So sorry there aren't photos of that, but I think you can figure it out based on the below pictures. Now here you could paint the middle red to be a true vintage manicure, but I reversed it and did the moon and tips red instead.
The red is Red-ical Gypsy by Color Club.
Now, brush dipped in acetone, clean that mess up!
Top coat it - sharp!
I don't have that nail shape and I did a reverse vintage here. I also used a nude base instead of a clear polish because I have some yellowing from a previous polish and you don't need to see that!
Here is what you will be achieving:
You will want to start off with your base coat. This can be a nude or it can be clear polish.
There are different tapes you can use for these tips. You can use the hole reinforcers (Left) for the moon and the french tip guides (right) for the tips or you can use the french tips for both top and bottom. I used french tip guides for top and bottom.
The red is Red-ical Gypsy by Color Club.
Top coat it - sharp!
A helpful tip - when you use tape in a mani, use a polish that will coat in 1 coat, apply evenly and not too thick - because you need to remove that tape strip immediately and you don't want your polish laid on so thick that it starts bleeding out like a bad wound. The quicker you pull, the crisper your line will be.
This was my first Vintage mani, so my lines are a little blurry some places but overall I was really pleased with how this turned out. And also sorry about my finger tattoos, they are crunchy and healing so they look all kinds of nasty right now.
ALSO - when using acetone to clean up it will dry the crap out of your cuticles, so as you can see here, I have oil on my cuticles following my final cleanup step. I suggest oiling yours always after acetone usage, or lotion/cuticle cream after your polish has dried.
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
For more information on the Rockabilly Luau - please visit their website at rockabillyluau.com - the event is August 4, 2012 in Atlanta, GA.
Don't forget to enter the Gnarly Gnails 400 Follower Giveaway!
Ends 7.31.2012 and is open Internationally!
And also the Gnarly Gnails 500 Follower Giveaway!
Ends 9.01.2012 and is open Internationally!
