Sephora has recently introduced their newest line of makeup and nail polish called Pantone Universe, and they chose Emerald as their color of the year. Naturally, I am drawn to this color because it’s my birthstone…but, seriously, the color is GORGEOUS. It’s a deep, rich green that is both sophisticated and trendy. I was looking around on Pinterest and saw the gold nail studs on a someone’s “Manicure Board.” I really liked the design, so I figured it would be a fun way to decorate my newest manicure…it was also a great way to procraste (midterms suck)!
What You’ll Need: Sephora’s Emerald Polish, topcoat, basecoat, nail studs/jewels, and a toothpick or something to pick up the studs from the container.
1. Paint nails with the basecoat to have a perfect, smooth base for the color.
2. Paint 2 coats of Emerald Polish.
3. Apply topcoat to all nails except for the one that you are going to put the design on.
**Wait about 15 minutes for your nails to dry, so you don’t ruin your manicure by trying to touch a million things.**
4. Paint the nail that you want the design on with topcoat–just so the polish is wet and the studs will stick.
5. First, start the design by placing a stripe of studs down the middle.
6. Pick the stud that is the most centered on your nail and line up the side studs next to it (so it looks like a plus sign).
7. Do the diagonal studs last. If your studs are not sticking as easily by the time that you get to this point, apply another topcoat to make the nail wet with polish again–the more polish, the easier the studs will stick, and the less work you have to do.
8. Finish with a topcoat over the whole nail design to hold everything in place, and you are all done!
Doing your nails is a good study break to help relieve some stress, and it takes about an hour to do. Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any suggestions for nail designs!