Inspired by Robin Moses - 80's Funky French

I've got another Robin Moses inspired look to share with you on the blog today. While this isn't my best work or something that I'm particularly proud of I think it's important to share it. It's important to me because I want to inspire others to try nail art, I want people to see that even though I've been at this for a few years now I still create manicures that aren't perfect and am always learning. I might be getting really good at stamping, or watermarbling but a technique that I consistently come up a bit short on is my freehand painting. And that's what you'll see in this 80's themed funky french manicure.

Now normally I would use a polish that looked like my natural nail color as a base but this time around I skipped that step. Thankfully it worked out alright, it seems my base coat is doing a great job of keeping my nails stain free. For the "french tip" I used Sally Hansen Black Out in a diagonal pattern. While I'm a fan of the traditional French manicure I like to put my own twist on it from time to time.

The Not Really Neons Collection from Polish 'M came in handy for the lines. I used Harlequin (green) Royal (blue) Tangelo (orange) and Rosé (pink) I should have used Lemonade for the yellow but I wasn't sure it would show up so I went with an acrylic paint instead. I topped everything off with a glossy top coat.

I do like how this turned out, I need to work on my angles and painting straight lines. Which is what I meant earlier when I said my freehand skills come up just a bit short. But that doesn't stop me from trying, in fact, it makes me want to do more so that I can get better.

After looking at this mani for a bit in a glossy state I decided to see what it would look like matte.

I used the matte top coat from Pure Ice just to see how well it worked and I have to say I'm pleased with the results.

While I love my indie polishes, we all have a budget and mine is a bit tighter than most plus I like to be able to run out and get a product if I'm in a crunch, so I'm always on the lookout for less expensive alternatives from brick and mortar stores to use. My favorite matte topcoat is Matterial Girl from Blush Lacquer because it gives a true matte look instead of the semi-matte looks you can get from other top coats. The Pure Ice matte top coat also gives a true matte appearance.

Which look do you like better the glossy or matte? Do you have a technique that you struggle with a bit? Let me know in the comments and as always Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!