It’s been far too long since I’ve created a new manicure for the site (see previous posts here) and I finally had the time this weekend to sit down & have some fun with my polish again. I was inspired by the print of this Old Navy sweater & wanted to recreate a leopard pattern using neutral tones. The great thing about leopard print is that it isn’t an exact science like stripes or polka dots. The more irregular you do it, the more authentic it looks.
You can do this design with any colors (my daughter can’t wait for me to try one using pinks for her nails & toes!). I begin all my manicures with clean dry nails & start by filing and buffing them, pushing back my cuticles & applying base coat. Once your base coat is dry, you’re ready to get started. Here are the steps to creating this leopard-print manicure:
You can do this design with any colors (my daughter can’t wait for me to try one using pinks for her nails & toes!). I begin all my manicures with clean dry nails & start by filing and buffing them, pushing back my cuticles & applying base coat. Once your base coat is dry, you’re ready to get started. Here are the steps to creating this leopard-print manicure:
Products used
Sally Hansen Wet Cement // Sally Hansen Black Out // Fiskars Dual-Tip Stylus
Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors // Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors // Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Step 1: Paint on your gray base polish – make sure you have full coverage/opacity since you’ll only be doing one coat. Let dry completely.
Step 2: Use silver polish to create a scattered polka dot pattern. The more random the placement, the better. Be sure to leave enough room between dots to create the surrounding leopard design. Let dry completely.
Step 3: Pour a small amount of black polish onto a paper plate. Dip the stylus or end of a straightened-out bobby pin into the polish and carefully apply around the silver dots. (If your pattern looks too bare when you’re done surrounding the dots, you can fill in with small polka dots as I did here.) Let dry completely – if you try to apply the topcoat too soon, the design will smear.
Step 4: Apply a fast-drying top coat & let dry.
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