Nail of the week: Ruby Red French Manicure

Im back this week with another Tartofraises's inspired design. I love the drama and elegance of this manicure with hand painted embellishments. To begin this design I applied two thin coats of "sheer nude" by Orly. This has definitely been one of my current favorites and I have pretty much worn it continuously since I purchased it a few weeks ago. The best thing about this fleshy nude is the formulation. The majority of nudes in my experience tend to apply so streaky on the nail that you have to apply at least 3-4 coats in order to achieve full opacity. But this lovely Orly shade needs just two thin coats to apply totally opaque and streak free. The only downside is it is on the thicker side so use a light hand when applying.Click here to purchase.

I applied the french manicure with my all time favorite red. Essie "lollipop" which is a bright fire engine movie star red. This polish ( as with most Essie polishes) applies like a dream and is totally opaque in two coats. Essie is my favorite brand because of the smooth, thin (but not watery) formula that self levels on the nail and also because of its thin brush that allows you to paint the polish precisely and accurately on the nail. I wish you could get Essie in Egypt!! :( click here to purchase this color.

I applied topcoat and added a 3 mm size ruby red rhinestone. I buy all my nail art supplies on Ebay quite cheaply (usually from china or hong kong) Some of you might hesitate ordering from an overseas seller but ive NEVER had a problem.
click here to purchase nail art rhinestone wheel

I applied one thin coat of another nail polish that has been my go to recently, "night in vegas" by Essence, which is an exact dupe of Essie Shine of the times. Im almost out of this stuff. Sad!!

For the hand painted accents I used white water based acrylic paint and a small size dotting tool. Since some of the details are quite small and precisely painted I used a few drops of water to thin down the paint to a water consistency so I could achieve thinner lines.

I finished up by adding a thick coat of topcoat to seal in and protect my design. I hope you enjoyed this week's nail art design. Thanks for reading!!