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Getting Nauti with Maybelline Color Show Summer 2013 Nail Polish

This weekend I’m celebrating my birthday in usual fashion, with my family, on their sailboat at my favorite place in Ohio, Put-In-Bay. It’s a tradition that started in my early 20s and, weather be damned, we have gone every year since. Yes, I realize it’s kind of juvenile to make such a big deal about my birthday in my mid (late) 30s but, being an only child, my parents make a big deal of it so, who am I to say no?

maybelline-color-show-summer-2013-nail-polish

Maybelline Color Show Summer 2013

Affiliate Link|Press Sample

In keeping with the nautical theme of the weekend, I created a nauti nail art manicure using the appropriately water-themed summer nail polish collection from Maybelline Color Show with a punch of red from Essie.

In creating my nauti nails I knew I wanted to wear horizontal stripes and that I wanted to incorporate multiple shades of blue. A striping tape manicure seemed the logical choice. My debate was weather to make the base colors all different and polish over in the same, pale grey shade, or vice versa. Tip: Experiment with your ideas on nail art wheels before executing. Saves you a lot of time.

I ended up polishing all my nails with a base of Maybelline Bare Escape, a cool pale grey creme. It’s a little thick and streaky so I wouldn’t wear it on its own but for this purpose it worked well. It dried fast, which is key to a tape manicure.

Next, I cut 32 strips of thin striping tape from Amazon and placed them on my nails in a vertical pattern. Then I polished each digit with a different shade of blue. I used Maybelline Midnight Swim (navy creme), Maybelline Azure Seas (bold blue creme), Maybelline Shocking Seas (cyan creme), and Maybelline Turquoise Paradise (aqua creme) pulling up the tape as I finished each nail.

As a sort of anti-accent accent nail, I used a rich red creme, Essie Hip-anema, on my ring fingers with a coat of Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Bow over top.

Application tips: 1) Place all the tape before you polish. 2) Use tweezers to place the tape on the nail 3) Start the tape flat on the nail at the edge, only leaving excess hanging on one side. 4) Pull up the tape with the tweezers. 5) Wait 10-15 minutes before applying top coat to avoid blurring the lines.

Not So Pro Tip: Don’t use hot pink colored striping tape. It bleeds, as evidenced below.

Maybelline Color Show Summer 2013 Nautical Strip Nail Art

Nautical Stripe Nail Art

Nauti Stripe Nail Art using Maybelline Color Show Summer 2013

Nauti Stripe Nail Art

Nautical Stripe Nail Art Manicure using Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish

The Maybelline Color Show summer edition nail polishes are limited edition and available now at drugstores nationwide. Maybelline Shocking Seas and Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow are both core colors and Essie Hip-anema is part of the spring Madison Ave-hue collection available at salons and mass retailers nationwide. Maybelline Color Show nail polish retails for $3.99/ea.

Do you like my nauti nail art? Do you have any striping nail art tips to share? Tell me I’m not alone in making my birthday a weekend extravaganza?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann, Essie and Maybelline. Affiliate links appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

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There Are 17 Brilliant Comments

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  1. Essie Rae says:

    Love it! And Happy Birthday to you!

  2. NailPolishFan says:

    I’ve typed this before and I’ll type it again you are really good at nail art; this must have taken some time. Do you think I could use regular scotch tape in order to create strips?

    • Michelle says:

      You’re too kind, thank you. You could absolutely use scotch tape. I just like my strips to be consistent in width and I find it hard to do that with scotch tape. I’m not great at cutting in a straight line.

  3. F.A.Ellis says:

    Cute nail design,and I don’t think it’s a bit juvenile to celebrate your birthday.#JMO

  4. Cristina says:

    So pretty! haven’t seen this in my local drugstores. Shocking Seas looks really pretty

  5. Danii says:

    Do you mean horizontal?XD You say a vertical pattern but on the nails it’s horizontal! Lovely manicure just the same. Mine aren’t quite long enough to do this and have it look pretty.

  6. Michy says:

    That turned out very cute. I’ve heard Put-In-Bay is really gorgeous. Have a great birthday!

  7. Theresa says:

    Happy Birthday! Love the nautical look.

  8. Jacquelyn says:

    Love your nautical nail art; the different shades of blue and the use of grey instead of stark white, and the not-flag-red of ur accent. It all just goes..
    If I had parents (and a sail boat) with whom I could celebrate my BD , I would so be there! and tho December, not May, I would not care…
    Happy Birthday, have a wonderful weekend, and remember to count your blessings..

  9. Annette says:

    You are not alone in your birthday extravaganza. I’ll be mid 30 this year and I would make my birthday a week long party if I could!

  10. Mary Jones says:

    Love the striping. I may try to make forays into dyi nail art this summer. Your blog has been helping feed my polish addiction :) and I need to so something creative.

    No you are not alone in wanting to have a weekend birthday extravaganza or even a “ganza”. My next birthday will be over a holiday weekend, it is a milestone and I am hoping to celebrate it back home in the Buckeye state.

  11. N'awlinsDarlin' says:

    Adorable! I need navy and white striped nails nowww! I love anything nautical.

    Girl, birthdays are for celebrating – don’t feel silly! You never know when the unpleasant things in life are going to sneak up on you, so you should always, always celebrate the wonderful things. I wish I had a family that made a big deal out of mine, no matter how old – party on! Hope you had a great time!

  12. Erin Fox says:

    I love the stripes. Was it difficult to get the stripping tape straight? I am totally going to try this later this week.

  13. Henna says:

    Hey Michelle,

    hadn’t checked out the blog in a while, but love all the nail art that you’re doing! So inspiring! It definitely leaves me wanting to get some of that striping tape.

    Take care,
    Henna

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