Flower Patterned Nails

Why we love these:

These nails are super simple, and classic! They don't require a high skill level or any specific tools, and the colours can be varied endlessly. For a simple, chic design that is easy to paint and wear - this is the answer!

What you need:

• Black Polish (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• White Polish (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Yellow Polish (we used Misa Hanging With the Girls, buy it here)
• Silver Glitter Polish (we used China Glaze Glistening Snow, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with a base coat.
2. Paint two coats of a high shine black polish (navy blue works well too!) on each nail.
3. Using the brush attached to your white nail polish lid (no separate brush required, although it may be helpful for smaller flowers) make 5 dots in a circle, and drag inward to the centre of your circle. Repeat these circles on each as many times as you can fit - we averaged about 3 flowers a nail. For a less uniform look, vary sizes of each circle. 
4. On top of the white areas, use a sliver/white glitter. This step can be omitted for a more plain floral pattern.
5. Using yellow polish, make a small dot in the center of your white 'petals', completing your flowers.
6.  After ensuring your nails are dry, paint a layer of top coat (dont miss your tips!) and allow your nails to fully dry!

Striped Pink Ombre Nails

Completed Striped Ombre Nails.

Why we love them:

What girl doesn't love pink? Scratch that, what girl doesn't love every shade of her favourite colour? These nails can be reproduced with any colour, as well as with vertical or diagonal stripes, instead of horizontal. With so many different options, these nails are completely customizable... and we love being unique! These beauties look good with a little black dress and heels in the same shade!

What you need:

• 5+ shades of any one colour, organized by shade
• Scotch Tape
• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Place the tape very close to the base of the nail but leave room for one colour. Paint with the darkest shade.
3. Repeating that step slowly moving the tape farther down the nail and changing the colour for each stripe. Try to keep the space between your last colour and the tape constant, for a cleaner look!
4. Once the whole nail is completed, fix up any mistakes with a nail art brush.
5. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Close-up striped pink ombre nails.

Saran Wrap Criss Cross Nails

The completed nails.

Why we love them:

We love the look of the criss cross pattern reversed on the accent nail! Also, we love using items that are already around our house to make cool nail designs, as opposed to shopping for costly items at a beauty supply store. This design looks much more difficult than it is, and will surely impress all your friends!

What you need:

• Light Blue (we used China Glaze Kinetic Candy, buy it here)
• Pink (we used Essie Fiesta, buy it here)
• Dark Blue (we used Nails Inc. Baker Street, buy it here)
• Tape
• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails light blue. Two coats may be required.
3. Cut pieces of tape and place them on the nails like the picture below -Step 1 (for the accent nail the tape is cut in triangles instead of strips). Make sure the tape has no spaces between the polish and the tape other wise you won't get your desired straight line once the other paint is on and you have peeled off your tape. 
4. Paint a nail pink, using the saran wrap roll it up into a circle and blot the pink right after you paint it creating this tie-dye look, repeat with all nails (Picture -Step 2).
5. Paint a nail blue, using the saran wrap roll it up into a circle and blot the blue right after you paint it creating this tie-dye look, repeat with all nails and make sure you can see the pink more blotting may be required (Picture -Step 2).
6. Make sure the polish is dry before removing your tape.
7. Fix up any mistakes with a nail art brush using the light blue for straight edges.
8. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Step 1

Step 2

Nautical Heart Nails

Completed Nautical Heart Nails.

Why we love them:

We love the look of these striped heart nails! If you like the look of striped nails why not play with it and add this fun little heart in the corner? :)

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Red (we used Nails Inc. The Hurlingham, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails white. Two coats may be required.
3. With the nail art brush, paint two or three thick black lines depending on how long your nail is. Two coats may be required.
4. With the Dotter Pen, dot and shape a red heart on the bottom corner of your nail, left or right is up to you (opposite on either hand looks nice).
5. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Single Nautical Heart Nail.

Messy Ombre Aztec Nails

Beginning messy ombre only.

Finishing result with aztec.

Why we love them:

We cannot get enough of aztec nail art! We wanted to play around with messy ombre and this design is a way to show off your ombre nails that are shown with an aztec pattern. :)

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Dark Blue (we used Nails Inc. Baker Street, buy it here)
• Medium Blue (we used ACO True Blue, view it here)
• Light Green (we used ACO Mint Cream, view it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails light green. Two coats may be required.
3. Paint the medium blue, dark blue, and white in stripes across your nail using a normal nail polish brush.
4. With the nail art brush, create an ombre or messy look by brushing the colours together that are beside each other like the picture below.
5. With the dotter pen and nail art brush, paint on your white aztec design like the picture below or however you want to! Be creative!
6. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

Close-up messy ombre Nail.

Close-up Tie-dye Aztec completed.

Black on Black Cheetah Nails

The completed Black on Black Nails.

Why we love them:

You may or may not be able to see the cheetah pattern in the picture but we love the textured look and having shiny detail that is the same colour as the matte background. This is a fun and cool twist if you usually wear black nails or if you just want to try a subtle cheetah pattern on your nails.

What you need:

• Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Base Coat (we used Essie, base coat here)
• Matte Top Coat (we used Nails Inc.Westminster Bridge, top coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails black. Two coats may be required.
3. Apply the matte top coat to all nails.
4. Once the nails are somewhat dry, using the dotter pen shape and create your cheetah pattern. 
5. Top coat is not to be used with this nail art design otherwise the matte black background or the cheetah would be ruined whether you would use a matte or normal top coat, so just let dry!

Another completed look of the Black on Black Nails.

Fuzzy Nails

Completed fuzzy nail.

Why we love them:

We cannot get enough of experimenting with texture on our nails! Boring one colour nails are a thing of the past and these nails are inventive and fresh! We love the light pink colour, but this would also look great in any other other pastels available with the set we purchased. 

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• Pink Polish (we used Essie Cascade Cool buy it here)
• Pink Fuzz (we used Recollections Rose, available at Michael's - see picture below)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails in one coat of the light pink colour. Let this dry fully so your nails do not damage easily after the generous second coat goes on.
3. Quickly, paint one nail in a generous coat of the pink colour, then lightly pour the pink fuzz over until your nail is covered. It is helpful to have something to catch extra fuzz, so you can reuse it!
4. One by one, complete your other nails using the same technique.
5. Paint top coat along the tip of your nail, but not on top of the nail as this will ruin the effect!

Single close-up on fuzzy nail.

Recollections Pink (Blush) Fuzz.

Glam Nails

The completed Glam Nails.

Why we love them:

These nails incorporate everything we love about nail art! The zig zag accent nail adds a funky twist to the nude and glitter trend - and of course we always love a full glitter nail! The matte top coat adds an effect we love, but this design can also be achieved with a regular top coat.

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Nude (we used Nails Inc. Porchester Square, buy it here)
• Glitter (we used Nails Inc. Sloane Square, buy it here)
• Base Coat (we used Essie, base coat here)
• Matte Top Coat (we used Nails Inc.Westminster Bridge, buy it here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint your thumb with glitter polish, and your index, middle, and pinky fingers with nude polish. Paint your ring finger with white polish. Two coats may be required.
3. With the nail art brush, start by painting two full triangles in black polish (starting the bottoms at the middle of your nail) on the tips of your nails. Add half triangles on the edges if there is still room left over.
4. With the nail art brush again, continue the zig zag about a 1/3 cm above the top of the black triangles. Continue this pattern until you reach the cuticle of your nail.
5. Paint on the matte top coat after ensuring your nails are dry (so there is no running!), and allow to dry! Note: Two coats of matte top coat both lasts longer, and makes a more matte effect on your nails!

Sparkle accent nail.

Black and white missoni accent nail.

Strawberry Nails

The completed Strawberry Nails.

Why we love them:

We love art inspired by nature - and also, we love strawberries! These nails are summertime fresh and look good enough to eat. These nails also look good in reverse (with the green near your cuticles! Try them out and let us know how they turn out!

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Red (we used Nails Inc. The Hurlingham, buy it here)
• Green (we used China Glaze Starboard, view it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails with your red colour. Two coats may be required.
3. With the Nail Art brush, paint green zig zag edge on the tips of your nail. Use triangles of different sizes in order to look more like the leaves on top of a strawberry.
4. With the smaller end of your Dotter Pen, randomly dot small white dots in the leftover red space of your nails. Allow this to dry fully before starting the next step.
5. With the smaller end of your Dotter Pen again, tilt your Dotter Pen so that you have a smaller dot surface (so some white will still show through) and dot on top of every white dot on your nails.
6. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry so there is no runs in your polish, and allow to dry!

Close-up on Strawberry Nail.

Drip Nails

The completed Drip Nails.

Why we love it:

These nails give the impression that you just dripped nail polish on to your tips, and let it run down your nails (without the mess!). We love the look of these nails in light and dark shades of the same colour, as well as with neon drips over a nude background - a trend we love for this summer. Black on white or grey also has a cool look to it! Try it out and send us a picture! 

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Tool (buy it in a set here)
• Dark Blue (we used Nails Inc. Baker Street, buy it here)
• Light Blue (we used China Glaze Kinetic Candy, buy it here)
• Medium Blue (we used OPI No Room for the Blues, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails the lighter blue shade. Two coats may be required.
3. Paint a dark blue tip on your nails - don't worry if it is messy at this point!
4. With the Dotter tool, make 2-4 dots (depending on how big your nails are) at various heights between the middle of your nail, and the tip.
5. With the Nail Art brush, use the darker blue paint to connect the darker tip to your dark blue dots. making what looks like drips down the tips of your nails.
6. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry so there is no runs in the polish, and allow to dry!

Drip Nail close-up.

Burberry Nails

Full Burberry tape nails.

Why we love these nails:

These nails mirror the iconic pattern that is burberry. These nails look great as an accent nail or a full set, and are classy enough to wear everyday, or out at night! These are definitely a knailart favourite!

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used M.A.C. Vestral White, no longer sold)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Nude (we used Nails Inc. Basil Street, buy it here)
• Maroon (we used Chanel 18 Rouge Noir, view it here)
• Scotch Tape (available at craft stores or dollar stores)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Paint all nails nude. Two coats may be required. Allow to dry.
3. Paint nail polish onto long strips of tape.
4. Cut the tape into the desired widths.
5. Apply white strips, then black, and then red to all nails. Cut off the ends that stick out past the nail. Feel free to change where the whites meet to change up each nail a little bit!
6. Touch anything up with your nail art brush (although the lines should be pretty straight).
7. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry and the tape is completely stuck, and allow to dry!

The completed look.

The close-up Burberry Nail.

Rubber Ducky Nails

The completed Duck Nails.

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush and Dotter Pen (buy it in a set here)
• White (we used OPI Alpine Snow, buy it here)
• Blue (we used China Glaze Kinetic Candy, view it here)
• Yellow (we used Misa Nail Lacquer Hanging with the Girls, unavailable for purchase online)
• Orange (we used Misa Nail Lacquer Speed of Life, unavailable for purchase online)
• Black (we used Essie Licorice, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat (this will increase the shine of your 'bare' nail at the end!).
2. Paint a blue tip on your nail, don't worry about being messy as the top will be covered with the bubbles.
3. With the Dotter Pen, dot large white circles starting concentrated where the top of your blue tip meets your bare nail, and move to the edge of your nail, becoming less concentrated (more space between the bubbles) as you get closer to the edge of your nail.
4. With the Dotter Pen again, use the edge of the dot dipped in light blue and make a lighter dot over each white bubble.
5. With the Nail Art Brush, draw the outline of the duck on top of your bubbles (on any nail you wish!) in yellow.
6. Paint the whole duck yellow.
7. Paint the beak orange with the brush.
8. Using the small end of the dotter paint one eye using black.
9. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry, and allow to dry!

'Missoni' Zig-Zag Nails

The completed Missoni Nail

This nail art looks great as an accent nail or a full set. It would also look fabulous on big toes!

What you need:

• Nail Art Brush (buy it in a set with a dotter from Sephora, here)
• Nude (we used Nails Inc. Basil Street, buy it here)
• Dark Pink (we used Essie Big Spender, buy it here)
• Light Pink (we used Essie Off the Shoulder, buy it here)
• Navy Blue (we used Essie Aruba Blue, buy it here)
• Base Coat and Top Coat (we used Essie, buy the top coat here, and base coat here)

What to do:

1. Start with clean, dry nails. Paint each nail with base coat.
2. Choose a pattern of nail polish that looks the best to you. We used Nude, Navy Blue, Dark Pink, Light Pink.
3. Start in the middle with your darkest colour. Put a dot in the middle of your finger so you can move outwards to the edges of your nail evenly. 
4. Move in one direction first (we went to the cuticle first, then move from middle to tip) using each colour in the pattern you set out, cleaning the nail art brush with nail polish remover and a cotton pad between each colour.
5. Paint on top coat after ensuring your nails are dry so there is no running, and allow to dry!