Polka Dot Nails Tutorial

This polka dot nails tutorial is perfect for beginner artists. It's fast, cute and looks really impressive when it's done! All you need is some polish and some different sized dotting tools.  Dotting tools are endlessly useful, I would really recommend picking up a set. 

In this tutorial I used Maybelline Color Show in Go Go Green and Iced Queen, NYC polish in Water Street Blue and Sally Hansen Triple Shine in Lemon Shark. For my dots I used the head of a sewing pin and a two size dotting tool.

tips & tricks

Wait until your first layer of dots dries until you add the next layer. The colors can bleed together and starting over is SO annoying!

Try to add your second dot right in the center of the first. It helps give the optical illusion more POP!

Your nails can get a bit bumpy from all the dots, so you might want to add a second layer of top coat.

Don't be afraid to overlap your dots.

Fill in empty space with dots of different sizes to help create interest.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your polka dot nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Pineapple Nails Tutorial

This pineapple nails tutorial is super easy and so cute! I'm want to do a bunch more fruit tutorials so you can have a whole hand of fruit salad. If you like this, check out the watermelon nails tutorial and email me or comment below to let me know what other kinds of fruit nail art tutorials you want to see!

In this tutorial I used Maybelline Color Show in Go Go Green, Sally Hansen Triple Shine in Lemon Shark, Orly in Coco Beach, Seche Vite Top Coat, and OPI Nail Envy base coat.

tips & tricks

• Try to keep your brown lines nice and thin. If you make a big smudge, just wait for it to dry and cover it up with yellow.
• Make sure the brown you use is opaque so you don't have to do two coats.  I mean, you can do two coats if you want to but for me it's hard enough to paint thin straight lines once!
• To make this design a bit easier, paint the green at the tip of the nail rather than the base. It's easier to get at.
• I added some flicks of a lighter green onto the leaves to give them more depth and detail.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your pineapple nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Penguin Nails Tutorial

Penguin nails are cute and fun and perfect winter. Whenever I do them it makes me giggle every time I see those cute little guys on my finger tips.  This is a great design for beginners.  Easy painting with lots of payoff.  This is actually the first tutorial I ever shot for Nail Art 101 way back in 2011.  Hence the weird photo and strange looking tutorial.  It took me a while to learn how to take good photos of my nail art!

For this tutorial I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away and White On, L.A. Colors Color Craze in Shock, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out.

tips & tricks

• I used stickers for my bows, but you could certainly hand paint them if you want. Make two dots on either side for the bow tie, and then pull them to join in the center. Voila! Bow tie!
• They don't have to be blue! Try a bunch of bright colors for a cute Lisa Frank look.
• If you don't have a dotting tool, there is lots of other things you can use instead. I often use a small, round stud earring
• To give them extra kawaii eyes, do a large black dot with a smaller white one in the center. Adorable.
• Give them angry little eyebrows, and boom! You have the madagascar penguins!
• Paint the white body in a heart shape to make it even more caroon-ish look.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your penguin nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Pastel Nails Tutorial

I am such a sucker for pastel nails! This look is really soft and beautiful, and you can do all ten nails in about 15 minutes. This technique would work for bright polishes too, but I love the way the pretty pastels blend together!  This is also a great base for other designs like florals, drippy nails or quartz crystal nails.

In this tutorial I used Sally Hansen in White On, Jade Jump and Lacey Lilac and Love & Beauty (from Forever 21) in Orchid and Seche Vite top coat.

tips & tricks

• Be careful when you're adding the green. If you put too much over the purple it can end up looking muddy.
• Always use a make-up sponge, not a kitchen sponge!
• I brush the polish on my sponge, then dab it a couple times of a piece of paper so I don't apply too much on my nail. It's easier to add more than take away too much.
• To clean up our cuticles, just dip a stiff, wide brush in acetone (a Q-tip works, too) and wipe away extra polish.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your pastel nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Panda Nails Tutorial

I've always wanted to do a panda nails tutorial! I love having these cute little dudes looking up at me, and it was so quick and easy to do! A dotting tool makes this tutorial much, much easier but if you don't have one...don't fret! I used the end of a paintbrush to do the large ear and eye dots, and the end of a hair pin (bobby pin) for the nose. You just need something round and about the right size. If you're interested in investing in a set of dotting tools (which I highly reccomend) I've included a link below to a good set at a decent price!

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In this tutorial I used Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in White On and Black Out and a dotting tool and the end of a paint brush. As I always, I used Seche Vite top coat and OPI Nail Envy base coat. For the green bamboo in the "finished product" photo, I used a green nail art pen I got from ebay.

tips & tricks

Make sure you make your white semi circle large enough. You need enough room for those eyes! I kind of wish I'd made mine bigger so I could have given them little mouths!

Remember that the pressure you use with your dotting tool will dictate how big the dot is. More pressure makes larger dots, less pressure makes smaller dots.

When you're making the eyes, pull down gently without pressing too hard. You don't want to smear the white.

It's very important to let each dot dry in between, you don't want the white and black bleeding together.

If you are having trouble with the last step, the black "u" shape, don't worry. If it looks weird, just go over the white with a dotting tool to clean up the shape.

Pay attention to the angle you put the eyes at. You can see the panda on my ring finger looks a bit cross eyed because his eyes are sitting at different angles!

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your panda nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Palm Tree Nails Tutorial

Even in the middle of winter you can have summer on your hands with these palm tree nails!  It may look tricky but with a long striping brush and a few flicks you can look down at your hands and pretend you're in Barbados no matter how cold it is outside!  In this tutorial I wanted a sunset look, so I started with a lazy ombre as my base.  It would look just as great with a bright blue sky in the background.
In this tutorial I used Sinful Colors in 24/7, China Glaze in Sun of a Peach, ACO in Lovely Day, Sally Hansen in Black Out, OPI Nail Envy base coat and Seche Vite top coat.

tips & tricks

• The amount of pressure you use when painting your lines will affect how thick they are. More pressure creates bold, thick lines (like you want for the tree trunk) and light pressure creates thin flicks of color (like you want for the palms).
• If you have enough room on your nail, do two trees! A tall tree and shorter tree will fill up any empty space.
• Don't over think it! Nature isn't perfect or exact, so don't stress too much about the placement of your flicks.
• I added birds to mine, but if birds aren't your thing try a couple clouds or a little sun in the corner.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your palm tree nails so I can see your beautiful work!

Ombre Nails Tutorial

I've gotta be honest. When it comes to nail art, I play favorites and ombre nails are my favorite by a long shot! The work is pretty minimal and the final results is super stylish and impressive. They look amazing on their own or as a base for leopard print, butterflies, zebra or pretty much anything else you can think to paint on your nails!  Ombre nails are a great way to add a "wow factor" to an otherwise plain design or pattern.  Play around, be creative, have fun!!!

In this tutorial I used China Glaze in Spontaneous, Essie in Mod Squad and OG Polish in Pastel Blue. I also used a cosmetic sponge and Seche Vite top coat to finish it all off!

tips & tricks

If your sponge is absorbing too much polish, get it wet, wring it out and then paint on your polish.

Try to hold your sponge parallel with the nails and sponge in an up and down motion.

This look works better with colors that compliment each other. If you try it with orange and green they might just blend into a mud color!

The color you want at the base of the nail should be the first line on the sponge.

For clean up I recommend pure acetone and an angle brush, just make sure you follow up with cuticle oil as acetone is very drying.

Still have some questions? Send me an email and I'll talk you through any problems you're having. Don't forget to email me a photo of your ombre nails so I can see your beautiful work!