Two of my best friends, Thamires and Carolyn, visited last weekend. It was a whirlwind weekend of catching up, craft fair fun, and a birthday BBQ, but we had a bit of down time in the evenings. I commented on Thamires' cool flower pedicure, which she had just gotten done at a salon. Lucky for me and Carolyn, Thamires had been observant and offered to do her own version of a flower manicure for us. Carolyn opted for a flower on each finger, while I chose an accent nail and simpler dots on the rest.
Supplies
- Base & top coat (I use Seche Vite).
- Color 1: Main accent nail color (thumb): I chose Essie "Beach Bum Blue" (light blue)
- Color 2: Main polish color for other four nails: I chose Essie "Mod Square" (pink)
- Color 3: Polish color for design on accent nail: I chose Essie "Aruba Blue" (dark blue)
- Toothpick (the kind with one round side and one pointy side will work best)
- A non-porous surface for use while working with the wet polish. My friend just used her fingernail (on her non-dominant hand) but obviously that won't work if you are doing the manicure on your own nails.
- Tissue or makeup remover pad.
Instructions
1. Apply a base coat to each nail. Let it dry.
2. Apply your two main nail colors (Colors 1 & 2). Add multiple coats if necessary. Let them dry.
3. Brush a little bit of Color 1 onto your non-porous surface.
4. Dip the rounded end of the toothpick into Color 1. Then press it onto your accent nail. This should form a circle, which will become one of the petals. Repeat this step to make a flower shape with five petals/circles.
5. Using the pointy end of the toothpick, press gently into the center of one of the circles/petals. Move in a straight line toward the center of the flower to form a tiny line. Repeat for each petal.
6. Dip the pointy end of the toothpick into Color 1 again and use it to lightly make a smaller dot near the flower. Repeat (but not too close) to form a pattern of dots along the nail.
7. Use the tissue/makeup-remover pad to wipe Color 1 off the toothpick.
8. Use the pointy end and Color 2 to form the dots on the other nails. Wipe off the toothpick.
9. Make sure your accent nail is dry. Use round end of the toothpick with Color 3 to form the center of the flower. Use the pointy end to add another dot next to/above each small dot on the accent nail.
10. Make sure everything is dry. Apply your top coat.
Tips
- Work carefully but quickly on the design. You may need to replenish your dipping surface a few times if the polish starts drying. Be careful as the polish can get stringy and hard to work with when it starts drying.
- When you wipe off the toothpick colors with the tissue/remover pad, it doesn't have to be spotless, just clean or dry enough that it won't mix with the other colors.
