Prom Nails: The best nail art around!

You already know how much I love nail art. (I talk about it waaaay too much.) But I need to discuss it one more time since you have a very special occasion coming up: PROM.

Besides the dress, shoes, and jewelry, you need to do something amazing with your nails. Not convinced? Here are the top 10 reasons you need to wear nail art this year to prom:

10. Nail art pumps new life into a reused dress or jewelry look on the cheap.
9. You won't get fungus from gross acrylics at the salon.
8. It's another part of your total look that you can show off to your friends.
7. If you do the polish yourself, you've got additional bragging rights all night long.
6. Your hands will look extra nice in all the prom pics -- and when you're showing off your wrist corsage.
5. If you go with a traditional dress, you can use your nails to add some funk to your look.
4. Go with glitter and your nails will sparkle on the dance floor.
3. Try the new caviar nail method, and you'll be the envy of everyone, including the prom queen.
2. If someone does show up with the same dress as you, at least they won't have the same nail polish design.
1. Why not?

And now that I've convinced you (mwhaha), here are my top 10 nail art ideas and how-tos.

Disco Ball

Light up the room with these sparkly nails. Feminine and delicate, this look is easy to copy, and will steal the spotlight from the ... well, spotlight.

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply two coats of white nail polish.
3. When dry, apply a thin coat of silver glitter polish. The glitter pieces should be small and the coat should not fully cover the nail. (Try OPI Crown Me Already, £9.99.)
4. Next, apply a thin coat of silver glitter polish, but this time from a polish with chunkier glitter pieces, like Revlon Chunky Nail Polish Top Coat, £3.75. These pieces should also not fully cover the nail, and appear randomly placed.
5. Finish by applying a top coat.

Lovely Lace

Consider this a multi-media nail art design. You'll need a scrap piece of lace, along with your usual nail polish necessities. Here's how to get the look:

1. Before you begin, take a scrap of lace and cut out pieces that match the size and shape of each of your nails. (This is the most time-consuming part, I promise!)
2. Apply a base coat to your nails.
3. Next, paint on two coats of a pink nail polish, or whatever color matches your prom outfit.
4. Once dry, apply a clear top coat. Before the top coat has a chance to dry, place a piece of pre-cut lace on top of the nail. Trim off any extra lace that doesn't fit the nail.
5. Swipe on another layer of top coat to firmly fix the lace in place. Continue this process with the rest of your nails.

Metallic Touch

Want to try out the latest metallic trend, but aren't into having your nails rival the glare of the sun? Check out this black and gold combo:

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply a two coats of a matte blue or black polish, like OPI Matte Lincoln Park After Dark, £10.50.
3. Once dry, press on half of a binder paper ring sticker toward the base of your nail, but not exactly at the base. (The curve of the sticker should mimic the curve of your cuticle.) When applied, there should be a tiny piece of exposed nail between the sticker and the cuticle.
4. Swipe metallic gold nail polish on the part of exposed nail, between the cuticle and the sticker.
5. Wait for the gold polish to completely dry, then remove the sticker. Since you want to maintain the matte look of black polish, do not apply a top coat.

Geometric Glitter

Glitter is fun, but if you want to give it a "serious" boost, try using the polish in an unusual pattern. For example, the geometric style of this design plays down the whimsical nature of the glitter, and gives the look a more grown-up feel.

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply two coats of an ivory white polish to your nails, except for your ring finger nail. On your ring finger nail, apply two or three coats of a pink glitter polish, like Butter London Rosie Lee, £12.
3. Once dry, take nail art tape (like the stickers used for French manicures), and outline a triangle shape with the tape, beginning at the base of the nail.
4. Paint the inside of the triangle with several coats of the pink glitter polish.
5. After it has dried, remove the tape and apply a top coat to the nail.

Star Power

Show off your star power with this fun nail design. (Plus, turquoise nails couldn't be hotter right now.) Here's how to steal this style:

1. Begin by cutting a half star shape out of painter's tape. The half star shape should fit on all your nails, or you can create multiple half stars in different sizes.
2. Apply a base coat to your nails.
3. Next, swipe on two coats of a turquoise nail polish to your nails, and add a top coat
4. After the top coat is completely dry, stick on the painter's tape with the cut out of the half star. Make sure the edges of the tape are firmly attached to the nails. (For this look, the manicurist placed the star coming off the tip of the nails.)
5. Apply two coats of gold nail polish in the cut out portion of the star.
6. Once the gold polish is completely dry, carefully remove the painter's tape. Apply a top coat to the nails.

Tropical Sun Rise

This look combines a lot of elements: a lace pattern, the ombre effect, and gold micro beads. You can try one of these ideas or combine all of them for this tropical nail art look. Here's how to get the look:

1. Start with a clear base coat.
2. Use a nail art stamp (like Konad Nail Art Design Plate M57) and white polish to create the lace pattern on your nails.
3. Once the lace pattern has dried, it's time to apply the ombre effect on your nails. Begin in the middle of your nail with one color, swiping the color toward the tip of the nail. Before you reach the tip of the nails, switch polish colors, so the two colors overlap in the middle. To get the colors to smoothly blend, go over the wet polish with a top coat.
4. After the ombre effect has been added to each nail, coat the entire nail with more top coat. Before the top coat has time to dry, randomly place gold micro beads on the nail. (You can find micro beads at most craft stores.) The top coat will secure the beads to the nail.

Touch of Gold

This nail design is a lot like the first look, except here we concentrate all the sparkles at the base of the nail. Here's how to steal this style:

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply two coats of a light pink polish to your nails, like Essie 162 Ballet Slippers, £8.99.
3. Once dry, apply a few coats of (small) gold glitter polish around the base of your nail. Then, apply a layer of the (big) gold glitter polish on top. (Never take the gold past the halfway point of your nail.)
4. To finish, seal with a top coat.

Saved by the Bell

This design reminds me of my favorite childhood TV show. And since it did take place in a school, it's totally appropriate to wear to the prom. Here's how to get the look:

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply two coats of a pepto pink nail polish to your nails.
3. Once dry, use nail art tape (or French manicure tape) to create a straight line. Paint all the exposed nail on one side of the tape bright purple. Once that is completely dry, remove the tape, and reapply the tape elsewhere to create the final black sliver.
4. After each nail has the three colors on it, apply a top coat to seal the design.

Rose Garden

You don't need a super steady hand or tons of patience to get these roses to grow on your nails. It's about finding the right nail stamp. Here's how to steal this style:

1. Start with a base coat.
2. Apply two coats of nail polish to each nail. I suggest picking three colors (like white, black, and coral), and rotating them as the base color.
3. Once the base coats are dry, use a nail art stamp (like Konad Nail Art Design Plate M76) of a rose to place the pattern on your nails. Like the base coat, rotate the nail polish colors of the stamp to get that contrast and variation on your nails.
4. Finish by sealing the design with a top coat.

Caviar Nails

This type of design is only called caviar nails, so no worries about smelly fish eggs. Instead, this look involves polish and tiny micro beads or you can buy a kit from Ciaté with all the pieces. Here's how to get the look, without the kit:

1. Work on one nail at a time. First, apply two coats of polish on your nails. The polish color should match the micro beads you'll apply on top of the polish.
2. Holding your finger over a tiny tray or cup, sprinkle micro beads onto your nail while the polish is still wet. Make sure to coat the entire nail.
3. Gently press and compact the beads into your nail.
4. Let your nails dry for at least 20 minutes. After they dry, apply a layer of top coat.




And there you have it, easy nail art looks that will make you sparkle and shine.  I just love all of the amazing looks that you can achieve.

Enjoy doing your own nail art designs!