butterfly mani finished 2

Good news, Rooks: Spring is here! Let’s celebrate the end of cacadoody winter with a butterfly wing manicure that pays tribute to this glorious season AND is surprisingly easy to do! Just make sure you have a good nail art striper and Mariah Carey’s Butterfly album playing in the background. I know, you’re like, “How many times will Marie make us listen to Mariah Carey while we do our nails???” The answer is ONE MILLION! ::witch’s cackle:: Ready babes?

What you’ll need:

What You'll  Need Butterfly

  • A clear base coat. I used Crystal Clear Base Coat by Seche Clear.
  • A clear top coat. Mine is Glisten & Glow’s HK Girl Super Shiny & Fast Drying Top Coat.
  • Two nail polishes in the colors of your choice! I used a pretty plum shade called Flowerista by Essie and a berry-hued glitter polish called Second Base by Floss Gloss.
  • A black nail striper like Milani’s Nail Art With Precision Brush in Black Sketch.
  • A white nail striper. I used Milani’s Nail Art With Precision Brush in White Canvas.
  • Polish remover and cotton swabs or a nail art brush to clean up mistakes.

How to do it:

Step One:

Butterflymani_step_1

Apply clear base coat to every fingernail, which will help protect your nails from discoloration from the polish. Wait about a minute, then paint your nails with the base color of your choosing. I started with Essie’s Flowerista, then put Floss Gloss’s Second Base glitter polish over it to give it a li’l pizzaz.

Step Two:

butterfly mani step 2

Let your base color/s dry for a couple of minutes, then use your black striper to draw and color in an arch on the top of each fingernail.

Step Three:

butterfly mani step 3

With your black striper, draw a slanted line near the base of each nail.

Step Four:

butterfly mani step 4

Still using the black striper, draw four lines connecting the top arch to the slanted line near the base of the nail. Repeat on all fingers.

Step Five:

butterfly mani step 5 finished

Using your white striper, lightly dab polka dots over the top arch of each nail. Let the polishes set for a couple minutes, then paint every nail with clear top coat. Clean up any polish that may have gotten on your fingers with a cotton swab or nail art brush dipped in polish remover.

Now you have butterfly wings on your nails! LOOK AT U, NATURE GODDESS OF SPRING! ♦