Tutorial: Layer Cloud Manicure

♫ JYJ - Only One (인천아시아드송)

Hello again! It's time for another one of my (rare) tutorials! (≧∇≦)


I've been trying out some simple freehand nail designs lately, and this pretty 'cloud layer' look has been my most recent obsession. I first saw this design on Nailside (her designs are gorgeous!) but never got around to trying it. Now I've finally given it a try [thanks to this tutorial], and I'm amazed by how easy and pretty it! You just need a couple of complimentary nail polish colours; there's no need for any nail art brushes or anything!

First of all, you'll need to get your polishes ready. Here's what I used for this tutorial:
  • The Face Shop base coat
  • Etude House nail polish in SPK001
  • Revlon Top Speed nail enamel in "Pink Lingerie"
  • Holika Holika nail polish in #03
  • Random brand top coat
Now, let's begin!


For this nail art, I'd highly recommend you use colours that are opaque in one coat, as it involves several layers of nail polish. A fast drying top coat is vital too, as you wouldn't want to smudge the design. Below is a downloadable JPEG version of the tutorial. ^^

Right click and open in new tab to view full-size
The picture below is my first attempt, using white as a base colour. Turquoise clouds are on my left hand, pink clouds on the right hand. It turned out quite nice, but because I did it at night and went to bed before the manicure fully dried, I woke up with crinkles on my manicure. (>д<) I've tried to smoothed them out while editing the photo below, HAHAHA
Turquoise and pink clouds
This is my second attempt, which I did with a rainbow theme in mind. Instead of white, I used a sheer nude polish as the base, which helped to minimize drying time. If you have nice pink nails, you can just use base coat and go straight to the cloud layering. (^v^)
Rainbow layer clouds
Now you've seen my step-by-step tutorial on how to do layer cloud nails, will this be your next manicure project? I'd love to see your pics, so do leave me a comment below! ^^ Now, time for me to go play with colours again.... I'm thinking of a stormy grey cloud manicure. (¬‿¬)

10 comments

ms.bulat said...

this is really nice ! O_O
will try this with polka dots haha

JolvLee said...

simple but brillant idea ~ thanks ~

LauraLeia said...

ms bulat: I'd love to see your polka dot version! :D

Jolie: You're welcome; and thank you! ^^

Camy said...

so cool! imma gonna try out!

Suzanne said...

Look so easy, gonna try it soon! =)

Michelle Tang said...

It looks really pretty, especially on bare nails. I will try to do this, when I find the time. :)

LauraLeia said...

HerYuan: Show me after you've tried it! :D

Suzanne: Good luck! :D

Michelle: Hehe, thank you! I'd love to see what colour combination you'd use ^^

Unknown said...

This is SOOOO cute!!

LauraLeia said...

Nancy: Hehe, I think so too! :D Thank you~~ ^^

Xue Ren said...

omg so nice!!! i want to try this out one day! :D