Leopard Nails Tutorial

Hey loves!
So you all know I’ve recently been in quite a leopard-obsessed phase. Scarves, loafers, sweaters, and now… my nails. 
This looks really complicated, but I promise you it’s not! You don’t need any special tools for this… all you need are three different colors of polish.
Here are the polishes I used to get this look… but feel free to play around with different colors. You can get so creative! The opportunities are endless, and chances are you already have a combo of polishes that look great together, so you don’t even need to go out and buy any. 
From left to right: 
Essie {chinchilly}
Revlon {gold get ’em}
Milani Nail Art in {black sketch
I started by painting all my nails with Essie chinchilly (I needed three coats for it to look completely opaque).
Next, I used Revlon “Gold Get ‘Em” to apply gold dots to my nails in a random pattern. Make sure you get the excess polish off the brush before you make the dots. 
At first, the dots may look like they’re raised, but after about fifteen minutes of drying time they should flatten out. It’s important to wait the FULL fifteen minutes to allow them to dry completely!
Now, the final step!
Using a nail art polish with a really thin brush, apply black polish to your nails in brackets and C-shapes. {This youtube video} shows you how to apply the black polish. 
{A side note about this black polish: I found the Milani kind at CVS. I check both Walgreens and Rite-Aid and neither store sells Milani. If you want this exact kind, I’m pretty sure they only sell it at CVS! If you don’t want to buy a special polish, a bobby pin actually works just as well. Dip the tip of the bobby pin in black polish and use it to apply the bracket shape to your nails}
And ta-dah! You have leopard print nails. Finish with a couple coats of top coat, and you’re good to go.
Please let me know if you try this and send me a picture!! I’d LOVE to see how creative you can get! πŸ™‚
Love, Cait

Leave a Comment

24 Comments

  1. this is such a cute idea! You go girl!

    10.21.12Reply
  2. How fun!! Love it!

    10.21.12Reply
  3. Girl I'm totally with you on the leopard print obsesh I tried to do that on my nails and it turned out horrible so I just painted the whole thing black lol. Yours look super cute though πŸ™‚

    10.21.12Reply
  4. Oh, pretty nails!!!

    great post!

    thank you for visiting my blog and your comment!

    I'm following you in GFC.

    Could you please follow me back?

    http://styleglaze.blogspot.com

    10.21.12Reply
  5. That looks amazing!! I'm going to try it!

    10.21.12Reply
  6. thank you for your comment!
    hope you had a great weekend too! πŸ™‚

    happyleeliving.blogspot.com

    10.21.12Reply
  7. I absolutely love this and I will have to try it. Your blog is adorable and I am now following you!

    xx
    Kelly
    Sparkles and Shoes

    10.21.12Reply
  8. Your nails look fab, great tutorial! I am not sure it would last very long on my nails…

    10.21.12Reply
  9. You made this look super easy! I need to go get some nail art polish. Thanks for the inspiration

    10.22.12Reply
  10. super cute nails

    10.22.12Reply
  11. Adorable! I want to try this!

    10.22.12Reply
  12. way cute! great job!

    -AJ
    FitTravelerAJ.blogspot.com

    10.22.12Reply
  13. I love nail art like this but I am awful when it comes to doing it on my right hand!! This is so cute and would totally be worth a try!

    10.22.12Reply
  14. um…i love this! your nails look so perfect. i doubt i would ever be able to recreate this look so for now i'm just gonna get some essie chinchilly b/c i love that color.

    10.22.12Reply
  15. Fun! I love it. Although I have a feeling they wouldn't let me wear these at the hospital. πŸ™‚

    10.22.12Reply
  16. This is so cute and so fun, I love it!

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

    10.22.12Reply
  17. You make this sound so easy! I'm definitely going to have to give this a try. And I'm loving all of the leopard you've been blogging about. Keep it coming πŸ™‚

    10.22.12Reply
  18. These came out awesome–I wish I was that skilled at my nails!

    -Alyssa
    The Glossy Life

    10.22.12Reply
  19. STOP. I'm so jealous. I'm hopeless with nail-painting!
    xo Josie
    http://www.winksmilestyle.com

    10.22.12Reply
  20. So cute I love it !! I will definitely try it !!
    xo dVb
    http://thegermanprep.blogspot.de/

    10.22.12Reply
  21. This looks really good. I'm definitely going to try it.

    http://www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

    10.22.12Reply
  22. Love it!! Thanks for sharing…I think I may just have to give it a whirl this week! Super cute and I like it as an accent nail and not all 10 fingers!! Well done, sweet girl!

    10.23.12Reply
  23. How fun, Caitlin

    Fyi, I have that luxury-hotel stay giveaway up right now.

    10.24.12Reply
  24. super fun and cute–i've tried but have failed miserably to paint my nails fancy…xo

    11.7.12Reply