Nail Art Wednesday: Red and Gold Ruffian Nails

I'm spoiling you this week. You get not one, but two nail art posts to celebrate the year of the dragon! This was supposed to be the mani I'd be sporting while reveling in festivities and stuffing my face silly with abalone, lobster and char siu (barbeque pork). I did a dry run (which is what you'll see in the next few photos) but realized it didn't quite have the Asian feel I wanted it to have. So it was back to the drawing board for me. Now, I'm not one to waste photographed manis (and Hammie insisted I honor the promise of nail art on Wednesdays) so here you go, my attempt at a reverse french; otherwise known as a ruffian manicure:

Red and gold had the makings of a great Chinese New Year mani!

What I Used:
Gold: Orly Luxe
Red: Color Club Red-ical Gypsy

How I Did It:

With a steady hand, this is really easy to do. You might have to do touch ups to make sure your half moon is nice and crisp (which you probably won't need to do if you're using the tape/sticker option) but that's pretty much it for the hard part. I like the idea of this reverse french mani but I can't get over how..wide it made my nails look. Not a big fan of that. I might sport this design again but lean more towards the slim silhouette version that Jin Soon Choi created for a Prabal Gurung Spring 2012 runway collection.

I've only just realized how similar Red-ical Gypsy looks to Scarlet!

 I don't own much yellow gold as it clashes with my skin tone so we'll make do with crystal and pearls.

Hmm. Flowers and jewelry. Happy (early) Valentine's..?

 Fun fact: this fabric rose once adorned both my wedding dresses.
(Yes, I married the same guy both times. :P)

Hammie says: Don't you wonder why they call it a ruffian manicure? I looked in the dictionary and it said that ruffians are essentially thugs or gangsters. I can't say I've seen anyone in those gangster flicks sporting manis of any kind so I'm completely befuddled. Have you sported this ruffian manicure? Or do you prefer the slim silhouette?