Sweet & Simple Sunday: Braid Your Nails!

...OK, not really. Because that would be weird.

Good day! Welcome to another Sweet & Simple Sunday, where I will show you how to create a unique and fun nail design--no special tools or crazy skills necessary! Just some nail polish and a bit of time. Today, grab three colours and get ready to create a fun braided look!

:)

I originally wore this look with three holo polishes (Color Club Beyond, Kismet, and Miss Bliss), and while it looked really pretty, it's so shiny and rainbowy that it was hard to show the design steps clearly! See?

I love it though :D

So, I have recreated with pastels to show you. Sometimes called a "fishtail" manicure, this braided look just consists of simple strokes with the brush that comes in the bottle. It is MUCH easier if your colours are opaque and cover each other in one coat (although it isn't necessary--only one of mine in this tutorial worked well for coverage... you just have to go over the stroke twice).

So here we go! I'm using Zoya Darcy (yellow), Color Club She's Sooo Glam (pink) and Sinful Colors Mint Apple (mint). Start out by painting one coat of your lightest colour as a base. If you need a second coat, go for it, but you really only have to concentrate at the base 1/4 or so of your nail. That's the only part that will actually be left showing. Allow that to dry, then make one diagonal stroke going in one direction at about 45 degrees with your second colour...

Looks Eastery, doesn't it?

...and once that dries, another going in the opposite direction a little farther down. It should so far look like this bottom image.

Let this dry before moving on. (Honestly, this is the part that takes the longest with this design. Waiting for each layer to dry. Do this manicure while you're sitting around watching your favourite TV program or sports team!) Then take your original colour--in my case, the yellow--and make another stroke parallel to the stroke you made with the second colour, right underneath it and overlapping the third. Continue going through in order...

Ta-da!

Once you get to the end, of course, let everything dry before sealing with a topcoat. This will smooth out the surface and prolong the life of your manicure.

This is definitely a more time-consuming design, so I suggest wearing it as an accent nail, and painting the rest of your nails with one of the shades you used in the braid. Or go crazy and wear all of the other colours on different nails :D Or, you know, go REALLY crazy and do it on all your fingers to really catch folks' eyes!

No matter how you decide to wear it, I hope you'll give this braided/fishtail look a try. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll see you next time! xoxo