Tropical Manicure

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Now that July is here we are well into summer. Hot days. Hot nights. Triple digits... All this warmth has me enjoying the bright summer clothing and clearly my fingernails need to match!

I love this manicure for three reasons: 1) bright eighties-like colors are always in style (or is that just me?), 2) It is SO easy to do, and 3) the sponged on tips make it harder to tell if your mani has some wear and tear.

I've found that even with doing this the lazy way (no top or bottom coat) I can get away with wearing this manicure for a week without anyone being able to tell if there are ragged edges.  It is also very easy to patch up, which I will talk about later on. I'm not really one for nail care. I like my nails to look nice, but I don't want to put a whole lot of effort in so this is perfect for me.

To start you will need to have clean, prepped nails. So go buff those puppies! Then grab your two favorite nail polishes in complimenting colors. You can use any colors or brands you like, but I personally used Mod Square and Naughty Nautical by Essie. Layering the Naughty Nautical over the top makes it appear a little darker than it does on its own. In reality it is bright shade of turquoise. I like to do my toes in this color and then do the tropical manicure on my finger nails.

To start with paint Mod Square polish on. I like to paint my right hand first because I have a harder time manipulating the brush with my left hand. I go ahead and let myself paint outside the lines. Then I use my left thumb nail to clean up all the excess polish on my right hand. If you do this ASAP most of it will come off. I just use a paper towel to wipe the polish off of my thumbnail. If some of the color stays that's fine because you are going to paint it the same color. The key is to make sure that there isn't any texture left that will cause bubbling. Once your right hand is all cleaned up, paint your left hand nails. Now that you are using your right hand, try and stay inside the lines. Make sure there isn't too much polish on your brush and start in the middle of your nail. Let it all dry. If you are left handed, you can just reverse this technique.

Now take a make up sponge, it doesn't need to be very big, and put a couple swipes of Naughty Nautical on it. Taking the painted end of your sponge, dab your finger tips until you are satisfied. Add paint to the sponge as needed. I like to try and do the tips of the nails when I've first put paint on the sponge and then work my way down the nail as it is starting to dry up. This creates a nice faded effect.  Let that dry and then you are done! Simple as that. You will notice you get a definite texture from doing this. If you want to eliminate the texture, but keep the color you can always add a quality top coat. This will also cause your polish to last longer. If you are cheap like me, though, you can make your mani last longer simply by dabbing the tips with your top color whenever they start chipping. The color on the tips of my nails always chips before the middle or bottom.

Here are the steps one more time:
1) Paint with your bottom color. Let dry.
2) Swab a make up sponge with your top color.
3) Dab the tips of your nails with the sponge. Let dry.

And you're done! Enjoy your tropical nails!