I pretty much can’t believe that I’m sitting here writing a post about nail art. I have never, I repeat, never tried any funny business with my nails. I’m a straight up solid color-wearing, toes and fingers-matching, pink-to-red spectrum-sporting bore. In fact, nine out of 10 times, you will catch me with my nails au-natural. I’m a tad too antsy to sit through a salon manicure (the drying stage, my god!), and while I am proficient in painting both my left and right hand myself, I can rarely find a window of time at home when both hands won’t be needed for some kind of task. Ugh, I’m making this sound like work already, I know. So imagine my surprise when the 2+ years of mainstream nail art trends coming at me through blogs, Instagram, magazines made me break down and admit it: I’m kiiinda into nail art. Phew! There! I said it! It’s as though a weight has been lifted.

OK, now let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not talking bedazzled jewels, or leopard print, or tiny watermelon slices, or spelling out anything vulgar; after all is said and done, this nail art mani needs to blend with my classic bordering on conservative style. So here is my version of getting wild with my nails, while remaining as simple as possible. 

You’ll need:

  • Two nail polish colors (I used Essie’s Ballet Slippers and Chinchilly)
  • Tape
  • Scissors

STEP ONE:

Paint your nails as usual with your base colour (I selected the darker of the two) and allow to dry thoroughly. It’s important for the bottom layer to be completely dry so that the tape doesn’t eventually smudge it or pull it up all together.

STEP TWO:

When your base coat is dry, cut 10 small squares of tape off of the roll and apply them on a diagonal to the bottom of each nail, leaving as much space as you desire at the tip for your second colour.

STEP THREE:

Paint your second colour over the entire nail, applying as many coats as necessary to cover the original colour underneath. Quickly remove tape from each finger while this new coat of nail polish is still wet (this will avoid smudging and will leave crisp lines between each colour).

Holy crap, you did it! Touch up any problem areas with either of your nail colours, being careful not to smudge the line between them.