The Best DIY Festival Manicure
Do you *heart* nail art? There are so many fun summer nail ideas, and one way to get your summer festival #nailfie on point is with colour-blocking.
How to rock colour-block
Colour-blocking is one of the trendiest nail art designs. It not only looks cool but it’s straightforward to do: There’s no messy glue to deal with or complicated nail tools needed. So what is the colour-blocking nail art design all about? It’s simply painting different solid colours side by side—it could be as few as two hues or as many as you like to get a bold look, depending on your skill level and how much time you have. It’s easy to do, even if you’re a nail newbie. All you need are the right nail polish colours and some tape. (Or do it freehand if you’re a total pro!)
Choose your nail polish colours
Summer nail polish colours are so vibrant and so much fun to play with, why would you only pick one? The best nail polish for this look is up to you. Do you want to rock pastel unicorn-inspired hues? ’80s metallics? Neon brights? All of these are on trend for festival season. Stumped for trendy inspiration? Yellow and chartreuse are some of the hottest nail polish colours right now.
Nail prep
First things first: You’ll want to prep your nail canvas before you start painting any nail art designs, so file and shape your nails; try not to “see-saw” when you file as that can weaken the tip of the nail, resulting in premature chipping. The right way to file is one fluid motion swipe, from the side to the centre. (Think about how you swipe a credit card up—same idea.) Next, push your cuticles back using an orange stick—nothing sharp, though. You don’t want to cut your cuticles.
Ace your base
Paint your nails with a clear base coat, and then layer two coats of a white shade like L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Oil-Infused Nail Polish in Blanc de Lune. Wondering how to apply nail polish? Start with a thin coat of colour first and a light but consistent stroke, so there is less chance of streaks, and then go back and do a second coat. Let the nail polish colours dry completely before moving. (You definitely don’t want to rush this part; try to wait at least 30 minutes!) If the polish is wet at all, the tape will not adhere and the colour-blocking step will look messy. If you want to try a negative-space manicure, just use the clear base coat as your starting point.
Get crafty
Apply some tape to the centre of the nail to create two sections. You can place the tape horizontally, vertically or diagonally, depending on the style that you want to create. If you want to go with a fresh yellow, try L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Oil-Infused Nail Polish in Jaune Citron. Do one nail at a time and paint two thin coats. As soon as you’ve finishing painting, carefully peel back the tape to reveal the two-tone colour-block. You can use tweezers to remove the tape; it’s less messy. If you want to do a more advanced colour-blocking technique, you can upgrade to using manicure striping tape, which are thin strips of tape that you can apply in any design, like a triangle or a chevron.
Final step
Once the design is complete, paint each nail with L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Oil-Infused Fortifying Top Coat to finish. Wondering how to dry your nails fast? It’s best to let them air-dry naturally, but you can use a hair dryer on a low, cool setting to try to speed things up if necessary. To keep your nail art design masterpiece looking its best, apply a fresh layer of topcoat every few days and, most importantly, keep up with your nail-care regimen. Rub a nail oil on a few times a day; it will help keep the colour looking shiny as well as nourish your nail underneath, keeping it pliable and less prone to breakage and chipping.