Let the Tea Party continue! Yesterday, butter LONDON taught you all the how to’s on applying a flawless, long-lasting manicure with the help of a protectant base coat, colourful nail lacquer and glossy top coat finish. Now, it’s time to switch gears and put our creativity to the test with some of spring’s most beautiful nail art trends… that you can recreate from home!
Before we get started, did you know you can use everyday, household items to help create brilliant nail art? Here are some of our faves:
- Painter’s Tape: When a geometric shape or French tip is calling your name, hunt down some painter’s tape. Tape can be applied across the nail plate at different angles, making it easy to create clean lines and precise shapes without the messy clean up.
- Q-tips or Bobby Pins: Polka dots are popping up on everything from headbands and dresses to makeup and nails. If you want to add dots to your next manicure, simple cut a Q-tip in half and use the smooth end as an applicator for your nail lacquer to create a polka-dotted mani. For smaller dots, the tip of a bobby pin is a great alternative.
- Make-up Brushes and Acetone: Tap into your inner artist with a flat make-up brush dipped in acetone. Create your favorite nail art with a nail lacquer, then use the sharp end of a make-up brush to help perfect sharp lines, clean up edges and create arches.
Top 4 Spring Nail Art Trends
Sunset Nails: A beautiful ombre manicure inspired by the colours of a spring sunset
- Start by gathering three Patent Shine 10x Nail Lacquer colours—a light blue nail polish in Candy Floss, a soft purple nail lacquer like English Lavender and a pale coral hue in Trout Pout.
- Apply a thin layer of the light blue nail polish to each of your nails, allowing it to dry before applying a second coat.
- Next, create a gradient on a clean beauty sponge by applying the purple nail polish and coral nail polish in straight, horizontal lines across the sponge. Allow the colors to slightly overlap to ensure an ombre effect can be achieved.
- Take your painted sponge and lightly press the color gradient onto your light blue manicure, beginning about halfway up the nail plate. Rock the sponge back and forth in a left-to-right motion until you reach the desired ombre effect.
- Apply acetone to a Q-tip to remove the excess polish from the skin surrounding your nails. Seal the sunset nail look with Hardwear Shine UV Top coat and volia! A mani so beautiful even the sunshine is a little jealous.
Colourful French: An elevated French tip with a pop of dazzling nail polish colour
- Ditch the white and pick up a PS10X nail lacquer in a show-stopping colour. Think, a rich red like Regal Red, a neon yellow like Yellow Submarine, or an electric pink like Strawberry Fields
- Apply a thin layer of your fave nail colour to the tip of your nail, stopping at the center of the nail plate—don’t worry about the mess! We’ll crisp up those edges soon enough.
- Allow the first layer of nail polish to dry, then apply 1-2 more applications of a top coat, as needed.
- Dip a clean, flat makeup brush into a nail polish remover. Carefully sweep the brush along the bottom of the strip of colour to create a sharp, curved line.
- Once your desired width is achieved, top it off with our ultra-glossy top coat.
Negative Space: A popular nail trend that comes in many different forms, but typically combines
geometric shapes or angles with a nude nail
- For this look you’ll need a delicate nude nail polish, painter’s tape and the butter LONDON Hardwear Shine UV Topcoat.
- Lay a small piece of painter’s tape across the nail at a diagonal angle—starting at the upper right corner and ending at the lower left corner. Ensure the tape is covering the base of the nail, leaving the upper portion of the nail bed exposed.
- Apply butter LONDON Patent Shine 10X Nail Lacquer to the exposed area of the nail bed. Allow the first coat to dry, then apply 1-2 more nail polish coats.
- Once the nail polish is dry, slowly remove the painter tape to reveal the unpainted portion of the nail.
- Gloss it up with 2 coats of our high-shine top coat for a negative space manicure that is full of trendy dimension.
Monochromatic Nails: An easy nail trend that is perfect for beginners, monochromatic nails are always having a moment
- Choose a selection of four butter LONDON Patent Shine 10X Nail Lacquers, ensuring that you include dark, medium and light nail lacquer hues from the same colour family.
- Dip our uniquely, curved brush applicator into the darkest nail colour, applying 2 coats to both the thumb and pinky nail.
- Take the remaining three nail colours and apply one of each nail polish colour to your first, middle and ring finger.
- Finally, protect your polish with a glossy top coat and marvel at your monochromatic manicure—you did it!