Fourth of July Nails

The Fourth of July is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday (other than the fact that it is the eve of my birthday, I love the food, the fireworks, and, of course, the celebration of the best country in the universe.) I figured since I love the 4^th so much, I would showcase the nails that I always sport while watching fireworks. Here are my American flag nails!

 To create the best flag ever, you’ll need:

·         a red nail polish (I’m using Essie Fifth Avenue)

·         a blue polish (Essie Pret-A-Surfer)

·         a white polish (Essie Blanc)

·         Base coat

·         Liquid dry or fast-dry top coat (optional)

·         Nail striper- I'm reusing an old red nail polish striper

·         Dotting tool (or toothpick, pen, etc.)

1.       I started by taking of my previous nail polish.

2.       Whenever I do my nails, I always start with a base coat. I used to not do this, and my nails turned yellow and brittle. I was able to save them by using a base coat, and now I never risk not using one.

3.       After waiting a minute or so for your base coat to dry, apply at least two coats of a white nail polish(By the way, my white polish was super goopy, so it got all over my skin-oops).  After you do this, wait for your polish to be almost dry or completely dry. This ensures that the white polish doesn’t have a weird cutting or pulling look when you paint over it.

4.       Once your polish is dry enough, turn your hand so that your nails are horizontal and outline a blue square using a nail striper. I like to pour a small amount of nail polish on a paper plate and dip my striper in that. This way, you won’t get too much polish on your brush and you have a cute artist palette- a double win.

5.       Fill in the blue square with blue nail polish.

6.       Pour some red nail polish on the same paper plate (not on top of the blue polish, obviously, we don’t want purple stripes) and paint horizontal stripes on your nails.

7.       Go back to the same white polish you painted on your nails before and create dots on the blue squares on your nails.

8.       After you finish your masterpiece, wait for your nails to completely dry. Then, paint a topcoat to finish off your nails. By waiting for your nails to dry and painting your topcoat on in quick strokes, you will prevent your nail art from streaking.

9.       You can stop at the topcoat, but I use a liquid dry top coat to protect my nails from messing up and to help them dry faster.

And that’s all! I love this nail design because it’s fairly simple and it shows the world how fiercely patriotic I am. Now you can eat your all American food, go swimming, and watch fireworks with the cutest and most patriotic nails. I hope your 4^th of July is amazing!

Have a great 4^th of July!

Emily