ThisThatBeauty Tutorial: Negative Space Manicure

Creative, colorful manicures are all the rage and according to SpaFinder’s 2013 trend report, love affair with nail art will continue through 2013. Here is a quick and easy negative space manicure that just about anyone can master. If you work in a more conservative environment where you don’t want your nails to be too flashy, stick with neutrals such as Dior Gris Trianon. However, if the sky’s the limit, you can go bolder use a jewel tone like Mineral Fusion’s Mossy Banks.

What you will need:

1. Your favorite opaque nail polish (or two)
2. Top coat
3. Nail polish remover
4. Cuticle stick with angled tip lightly wrapped in cotton.
5. Scotch tape
6. Scissors
7. Cuticle oil

Start with clean, dry nails. Ensure any hangnails or cuticles are removed. For this manicure I used nail polishes from Dior’s Spring 2013 collection, Gris Trainon, Mango and the Gel Coat.

Cut tape into pointy angled strips. Ensure each strip is long enough to cover the section of nail you want polish free (negative space) with enough tape hanging off your nails and fingers for easy removal after polish is applied.

Place the tape on the nail bed as shown above. (I didn’t want to see the space of the nail growth in the end result so I made sure the tape stopped before it got to that point.) Press tape firmly on the nail ensuring there are no spaces or air bubbles between the tape and your nail. Crease tape into the cuticles and let the tape hang off your nail bed. Move on to the next finger, with the exception of the thumb. The thumb is what will do most of the work to smooth the tape and remove the tape after the nails have been polished.

Once all eight fingers have been taped, apply a coat of your favorite polish (I used Dior Gris Trainon) just as you would for a regular manicure. Wait a few minutes then apply a second coat of polish to two nails. After you have applied the second coat of polish to the second nail, go back to the first nail and gently remove the tape from that finger. (I do this because I don’t want the polish to be too dry where I might risk pealing the polish off the entire nail when I remove the tape). Remove the tape from the second nail and repeat the process for all eight nails.

Once the tape has been removed from all eight nails, clean up your thumb and the cuticles using cuticle stick wrapped in cotton and dipped in nail polish remover. Once cuticles are clean, cut tape for the thumb. Polish top (or tip) of the thumb with your accent color, (for this I used Dior Mango). If you are only using one color then polish thumb as you did with the other nails. If you are using two colors polish the remainder of the thumb with polish you used for the other fingers, wait about a minute between first coat and second coat. About 30 seconds after applying the second coat, carefully remove the tape from thumbs. Use cuticle stick to remove any polish from the cuticle of your thumbs.

Once all the nails are dry, apply top coat to all 10 nails and allow to dry completely. Spritz cuticles with water and apply a cuticle oil. I used the LondonTown cuticle oil that is formulated to heal cracked nails and cuticles. It is also a good idea, especially in cold weather, to apply the Londontown nail cream on a daily basis to keep cuticles moisturized and healthy.

Voila! You’re done!

What do you think about this manicure? Will you try it?