I love that lavender blonde...Lady Gaga Inspired Mani featuring Zoya Marley and Zoya Skye

I love that lavender blonde. The way she moves, the way she walks. I touch myself, can't get enough."- Lady Gaga in "So Happy I Could Die"

I am a serious Lady Gaga fan, but I have been particularly obsessed this past week since her new album Born This Way was released. It is truly phenomenal, and has a killer 80's vibe that I am loving. Gaga as a performance artist and fashion icon is constantly evolving. Her sound and her aesthetic undergo continuous transformation, but there is a special soft spot in my Little Monster heart for her lavender blonde days. This picture epitomizes this look, with her beige pleather bow, lavender blazer and lips, and black glasses and watch. There is something so yummy and sexy about this color palette of nude, powdery pale purple, and dashes of stark black. Here is the mani I created inspired by this look!

This is the first tape mani I have done, and I followed Jane from Nailslide's tutorial (direct link to the tutorial, called "Laser Tape Mani," is here). Jane is a tape mani genius and offered wonderful step-by-step instructions. My mani is a little rough, but I think it is respectable for a first attempt! The tape is tricky to work with, but I am sure that with practice, and more of Jane's awesome advice, I will get the swing of it.

I fist applied two coats of Zoya Sky, a pinky nude, over my base coat.

Then I cut thin strips of scotch tape, stuck them on the back of my hand once to remove the excess stickiness, and then placed them on my nail in the desired pattern.

Then I applied one thick coat of Zoya Marley, a lavender with a subtle silver finish, to my nail and immediately and carefully pulled off the tape. Marley is a divine polish with the perfect consistency, and I was happy to find that it went opaque in one quick coat for this design. I also did one accent nail in Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Black Diamond to replicate Gaga's look.