Since summer here in the UK has been quite frankly appalling so far, I decided to cheer up my nails with some cute polka dot nail art. Lately I've been taking a lot of hair and fashion inspiration from the rockabilly style so I decided to continue this theme with my nails too. I've been loving everything from cute, summery swing dresses and hair wraps to the animated influences of Betty Boop and Minnie Mouse. If red is not your colour, try to stick to a nautical colour palette if you want to create the rockabilly look (think black, blues, whites, gold).
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| Photos sourced from Wehearit.com |
The nail design was quick and easy to create, using only 3 products and took about 15 minutes from start to finish including drying times. Opting for a fast drying nail varnish may speed this process up even more!
Firstly, I applied a coat of red nail polish. I used the colour 'Mistress' from the Ciate Paint Pot range as it is a bright, vibrant red and only takes one coat to create a solid, opaque effect.
After the polish dried I used a white nail art pen to create the polka dot effect. These pens can be quite pricey if bought on the high street (from brands such as Rio) , but Ebay is a goldmine for affordable unbranded nail art supplies that work just as well thanks to the current popularity of it in Eastern Asia. I purchased a set of 24 different colours including glitter colours for around £6! was very pleased with this purchase as I received a good selection of colours, all working, which is very often an issue when buying nail art pens as they are prone to dry up if not sealed correctly. The only downfall to this is that you can wait quite a while for your items to arrive in the post.
Most nail art pens have both a thin nib and a fine brush. I used the nib as it was much simpler to create even dots and a lot less messy too! When creating the polka dot design it is important to draw the lines of dots diagonally or in a checkerboard formation. You don't have to use a white pen to create this look, black or navy look really nice too. After the dots had dried I topped my nails off with a coat of clear nail polish from Natural Collection. This prevents the dots from peeling away from the red polish and gives a lovely glossy finish. Alternatively, a coat of clear glitter polish looks really nice too.
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L-R: White nail art pen, Ciate Paint Pot in 'Mistress',
Natural Collection Nail Colour in 'Crystal Clear'. |
I love polka dot nails as I always try to go for something a little more than a solid colour on my fingers, but as I'm no artist I need something quick and simple to create (I'd love to be one of those people who can create masterpieces on their fingernails but unfortunately I have not been blessed with the skill!). It's foolproof and I even managed to create the look quite neatly on my writing hand too.
Here are some more ideas for polka dot nails:
- Pastels with white dots
- White with black dots
- Black with white dots
- Red with black dots (my friend created ladybird nails using this technique and drew a vertical line down the middle to create the wing effect.
- Brights with silver dots
- Green with multicoloured dots (to create a Christmas tree effect around that time of year!)
Have you created any nail designs recently? If so, tell me about them in the comments or post a link if you have a picture online! Do you think you will create this look on your nails? Let me know
Emma xoxo
