31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day #1 - Red

UPDATE: Nails in natural lighting - looks much better!

I know it's been awhile since I last posted, but I have been gearing up for the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge! I got the idea from one of the nail blogs I follow: More Details Here! Many nail bloggers do this challenge in September, which doesn't make much sense because September only has 30 days, but that's how they do it! Here is the schedule for the challenge:

As you can see, Day #1 has the theme "Red Nails". As a start, I decided to get together all of my red nail polishes and take a look at what I have:

Here are the polishes listed out from left to right:
Ruffian Nail Laquer - Rosary
Pixi Nail Polish - No. 18 Red Shimmer
Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glossy Nail Color - Lingering Spice
Nicole by O.P.I. - Challenge Red-y
Klean Color - Red
Sephora Lacquer Nail Polish - Cherry Popsicle
Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glossy Nail Color - Sangria
Sinful Colors - Decadent
E.L.F. - Blushing Bombshell

I decided to choose two reds with different tones with some negative space (my natural nail) between. I chose the Nicole by O.P.I, which is more of a blue-based true red, and the Covergirl Outlast in Sangria, which is more orange-leaning. I decided to use Seche Clear as a base since I didn't want anything altering my natural nail color. For a nice shiny finish, I picked Seche Vite for my top coat. My additional tool was striping tape.

I decided to do a triangle starting at the base of the nail and peaking near the center of my nail. After one coat of Seche Clear, I cut a bunch of the white striping tape and placed them in the triangle shape two strips of tape wide.

I used the Covergirl Outlast on the lower part of my nail and the Nicole by O.P.I. on the upper part. Both of them were opaque with one coat, which is important with this technique. I worked on one nail at a time, applying each color and removing the tape almost immediately. The Nicole by O.P.I. dries very quickly, so it was important to work fast. It was very difficult to be neat and paint in such tiny areas, so the nails looked very messy pre-cleanup.

I used a small nail art brush dipped in acetone to clean up around the edges of the nail as best as I could. Here is the final product!

I think the colors look less similar in person, so I will try to snap a picture in natural light and update tomorrow. Either way, tune in to see tomorrow's look: Orange!