I really wish I could remember how I discovered this little gem of “nailspiration”.  I was super juiced when I discovered it, a little bummed to discover their only location is in New York, and pretty confident in knowing

this is the ONLY place that would ever be allowed to do my nails.  I’ll get a pedicure every blue moon, but manicures are a no because they never file my nails the way I like them, when I do my nails they last way longer, and a list of other things that just aren’t important to discuss at the moment.  Anyway, back to my discovery: PAINT. BOX. NAILS.

Paint Box Nails is a nail studio in NYC.  Their website is amazing and so is there blog.  Check them out here and obsess over them like I do.  Their signature is launching “seasonal collections of thoughtfully edited nail designs”, and trust me they’re so good!  What I love about their nail designs is they’re so simple, yet creative, definitely different, and pack a lot of punch for their simplicity.  I work in the non-profit world so I like my manicures to reflect my personality yet still maintain some type of professionalism in the work place.  Paint Box Nails captures this perfectly for me.  But since I don’t live in New York, I’m happy that some of their nail designs are super easy to recreate.  I’m taking absolutely NO credit for this nail design, and owe it all to Paint Box Nails.  If you’re in NYC go check them out!

For this manicure all you need is the color of your choice, nail tape, and some scissors.

Step 1 is always paint your base coat then top coat for longer wear!

Step 2: Take your nail tape and cut 20 small strips, but make sure they’re long enough so that you have enough tape to be able to pull it off once your nail is slightly dry.  Once your tape is cut, place them on your finger nail as pictured below.  Doing one hand at a time is easiest to avoid the tape getting stuck to one another.

Step 3: Paint your nail, and again do one hand at a time.  Definitely 2 coats and that’s it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I would not recommend using a color for this where you need more than 2 coats.  That makes the drying time longer AND when you pull off the tape it doesn’t come out right.  Any clean line that was supposed to happen, doesn’t happen.

Step 4: After a few minutes pull off the nail tape.  It’s better to pull off the tape when the nail is partially dry instead of fully dry.  When pulling of the tape do it slowly and be very careful.

Step 5: Paint on your top coat and clean the edges of your nail with your nail polish remover and eyeliner brush.  Voila, you’re all done!

This manicure is so easy.  Definitely one of my favorites to recreate.

XO,

Melly