How to Give Yourself a Beach Inspired Manicure
Grab a white, light blue, a dark blue, and a nude color polish., Get a makeup sponge., Buy some latex skin barrier., Purchase some nail art pens., Apply a base coat., Paint your nails white., Apply the polish to the makeup sponge., Press the sponge...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Grab a white
This manicure is a beach scene.
You’ll need polishes for sand and water.
Use a tan or nude color for the sand, and then you will be blending the two blues (or even a green) together to create dimensional water.
Feel free to use whichever shades you desire! -
Step 2: light blue
To create the background, you’ll be painting the polishes onto the sponge.
Then, you’ll press the sponge onto your nail like a stamp.
You can purchase wedge makeup sponges at your local pharmacy for very cheap.
The square edge of a wedge sponge works perfectly for this technique. , The sponge technique creates a beautiful effect, but it is likely to get nail polish all over the skin surrounding the nail.
A peel-off latex product can be painted onto the skin around your nail to act as a barrier between the skin and polish.
After stamping your nail, you can simply peel off the latex to expose clean skin.
If you don’t want to buy a new product and already have nail polish remover and a small brush or Q-tip, this can work as well. , After you’ve created the beach scene, you can add beachy details.
Invest in some nail art pens to make this easy – unless you’re skilled with a standard nail polish brush.
Grab colors depending on the designs you want to create.
Colors like gold, coral, and brown can make starfish designs.
Browns and greens can create palm trees.
Grab a yellow or orange to make a sunshine.
Get creative! , The key to any good manicure is a good foundation.
The base coat will help your manicure lasts for as long as possible.
It helps the polish stick to your nail by creating a more adhesive surface for it.
Paint it onto each of your nails, and allow it to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step., This will be the canvas for your beach scene.
The sponge gradient technique is not opaque, so you absolutely need the white background to achieve this look.
Paint each nail, letting it dry thoroughly.
You will apply a topcoat after you create the gradient, so don’t worry about that now., On the square tip of your makeup sponge, paint horizontal lines of polish.
Paint a few strips of blue, and then a few strips of the tan color right above it.
This stamp method is also used when doing an ombre manicure.
It doesn’t have to be perfect – just make sure that when you stamp it onto your nail, you will have created a section of sand and a section of water.Paint your lighter blue color first, and then paint on a bit of your dark blue or green water accents over those strips. , Carefully line the sponge up to your nail so that both blue and tan sections are pressing into it.
Slowly remove the sponge.
You may need to apply more polish to the sponge and press it onto the nail again, depending on how dark the polishes transfer.
Continue doing this until you like how it looks.This beach-inspired manicure looks great with an accent nail, so feel free to skip the gradient on one of the nails and save that for your accent nail. , Once you’ve sponge painted all your nails, allow them to dry fully.
Then, paint them with a clear, no chip topcoat.
This will prolong the life of your manicure by preventing it from chipping.
It will also make your various gradient colors blend together even more seamlessly., Carefully remove the latex you painted on your skin around your nail.
This will remove any of the gradient paint that got onto your skin.
If you are choosing to use nail polish remover and a brush, carefully brush the paint off of your skin., While the gradient is beautiful by itself, it isn’t a complete beach scene.
Using the nail art pens, start adding the special details.
Create a small star in the sand to look like a starfish.
Draw a palm tree along one side of your nail, creating palm leaves stretching over the top of your nail.You can add tiny fish in the water, or the reflection of the sun.
If you want to really define the sand and water, it can help to add a bit of “sea foam” where the tan and blue meet.
On a piece of paper or another disposable surface, mix a bit of your blue and white nail polish.
Don’t blend them completely – you want a tie dye effect.
Then, paint the mixed colors where the “sand” and “water” meet on your nail, so it looks like waves crashing into the sand.
Don’t paint it in a straight line, it should look messy and fluid! There are plenty of different ways you can get creative with your nails, and endless inspiration on Pinterest. , Accent nails are just what they sound like – one nail that looks different from the rest, a distinct little accent.
These look great with your beachy manicure.
For this nail, make sure to do something that goes along with the beach theme.
For example, dark blue nail with a bright yellow sunshine, or a gold nail with a pink seahorse.
These sound extremely difficult, but the nail art pens make it much easier to create designs.
If you can draw a design with a pen, you can draw it with a nail art pen.
If you can’t manage to use the nail art pens or simply don’t want to spend the time, look for nail tattoos at your local beauty supply store.
You can certainly find some great, beach inspired designs there! , To add a bit more interest and glitz to your manicure, try stroking on a thin layer of glitter.
If you apply it on the water, it will look like the sunlight hitting the water.
Glitter can also add a bit of dimension to the sand.
Either way, it’ll add some sparkle to your beautiful beach inspired manicure! -
Step 3: a dark blue
-
Step 4: and a nude color polish.
-
Step 5: Get a makeup sponge.
-
Step 6: Buy some latex skin barrier.
-
Step 7: Purchase some nail art pens.
-
Step 8: Apply a base coat.
-
Step 9: Paint your nails white.
-
Step 10: Apply the polish to the makeup sponge.
-
Step 11: Press the sponge onto your nail.
-
Step 12: Apply a clear topcoat.
-
Step 13: Peel off the latex barrier.
-
Step 14: Create your beach nail art.
-
Step 15: Create an accent nail.
-
Step 16: Add glitter.
Detailed Guide
This manicure is a beach scene.
You’ll need polishes for sand and water.
Use a tan or nude color for the sand, and then you will be blending the two blues (or even a green) together to create dimensional water.
Feel free to use whichever shades you desire!
To create the background, you’ll be painting the polishes onto the sponge.
Then, you’ll press the sponge onto your nail like a stamp.
You can purchase wedge makeup sponges at your local pharmacy for very cheap.
The square edge of a wedge sponge works perfectly for this technique. , The sponge technique creates a beautiful effect, but it is likely to get nail polish all over the skin surrounding the nail.
A peel-off latex product can be painted onto the skin around your nail to act as a barrier between the skin and polish.
After stamping your nail, you can simply peel off the latex to expose clean skin.
If you don’t want to buy a new product and already have nail polish remover and a small brush or Q-tip, this can work as well. , After you’ve created the beach scene, you can add beachy details.
Invest in some nail art pens to make this easy – unless you’re skilled with a standard nail polish brush.
Grab colors depending on the designs you want to create.
Colors like gold, coral, and brown can make starfish designs.
Browns and greens can create palm trees.
Grab a yellow or orange to make a sunshine.
Get creative! , The key to any good manicure is a good foundation.
The base coat will help your manicure lasts for as long as possible.
It helps the polish stick to your nail by creating a more adhesive surface for it.
Paint it onto each of your nails, and allow it to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step., This will be the canvas for your beach scene.
The sponge gradient technique is not opaque, so you absolutely need the white background to achieve this look.
Paint each nail, letting it dry thoroughly.
You will apply a topcoat after you create the gradient, so don’t worry about that now., On the square tip of your makeup sponge, paint horizontal lines of polish.
Paint a few strips of blue, and then a few strips of the tan color right above it.
This stamp method is also used when doing an ombre manicure.
It doesn’t have to be perfect – just make sure that when you stamp it onto your nail, you will have created a section of sand and a section of water.Paint your lighter blue color first, and then paint on a bit of your dark blue or green water accents over those strips. , Carefully line the sponge up to your nail so that both blue and tan sections are pressing into it.
Slowly remove the sponge.
You may need to apply more polish to the sponge and press it onto the nail again, depending on how dark the polishes transfer.
Continue doing this until you like how it looks.This beach-inspired manicure looks great with an accent nail, so feel free to skip the gradient on one of the nails and save that for your accent nail. , Once you’ve sponge painted all your nails, allow them to dry fully.
Then, paint them with a clear, no chip topcoat.
This will prolong the life of your manicure by preventing it from chipping.
It will also make your various gradient colors blend together even more seamlessly., Carefully remove the latex you painted on your skin around your nail.
This will remove any of the gradient paint that got onto your skin.
If you are choosing to use nail polish remover and a brush, carefully brush the paint off of your skin., While the gradient is beautiful by itself, it isn’t a complete beach scene.
Using the nail art pens, start adding the special details.
Create a small star in the sand to look like a starfish.
Draw a palm tree along one side of your nail, creating palm leaves stretching over the top of your nail.You can add tiny fish in the water, or the reflection of the sun.
If you want to really define the sand and water, it can help to add a bit of “sea foam” where the tan and blue meet.
On a piece of paper or another disposable surface, mix a bit of your blue and white nail polish.
Don’t blend them completely – you want a tie dye effect.
Then, paint the mixed colors where the “sand” and “water” meet on your nail, so it looks like waves crashing into the sand.
Don’t paint it in a straight line, it should look messy and fluid! There are plenty of different ways you can get creative with your nails, and endless inspiration on Pinterest. , Accent nails are just what they sound like – one nail that looks different from the rest, a distinct little accent.
These look great with your beachy manicure.
For this nail, make sure to do something that goes along with the beach theme.
For example, dark blue nail with a bright yellow sunshine, or a gold nail with a pink seahorse.
These sound extremely difficult, but the nail art pens make it much easier to create designs.
If you can draw a design with a pen, you can draw it with a nail art pen.
If you can’t manage to use the nail art pens or simply don’t want to spend the time, look for nail tattoos at your local beauty supply store.
You can certainly find some great, beach inspired designs there! , To add a bit more interest and glitz to your manicure, try stroking on a thin layer of glitter.
If you apply it on the water, it will look like the sunlight hitting the water.
Glitter can also add a bit of dimension to the sand.
Either way, it’ll add some sparkle to your beautiful beach inspired manicure!
About the Author
Nancy Gomez
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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