Independent Nails

I'm sure there was probably a quicker way to achieve this look...but doing these late last night, I took the long way, naturally. Still, I think they turned out pretty well, especially considering the number of broken short nails I have at the moment (don't know what's going on there!). They're actually much more glittery than the photos show...I just ran out of time trying to photograph them.

I started with Avon base coat, then two coats of China Glaze "Ruby Pumps". I used a Stripe Rite nail striper to divide each nail diagonally, then added the white stripes to one side of each nail (botched some of the lines by the cuticle, but it doesn't really stand out unless you're looking at a close-up photo...). I decided to do that first, so that the blue would cover any mistakes I made by going "too far" over the center line - which turned out to be a good idea.

Then I used Zoya's "Kotori" for the blue side, with the white dividing line as a guide. Two coats made for a nice opaque sparkly blue. Then I retraced the white dividing line again to cover any mistakes.

I applied a coat of Avon top coat to stick the plastic stars into, then another thick coat of the same to seal everything up. And voila, sparkly flag nails for Independence Day.

Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone!