6 Nail Art Ideas That Will Disguise an Outgrown Manicure
Sooner or later, even the most beautiful manicure will have to be refreshed, because the more time that passes after the procedure, the more noticeable the border between the nail polish and the outgrown nail becomes.
But, proper nail art can disguise an outgrown manicure helping it look fresh much longer. After all, we don’t always have time to refresh our manicure in a timely manner, like for example, during a long trip.
5-Minute Crafts would like to tell you which nail art ideas will help you go longer periods of time between manicures while keeping your nails looking nice.
Patterns
A clear base is a universal background and the main secret that will help keep your manicure looking fresh. As the nails grow, the border between the outgrown nail and the clear nail polish will be less noticeable than if you use colored nail polish.
Various patterns can be combined with a clear base, for example, images of colorful leopard spots or tiger stripes. These patterns have a lot of variations, you can:
- cover all of your nails with a pattern.
- completely cover 2 nails out of 5, and draw 1 spot or stripe on the rest.
- cover half of the nail with a pattern on one or more fingers, and draw single spots or stripes on the others.
- draw the pattern diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
You can use the same approach and draw flowers, planets, letters, animals, lines, geometric shapes, and much more.
Combination
A clear background doesn’t have to cover the entire nail plate. Half or 2/3 of the nail can be painted with colorful nail polish, but 1/3 of the nail, near the cuticle, is best left clear. This trick will allow your painted nails to grow while still looking nice, rather than if you cover your nails with nail polish completely.
The clear area near the cuticle can also be decorated with stripes or rhinestones so that your nails don’t look like they were not fully painted.
The horizontal gradient technique is also a great option if you want to wear a bright manicure longer than usual. The main idea here is that the most saturated color is located at the tips of the nails and then it smoothly turns into a transparent tone near the cuticle.
Tape
Nail adhesive tapes can also be used as the main nail art element. They can be combined in different ways, so your nail art can become really unique.
You can use either a clear base or a slightly mattifying nail polish. However, the clearer the background is, the more nicely your manicure will grow and the longer it will look fresh.
Foil and stickers
Stickers, foil, or a combination of both can be a good alternative to nail polish. The combination of these decorative elements, depending on the color of the foil and the images on the stickers, can make your manicure neutral, bright, or even extraterrestrial.
The options for applying foil are different: you can apply it in a random way, to the very tip of the nail, or to 2/3 of the nail plate. But it’s still important to leave the area near the cuticle clear.
Mermaid nail powder
Mermaid powder has to be rubbed over your base nail color. It looks like a colored glitter powder and lets your nails sparkle in different shades. Usually, mermaid powder is used on the entire nail plate. This looks beautiful, but it won’t help you with nails that have grown out.
There is a trick that will help you prolong the freshness of your manicure with this nail art: just apply the powder to the tip of the nail or to 2/3 of its length over a clear base. The main idea here is to make a smooth transition between the colorful powder and the base.
Rhinestones and glitter
The smooth transition between colorful nail polish and clear base can also be done using glitter or rhinestones. As shown in the photo above, it’s enough to apply a dense layer on the tip of the nail and make a smooth transition to the transparent base near the cuticle.
Pedicure
All the ideas described above can also be used for a pedicure if the break between 2 procedures has to be longer than usual.