Step-by-step guide for easy party nail art

GETTING IT TO LOOK PERFECT

TIP #1 Before applying polish, layer on a thin film of base coat on the nails to protect them and make the polish last longer.

#2 Complete the nail art with a layer of top coat to seal the colours and add shine.

#3 Always wait for each layer of polish to dry before adding another.

#4 When drawing the more intricate designs with a toothpick or fine brush, use a small square of wax paper or a strip of scotch tape as your palette.

#5 Pour a drop of polish or acrylic paint onto the palette and pick up a tiny amount of the colour with the nail art brush or toothpick.

#6 If you are using acrylic paint and it feels too thick and tacky, mix it with a little bit of water.

GLITTER LEOPARD PRINTS

Difficulty level: 1/4

What you will need:

• A fine nail art brush or toothpicks
• Black polish or acrylic paint
• Wax paper or scotch tape
• Metallic teal polish (try Nars in Wrong Turn, $30, from Nars counters)
• Robin egg blue polish (try Ciate in Chinchilla from the Nail Taxi set, $42, from Sephora stores)
• Silver glitter polish (try Ciate in London Baby from the Nail Taxi set)

Step 1: On the nails which you want to paint the leopard prints, apply two coats of the robin egg blue polish.

Step 2: Apply metallic teal polish on the rest of the nails and layer on the silver glitter polish.

Step 3: Create random and irregular patches of silver glitter polish on the nails with the robin egg blue polish. These will form the base of the spots.

Step 4: With a fine paint brush or toothpick, pick up the black paint and randomly outline the patches in broken squiggles to complete the spots.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Difficulty level: 2/4

What you will need:

• A fine nail art brush or toothpicks
• Black polish or acrylic paint
• White polish or acrylic paint
• Wax paper or scotch tape
• Red polish with no glitter (try Ettusais Nail Color in Ruby Necklace, $10, from Ettusais counters)
• Red glitter polish ( try Innisfree polish from the Christmas Nail set, $13, from Innisfree stores)
• Metallic champagne polish (try Butter London in Champers, $24, from Sephora stores)
• Golden bronze polish (try Ettusais Nail Color Coat in Mirror, $10, from Ettusais counters)
• Multi-coloured confetti polish (try Ciate in Ginger Snap from the Candy Cane House set, $28, from Sephora stores)

Step 1: Coat all your nails in two layers of a pearlescent champagne polish.

Step 2: Using the golden bronze polish, paint a round blob on one corner of each nail. With the red polish, paint another round blob on the opposite corner of the nail.

These two blobs are the base of your ornament design.

Step 3: With the fine brush or toothpick, outline the round blobs with the black paint neatly and draw loops for the ornaments.

Step 4: With a clean brush or new toothpick, apply dots to accentuate the ornament.

Step 5: You can choose to paint the ornament design on two or three fingers on each hand. For the rest of your fingers, apply multi-coloured confetti polish in a gradient on the edge of the nails.

CHRISTMAS PARTY SCENE

Difficulty level: 3/4

What you will need:

• A fine nail art brush or toothpicks
• Two complementary shades of green polish or acrylic paint
• Wax paper or scotch tape
• Red nail polish (try Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in No. 71 Laque Rouge, $38, from Chanel counters)
• Gold confetti polish (try Diorific Vernis in Golden Shock, $40, from Dior counters)
• Metallic gold polish
• Loose round confetti from art supplies stores
• Red glitter polish

Step 1: Apply metallic gold polish on the nails you want to paint the Christmas tree and wreath on.

Step 2: Paint the rest of the nails red and layer on the gold confetti polish.

Step 3: With a fine brush or toothpick, paint a large triangle with the lighter green polish or paint on one finger to create a simple shape of a Christmas tree.

Step 4: Using the same tools and green shade, paint small and short strokes in the shape of a circle, to form the base of the Christmas wreath on another finger.

Step 5: Paint on darker green strokes on the Christmas tree and wreath to give them dimension.

Step 6: Using the red polish, draw a ribbon on the wreath. Do this with the brush or toothpick. First, draw a cross, then join the two upper ends in a curved line to form the loops of the ribbon.

With the same tools, add a large dot of red glitter polish on the top of the Christmas tree.

Step 7: If you want to make the design more fancy, add confetti on strategic spots to make the wreath and tree sparkle. Do this by first applying a layer of top coat to help the confetti stick.

Then, use a toothpick or fine brush to pick up a piece of loose confetti and place on the desired spot. Repeat until you get the desired effect.

SNOWSTORM

Difficulty level: 4/4

What you will need:

• A fine nail art brush or toothpicks
• Sponge eyeshadow applicator
• Wax paper or scotch tape
• Loose round confetti
• Two complementary shades of blue polish (try Ciate in Ferris Wheel, and Pool Party, above right, $20 each for a full-sized bottle, from Sephora stores)
• White polish or acrylic paint

Step 1: Apply two layers of the bright blue polish on all nails.

Step 2: With a toothpick or fine brush, draw simple shapes of snowflakes on alternate nails with the white paint.

To get the large snowflake design right, first draw three long lines in various angles from the side of the nail. Then, add in the branches.

Step 3: On the rest of the nails, create a gradient “snowstorm”.

Do this by picking up a little bit of the light blue polish with the sponge eyeshadow applicator and dab randomly on the lower half of the nail.

Using the same tool, blend the edge of the gradient well with the deeper blue polish.

Step 4: Finish by placing the loose round confetti on desired spots to add sparkle and dimension to the design.

CANDY CANE STRIPES

Difficulty level: 4/4

What you will need:

• A fine nail art brush or toothpicks
• Wax paper or scotch tape
• White polish (try Ciate in Snow Virgin, $20 each for a full-sized bottle, from Sephora stores) or acrylic paint
• Green polish or acrylic paint
• Red polish (try Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in 470 Red Eye, $16.90, from selected personal care stores)
• Silver glitter polish
• Multi-coloured confetti polish (try Innisfree polish from the Christmas Nail set, $13, from Innisfree stores)

Step 1: Paint the nails you want decorated with candy cane stripes in two layers of white paint or polish. For the rest of the nails, paint them in red polish and layer on the multi-coloured confetti polish.

Step 2: Paint diagonal stripes across the white-based nails using the red and green polish. To get this right, first paint three stripes wide apart, then fill the spaces in between with stripes of varying thickness and colours.

Step 3: Add silver stripes using the silver glitter polish on one or two of the candy cane nails for more dimension.

This article was first run in The Straits Times newspaper on December 12, 2014. For similar stories, go to www.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. You will not be able to access the Premium section of The Straits Times website unless you are already a subscriber.