Pre Fall Nail Tutorial

Whether you’re clinging to spring or ready to step into fall, one of these manicures will be the perfect accessory for the start of the school year!  We’ve ranked each nail design with 1-5 for how easy the design is to recreate, and how much time it will take you to complete (1 being the easiest or fastest).  Good luck, and post your pictures in the comments!

Rockabilly Fab

This style requires patience to get a flawless, fudge-less finish, so make sure you have some time to kill before starting this one!
Difficulty: 3
Time: 5

1. Start out with a light base color, anywhere from cream to tan or beige. I used American Apparel Cotton. You’ll only need one coat for the base, so don’t overdo it!
2. Wait for the base layer to dry (usually 40 min for me).  Then, place a reinforcement label (found in the school supplies aisle at your local CVS!), over the base of each nail to block off a half-moon shape.
3. Once the reinforcement labels are secure on each nail, use a bright red polish (I used China Glaze Salsa) to coat the end of your nail, around the reinforcement label. Two coats should do it!
4. Wait about 20 min for the red polish to dry, then carefully peel away the reinforcement labels.
5. Using a dotting tool and gold polish, add randomly-placed dots to the half-moon section of your nail. I used Zoya Goldie. You can also use a gold nail art pen, made by Sally Hansen, which I highly recommend!
6. Using a tiny paintbrush (I got mine at Sally’s Beauty Supply), use a light-to-dark brown polish to surround the gold dots, creating a cheetah print pattern! I used American Apparel Raccoon.
7. Finish with a topcoat of your choice!  I use Seche Vite. It’s the best!!

 
Arizona Iced Tea

Impress all your friends with your artistic talent!!
Difficulty: 3
Time: 3

1. Start with two coats of a mint-green base color.  I used Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet.
2. After the base coats are dry, use a tiny paintbrush to draw out the branches in brown polish (alternatively, you could use a brown nail art pen, such as the ones made by Sally Hansen). I used American Apparel Raccoon.  Don’t worry too much about drawing them perfectly – the more irregular they look, the better!
3. Using your little paintbrush, take a light pink polish and dab it around the ends of your branches to look like flowers. I used
4. Use the same brown polish you used for the branches for a few tiny dots at the center of the flowers to make them look more detailed and realistic.
5. Finish with a topcoat of your choice to make sure your beautiful art stays put for as long as possible!

 
Mermaid Scales

10 min manicure!
Difficulty: 1
Time: 1

1. Start with two coats of a crème green polish for the base (I tried this manicure twice, and found that a crème looks way better than a metallic or sparkly green for a base!).  I used Essie Pretty Edgy.
2. Using a tiny paintbrush and silver polish, paint on the scales! Alternatively, you could use a silver nail art pen. I used China Glaze Platinum Silver.
3. Finish with a topcoat of your choice!

 
De Stijl

Also a pretty time consuming manicure. I completed it over the course of 3 episodes of Breaking Bad – I recommend you do the same!
Difficulty: 4
Time: 4

1. Start with one coat of a white base. I used American Apparel Cotton.
2. Wait about 40 minutes (or one episode of your fave show) for the base coat to dry COMPLETELY. We don’t want the next step to ruin your white lines!
3. Once the white base is completely dry, place French manicure nail guides across your nails in abstract ways, so that there are four quadrants.  I used the straight Sally Hansen guides that are meant for pedicures.
4. Paint three sections with a light blue.  I used OPI What’s With the Cattitude?
5. Paint the fourth section with a dark blue.  You may need to use a smaller nail art brush for this, or clean the polish off your cuticles later.
6. WAIT FOR THEM TO DRY. This is very important! Don’t peel off the strips before the polish dries, or you’ll end up with the polish gooping into the white lines, which you want to look crisp!  The middle nail in the picture demonstrates this the best.
7. Finish with a topcoat of your choice and admire your work!