The September issue of InStyle magazine has a lovely beauty feature called Nailing The Season and I fell in love with this colorblock nail look. Nail polish designs have been having a moment for quite some time but I tend to lean more toward the simpler looks. I’m really drawn to the lack of uniformity and the simplicity of the colorblock and I took the idea a little further by color blocking some nails while leaving others solid.
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| via Instyle |
The inspiration manicure uses shades of green, Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen in Loden Green and Zoya Pixie Dust in Vespa, but since I’m having a late-summer love affair with blue, I chose Julep’s Lacey and Julianne for my colorblock nail design. Lacey is a gorgeous, richly pigmented, midnight blue with a slight shimmer and it applies like a dream. Julianne is rich, creamy and soft. Love them both together and separately.
In addition to my desire to mix it up when it comes to polish, there are a couple of other reasons I didn’t do the color blocking on all ten fingers. First, and most importantly, I’m not the ambidextrous type so there’s no way I would be able to get anything close to a clean line on my right hand.
As you can see in the image below, it’s all a little shaky. Second, my nails are not all the same length at the moment. My thumbs, which you can’t see, are only slightly longer than my nail beds because I have to be able to use my phone and long nails definitely get in the way of that. I haven’t let my nails grow this long in years and even though they are really feminine and dainty, they are getting a bit cumbersome. I’ll probably do a chop after Labor Day and start fresh for the fall.
Here are the DIY instructions to achieve the complete colorblock nail look:
1. Apply a thin layer of clear base coat to each nail.
2. Starting with your pinkie, paint every other nail with two coats of the lighter shade.
3. Layer bare nails with two coats of the darker shade.
4. Paint the upper half of each nail with two coats of the other shade, swiping the brush horizontally across the center of the nail before filling in the top half.
5. Apply top coat.
The Modification, AKA What I Did:
1. I alternated the placement of the colors so that on my left hand I started at the pinkie with the lighter shade and on the right hand, I started at the pinkie with the darker shade. The end result is having corresponding fingers with different colors.
2. I chose the index and middle finger on my left hand for the color blocking, leaving the remaining three fingers solid.
3. I chose the pinkie and ring finger on my right hand for color blocking, leaving the remaining three fingers solid.
Application Tip: Make sure you allow enough drying time before attempting the color blocking and before applying the top coat. Be sure to work in thin layers because four layers of polish with a base and top coat can get a little thick and won’t last as long.
And, if you want to your very own Julep colors, Become a Maven
and get many, many gorgeous shades.
Happy polishing!
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This is very interesting. I love playing with nail paints but you nailed it
Aww such great nail polish! PErfection.
Your polish inspiration is fabulous! I love the simplicity of it too as most of us might be able to pull it off. I love Julep and have a pretty impressive selection of colors from them… Hint: It's addictive.
I know! I have to actively restrain myself from getting my Maven Box every month. My polish collection is a little embarrassing.
Love Julep nail polish. So much fun to play around with their color palettes.
Looks really artistic 🙂
you have a really gorgeous nails! wish i can have nails like that too
I really love this trend! It's easy to accomplish but so pretty!
I have crazy nail envy right now. They look so beautiful and you did a great job. *sigh..
I love color block nails! I haven't tried them yet but I really want to!
Your nails are gorgeous. I like the color block look, it's pretty.
Now that is a nail design that I can handle! & I love the two colors together, they would match just about any outfit.
Loving the color block look! I'm doing this next to my nails. Love it!
I love Julep products. Fun colors that last really well.
I've heard a lot of good things about Julep. Will have to look into it. Your nails looks great!
Wow I love the color blocking! I have never done that before but I will have to try it. Thanks!
I never really liked black polish but you made it look really nice. I would actually try this. Thanks for sharing.
Cute design! Big impact but without being overly complicated
Totally! I love high impact/minimal effort!
Those are some great colors. I love the way you designed them on your nails.
Michelle F.
those look beautiful! I love it!
My wife loves Julep box! Personally I'm not a fan of the colors but I'm sure my wife wouldn't complain!
It's hard for me to maintain long nails. Seeing how you made colorblock nails makes me envious.
I don't paint my nails but they look very pretty. I will pass this on to my girlfriends.
Gorgeous!
I really like this color blocking. I will have to try it out myself. But my nails are WAY shorter than yours.
It works for shorter nails too!
They are pretty colors together. Your nails look great.
Looks so pretty!!! I like the color combo you used. Your nails are so long, wish mine would grow.
I really like this look. I could never do it- just can't seem to make myself spend that much time on nail polish. Solid color is good for me!
Wow your nails turned out beautiful. I love the colors, they seem so fancy.
Thank you! I felt really fancy!
Thanks Sharon! I would love to see photos if your daughter does give it a shot!
Those nails look gorgeous! I have a daughter who is obsessed with nail polish. She would so be into this. I'm going to see if she's heard of this color blocking. I'm sure she will want to try it. I know it.
Sharon
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