Striping tape rarely makes it on to the blog (actually, for that matter, neither does negative space); but, last night, I had a dream about a glitter gradient peeking out from underneath a black layer. I recently noticed Instagrammers sponging over striping tape and I wanted to give it a try. It took longer to build up the color but it minimized pooling under the tape.

Striping tape is so not good for the OCD part of my personality. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping the stripes straight per nail but I was re-applying tape pieces for over an hour! On top of that, it irked me the nails were not the same. I wouldn’t mind so much if each nail was different but they were supposed to be the same so in my mind it looked messy. I know I am being super picky and hard on myself but this was everything I was thinking during the process!

So, what was the take-away? This was so not RA-friendly nail art! — Thankfully, I took a lot of Vicodin for my back and I was on the full steam nail art train!

That being said, I AM PROUD OF MYSELF. Given my complete inexperience with taping this came out pretty well…I almost stopped at the glitter gradient but I decided to go whole hog. I will definitely re-visit this simple gradient when I need a more RA-friendly option.

I absolutely love love LOVE how the index finger came out. I tried to fashion the other nails after it but that did not quite happen.

What do you think of striping tape? Yay or nay? If you are a fan of the technique, does it get easier or more enjoyable?

I started with one sheer coat of Essie Mademoiselle.

I sponged Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday on the tips. Remember that time I only made a frivolous Sephora online purchase just to get hold of this 100-point perk? Yeah…don’t judge me! I evened the surface with a generous coat of Seche Vite.

I used striping tape, a makeup sponge and Wet n Wild Black Creme for the stripes.

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.