Simple nail art at home asks for less than you might expect: two or three polish colours that contrast, a glitter for one accent nail, something fine for dots, a clean-up pen for the edges and a top coat to seal it all. With those, three designs are well within reach on a first attempt: a French tip, a pattern of dots and a single glitter accent nail. Below is each in turn, with the polishes, stickers and top coats we would choose.
What Do You Need to Start?
- Two or three nail polish colours: a soft base shade and one or two stronger ones to contrast with it.
- A glitter polish for an accent nail.
- Something fine for detail: a dotting tool, or the rounded end of a hairpin.
- A clean-up pen, or a small brush dipped in remover, for tidying the edges.
- A clear top coat, gloss or matte, to seal the design.
- Nail stickers, if you would rather place a design than paint it.
Begin with clean, dry nails, filed to the shape you like and free of oil or old polish. Our Nail and Cuticle Care routine covers the preparation in the days before, and How to Choose a Nail Polish That Lasts covers base coats and the colour itself.
Choosing Colours That Work Together
Nail art reads most clearly when the colours contrast. A soft base with one deeper shade is the simplest pairing: dots, tips and stripes show up cleanly, and a small slip is forgiving.
Essie's Peach Nail Polish is a soft peach. MIA Cosmetics Paris's Beige Nail Polish is a rose nude with a high-gloss finish, close to the colour of the nail itself and a natural starting point for a French tip. For contrast, Rimmel London's bold red from its Super Gel range has a gel-effect finish and high pigment for even coverage, and Catrice's Iconails Nail Polish, in a deep berry, has a gel-effect shine and is made to be worn without a separate top coat when you wear it on its own.
How to Paint Dots
Dots are the easiest place to start. Paint two thin coats of your base colour and let them dry fully; dots placed on soft polish will drag. Put a small drop of the contrast colour on a piece of foil or card, dip the dotting tool or the end of a hairpin, and touch it to the nail lightly, lifting straight up. Dip again for every dot so they stay the same size. A larger tip gives a larger dot.
Three patterns to try: a single dot at the base of each nail, close to the cuticle; three small dots in a diagonal line across one nail; or polka dots scattered over every nail. Let the dots dry before the top coat, then float the top coat over them with a well-loaded brush and a light stroke.
A Simple French Tip
A French tip is a pale base with a contrasting line along the free edge of the nail. Paint a sheer or nude base first and let it dry. For the tip, rest your hand flat on the table and turn the finger rather than the brush, sweeping from one corner across to the other in a single movement. The line does not need to be perfect at the first pass: tidy it afterwards. Once you are comfortable, try a coloured tip: red over beige, say.
Opi's Correct Clean Up Nail Care Pen has a fine nib for exact corrections, for removing stray polish from the skin and refining the nail edge. If you would like the look without painting it, press-on French nails give a ready-made version. Ardell's Nail Addict French False Nails pair a glossy beige base with crisp white tips, and the set includes glue, a file and a cuticle stick. Elegant Touch's French Pink Square Artificial Nails are clear and pink-toned in a square shape, 24 nails in 12 sizes with glue included. For either, choose the closest size for each nail, use the glue sparingly and press each nail firmly into place.
One Glitter Accent Nail
The quickest design of all: one colour on four nails, glitter on the fifth, usually the ring finger. Glitter can go over a base colour or be worn on its own. Dab it on rather than brushing it in long strokes, which places more of the particles where you want them, and build it in thin layers. When you take it off, hold a pad soaked in remover against the nail for a moment before wiping, so the glitter lifts rather than scatters.
Rimmel London's Divers Blue is a blue glitter shade, a 3-in-1 formula that works as base, colour and top. Morgan Taylor's Total Request Red Nail Lacquer Set brings together four mini lacquers in blue, purple, pink and red, a mix of glittery and solid finishes made for mixing, matching and layering. For the four plain nails beside the accent, Catrice's Super Brights Nail Polish is a high-pigment cream colour with a wide brush, made to give intense colour in a single coat.
- Made With Love By Tom Daley 040 Divers Blue Nail Polish
- Total Request Red Nail Lacquer Set
- Super Brights Nail Polish
Nail Stickers and the Finishing Top Coat
Stickers give a precise design without freehand painting. Apply them only once the polish beneath is completely dry, lift each one with tweezers, press it down from the centre outwards, then seal over the edges with a clear top coat. Catrice's Oui Oui Not Sorry Nail Stickers come as a sheet of 91 decals: alphabet letters, numbers, small drawings and words in pink and gold foil, with an adhesive backing.
The top coat decides the finish. Bourjois's Healthy Mix Top Coat is a clear, fast-drying layer with an ultra-gloss finish. MIA Cosmetics Paris's Matt Effect Top Coat is clear too, but turns glossy polish into a soft, velvety matte. Used together they make a subtle design of their own: the matte coat over the colour, then a few dots of the gloss on top.
In Short
Start with contrast, keep every layer thin and let each one dry before the next, then seal the design with a top coat. If you prefer a lamp-cured finish, our guide Gel Nails at Home covers kits, lamps and gentle removal.
If you try one design this week, make it the accent nail: one colour on four nails, glitter on the fifth, and a top coat over all.
