4 Nail design tutorials inspired by fashion designers

NAIL FASHION FUN!

Here are four fun and easy DIY nail designs inspired by the collections of the best fashion designers in the biz!

Paloma print nails inspired by Tibi

The Paloma print from Tibi's fall 2012 collection is a fun and graphic statement. The silhouettes of the flying birds is slightly abstract and is a great option for a tropical nail design any time of the year.

Supplies:

To complete this simple yet elegant nail design, there are a few supplies you'll need. You need to buy Sally Hansen White On as well as China Glaze Liquid Leather. Of course you can't forget the paint brush either. It is best to use a small paint brush so you can truly capture the detail in this design.

Instructions:

1

Base coat

When you start, make sure your nails are clean. It is now time to begin with a thick white base. This is going to be the background and you want to make sure it provides the proper backdrop for the birds.

2

Time for the design

Using your paint brush, paint a curved line and fill in part of it. This will make the bird's body. Then paint a perpendicular line curved through the middle. Fill in the line and feather the bottom part of it to create the bird's wings. Using this same method, paint more birds on the nail in different positions. The sky is the limit on how many birds you want to add per nail.

3

Repeat

Use all of the above steps on the rest of your nails. It would probably be smart to make varying patterns from nail to nail.

4

Finish up

Congratulations! You have almost completed the task. All you have to do now is add a top coat or sealer to really make the design pop. Doesn't it look wonderful? Don't be afraid to go out and show off your hard work.

Diesel-inspired nails

A number of the looks at the Diesel spring 2013 show involved large crosshatch fabric. The graphic way they filled in parts of the design is very modern and breezy and perfect for spring.

Supplies:

This nail design is a little bit more involved. You will need some Scotch tape and China Glaze Liquid Leather.

Instructions:

1

Time to paint

Paint two coats of black polish on a strip of tape and let it dry. Make sure you allow the proper time for the paint to dry, as it is a very important step in this process. You'll need one section of tape for every finger.

2

Cut the tape

Cut off the tips of the piece of tape, and then cut a thin strip off that piece.

3

Application

Place the first strip of tape across the middle of the nail. Repeat this process for strips above and below. Place a strip of tape vertically down the middle of the nail. Once again you need to repeat this step with two or more strips of tape, one on each side. This completes the crosshatch design.

4

Runway ready

Using the black paint brush and a photo of the runway for inspiration, color in some blocks to make a pattern. You probably want to switch up the pattern for each nail and add some variety.

Elie Saab-inspired nails

This is a fun abstract design inspired by some of the prints from the Elie Saab spring 2013 show. Their breezy chiffon dresses were made more dramatic with this bold, playful print and they were inspired to translate it into nail art. It's almost like a spring camouflage!

Supplies:

The colors used in this particular design are Essie Turquoise and Caicos, Bikini So Teeny, Haute as Hello and Sand Tropez; Sephora by OPI Hi Def; Piggy Polish You Had Me At Yellow.

Instructions:

1

Base coat

To kick things off, you need to start with a solid base coat of Sand Tropez.

2

Get artistic

Now it's time to let your creative side take over. Add in some abstract splotches of blue. There are no specific rules to how you add the blue — just make sure you have fun with it.

3

Finish up

Now you can add the finishing touches with more splotches in various shapes with each of the remaining colors. Like I said before, the only rule here is that you need to have fun with it.

Etro-inspired nails

Nothing screams spring more than floral. While a flowery print may be an obvious sartorial choice, it is still surprising to see on nails — especially if done in an abstract way! These nails were inspired by the prints seen at Etro's spring 2013 show, specifically by a pair of black and white pants with a floral stripe.

Supplies:

The supplies you need include: A small paint brush, Sally Hansen Blue Me Away, Zoya Kara, China Glaze Liquid Leather, Essie Lovie Dovie, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, SinfulColors Innocent and Sally Hansen White On.

Instructions:

1

Get started

Start by painting half of the nail black and let it dry. You don't have to be precise because when it's dry, you will then paint white alongside it making a textured line along the middle of the nail.

2

Be creative

With the small paint brush, make some small blobs of color (representing an abstract flower), starting with yellow, then adding a small amount of green. Follow this process with a larger shape of light pink and then a bit of darker pink in the middle of that. Give it a few small blue accents as well.

3

Finish up

When it's dry, finish with a top coat to make the flower you have just created really pop.