This week’s nail art technique is another simple and easy one, and that is to use scotch tape to paint anything from basic to more intricate patterns on your nails.

The idea is to paint your nails one colour, sticking your scotch tape on top of that as a ‘guide’ and to then paint the exposed part of your nail with another colour.

The trick is to let your 1st colour dry 100% before applying your tape! The last thing you want is to take the tape off, and for the polish underneath to come off with it…

Let’s look at a couple of examples to feed your idea vault 😉

Here I painted my nails white, and used some tape on 2 opposite sides of each nail to paint a checkered black and white pattern- the perfect nail art trend!

Another simple pattern, where I painted vertical sections going down the length of the nail (an interesting twist on the French / two-tone mani):

A 3rd option is to cut a thin curved section out of your tape, which you stick onto the middle of your nail, and then you paint a different colour on each side of it:

Or how about a fun diagonal line:

Then there is this idea that I haven’t tried out myself yet, but it is definitely on my to-do list:

The trick is to be creative! Use a arts & crafts scissors that cuts patterned lines or get nail polish strip designs or design our own pattern on the tape with some small nail scissors. The options are endless.. Just have fun with it!

Final tip: It is best to paint our nails one by one, removing the tape as soon as you have painted, because if you leave the polish to dry before you remove the tape, it becomes more difficult to remove neatly.

For more inspired nail art trends, check out Mariaan’s article; My Nail Art Journey

Written by: Mariaan Enslin