Sunday, June 24, 2012

Nautical Nails



I am a huge fan of anything nautical-related. I have nautical-inspired jewelry, purses, shirts, stationary, even a tattoo! This nail art was a vision I had for awhile now, just wasn't too sure if I had the tools or ability to execute it. I decided to finally go for it & I am loving my nails! If you find yourself inspired too, keep reading for a how-to. 

Supplies:
Nail Polishes Used in this Design
  1. Navy Polish (I used a navy from F21. It is one of my favourites. Great colour, easy application, & unlike many other Love & Beauty Polishes, it doesn't stain your nails.)
  2. White Polish (I used Wet 'n Wild French White Creme.)
  3. Bright Red Polish (I used Julep Nail Vernis in Natasha. Glad that I got another use out of my Julep Maven box colours!)
  4. Gold Polish, either a glitter or a metallic (I used Julep Nail Vernis in Oscar. It is a very dense glitter making nail art easy.)
  5. Top Coat (NYC Long-Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat.)
  6. Small Brush (I actually don't own any nail art brushes. I made my own using an old liquid eyeliner brush! I figured if it's skinny enough to use on my eyes it would work for my nails!)
  7. Piece of Cardboard (This is a staple in my nail art kit, I just keep the same piece of rectangle with my nail polishes.)

    Eyeliner Brush gets an Upcycle!
     
    Steps:

    1. Paint your ring finger Navy (this will be your accent nail) and the rest of your nails white. I used 2 coats for each.
     

    2. Next, place some navy polish on your piece of cardboard. Dip your brush in the blue & paint horizontal stripes along your white nails (leave the navy nail alone for now.) Leave enough room for a stripe in between. I ended up having three stripes per nail.
    Sorry for the yellow tint, I was painting my nails at my desk.
    3.  Repeat step 2 with the red polish. I ended up having 3 red stripes per nail too.
    My nails were still wet so my hand position is funny-looking

    4. To finish the accent nail, I painted an anchor on using my gold polish. I created the anchor using three lines. 
    1. Paint a straight, vertical line in the middle of your nail.
    2. At the bottom of your nail, paint a curved line 
    (similar to a parenthesis or a C-shape)
    3. Paint a short line horizontally that intersects your vertical line.

    5. Wait for your nails to dry, then add your top coat!



    There are so many different variations you could do with this manicure. I like the look of the painted-on stripe for this design, but if you wanted more crisp lines, you could use striping tape. You could also paint all the stripes navy or all of them red. You could do different sized lines, different colours, anything! Don't be afraid to free-hand your nail art! Just reduce whatever shape you want to create into simple parts, and you'll have unique, easy nail art. 

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