How to: Summer Ombre Nails

Summer Ombre Nails

In Sydney, summer is finally gone but that hasn’t stopped me from creating these bright Summer Ombre Nails. If you have been following me on Instagram you would see that my last few designs have been following a summer theme. I guess I haven’t quite made the change to winter yet. Which isn’t surprising given that seemingly overnight the weather moved from summer to winter, skipping autumn completely.

I have done a few ombre style nails in the past, I think this may be my first sunset inspired design. I love the ombre technique because it’s easy to do once you get around the messiness and it doesn’t have to be perfect. As long as you can get the colours to work together you will have an amazing design.

Red, Orange and Pink…Oh, my!

For this design, I used three different polishes red, orange and pink. It doesn’t matter what brand is. Rather it’s more important that the shades of colours work together. I also used gold palm tree water decals but you could also use other coloured decals or ever freehand paint (if your feeling brave).

For the ombre, I generally start by painting the lightest colour on my nail as a base. This can make it easier to apply the ombre particularly if you’re new to the technique. Wait for this layer to fully dry.

For the next step, it will certainly help to have a latex barrier applied around your nail to reduce the amount of polish on your skin. However, painters tape or masking tape can also work to reduce the mess.

Grab a sponge and begin to paint stripes of colour moving from the darkest shade to the lightest. Dab this onto your nail. I use cheap makeup sponges. You may find one type works better than others. If your having issues try a different sponge. Repeat this as many times as needed ensuring that you continue to top up the sponge so that it doesn’t dry out. If the sponge is too dry it can have a tendency to stick to the nail and damage the polish that’s already been applied.

After completing the ombre, apply a clear top coat. Don’t worry if the ombre isn’t perfect the top coat will make the ombre look smooth. The top coat will also ensure that the colours don’t smudge. This is particularly important if your planning to add some stamping over the top.

I added some gold palm trees and applied two more top coats to complete the design.

I hope you found this Summer Ombre Nail Art Tutorial useful! If you give this a go tag me in your designs (@theNailChronicle or twitter @NailChronicle)