Jellybean Nails - with Sharpies!

Hi Tory,

I really enjoyed doing the heart-frame nails for Valentine's Day and wanted to expand on the technique a bit. Framing the nails in black like that gives them a cool, graphic quality - almost like a Batman comic, so I've been playing around with some ideas.

try out some bright jellybean colours - maybe do a different colour on each finger

This one actually came out of an accident - never dismiss your mistakes! - where the brush slipped and the line came out too thick. I kept going and that's how Jellybean Nails were born! (I bought a set of fine detail art brushes at The Works and I'd totally recommend it as they're perfect for nail art and they don't cost an awful lot.)

costs
£6.77

The finishing touch was using a Sharpie pen to do all the details and make the rounded corners - my caveat is to let the nail polish underneath dry completely or the Sharpie won't stick.

Also then let the Sharpie dry or the top coat will smear it. (The great thing about using Sharpies in nail art is that if you make a mistake you can just wipe it off with some surgical spirit and it doesn't ruin the nail polish.) Try out some bright jellybean colours - maybe do a different colour on each finger. Fun!

Steps

• Put on a clear base coat and then your background colour (I used two coats) and let this dry thoroughly.
• Do three sides of a black frame using a small art brush and black nail polish - I found it easiest to do all the left sides, then the bottoms, then the tops. Leave the right side free, and I also kept my Bourjois remover pot on hand to clean off the brush.
• Paint just over one half of the right hand side of the nails with black polish and leave this to dry completely - you want your Sharpie coat to stick!
• Round the corners of the rectangle you have left using the Sharpie - you can make it as deep or as shallow as you like but you want to end up with a lozenge shape. You can also use the Sharpie to fill in any gaps in the black polish.
• Use the Sharpie to make three small dots for the jellybean highlight and let the Sharpie dry completely. Put on a clear topcoat and it's finished!

Products Used

• NYC In a New York Minute in Grand Central Station
• MUA Nail Polish in Shade 9
• 2True Glossywear Polish in Shade 39
• Sharpie in Black
• Prices based on what I paid for the whole look from scratch, and correct at the time of posting

Hugs and kisses,
xxx