Christmas nail art for people without a steady hand
Dotting tools, striping tape, stickers and stamping do the precise part, and one accent nail keeps it manageable. Holiday nail art done at the kitchen table.
Holiday nail art on Pinterest looks like it takes a steady hand and a fine brush. Most of it doesn’t. The designs that look the most polished are usually made with simple tools that do the precise part for you: a dotting tool for perfect circles, tape for straight lines, stickers for the details and a stamp for patterns.
Add one more rule, an accent nail instead of ten designed nails, and holiday nail art becomes a half-hour project at the kitchen table.
Start with one accent nail
Before you paint, push back the cuticles gently instead of cutting them; the American Academy of Dermatology advises against removing the cuticle. Then paint all ten nails in a solid holiday color, such as deep red, forest green or navy. Then add the design to one nail on each hand, usually the ring finger. It looks deliberate, it takes a fifth of the time, and if the design goes wrong, there’s only one nail to redo.
Once the solid color is completely dry, start on the accent nail.
Dots: the most forgiving design
A dotting tool is a small handle with a metal ball on each end. Dip the ball in a drop of polish on a scrap of foil or paper, then touch it to the nail. The ball makes a perfect circle every time.
- Snow: tiny white dots scattered over a navy or gray nail.
- Holly berries: three red dots in a cluster, with two small green dots beside them as leaves.
- Polka dots: evenly spaced dots in gold or white over red.
- A snowflake: one dot in the center and six small dots around it.
Use the larger ball for big dots and the smaller one for tiny ones. Re-dip after every two or three dots.
Tape for clean lines
Thin striping tape gives you straight lines without freehand painting. Press the tape onto a dry base color, paint over it, then peel the tape off while the polish is still wet.
- Candy cane stripes: diagonal strips of tape on a white nail, painted red.
- Plaid: a few strips crossing each other on a red or green base, with a second color painted over them. It pairs well with a plaid skirt.
- A clean French tip: one strip curved across the nail, with the tip painted gold.
Stickers and decals
Nail stickers are the shortcut for detailed designs like reindeer, ornaments and snowflakes. Apply them to dry polish, press from the center outward with a fingertip to smooth out air bubbles, and trim any excess at the tip with a file. A top coat over the sticker seals the edges so it doesn’t lift. Gel nail strips skip the polish altogether and go on clean, bare nails.
Stamping for patterns
A stamping kit uses an etched plate, a scraper and a soft stamper. Paint polish over a design on the plate, scrape off the excess, roll the stamper over it to pick up the pattern, then roll the stamper onto the nail. Practice on a piece of paper first. The first few tries are smudgy for everyone.
Seal everything
Finish every nail, plain or designed, with a top coat. Run the brush along the tip of each nail to seal the edge. Let it dry fully before you reach into a bag or a pocket.
Paint safely
Many nail polishes and removers carry a flammable warning on the label. The FDA notes that some nail products can catch fire if they’re exposed to a flame or another heat source, and recommends good ventilation when you use them. Open a window, keep candles out on nail art night and close the bottles when you’re done.
Clean up the edges
Dip a small nail art brush or a cotton swab in remover and run it around the edge of each nail to clean up any polish on the skin. Keep the remover off the painted nail itself.
What to actually buy
The dotting tools. A SAVILAND set of five double-ended dotting tools with six tip sizes from 0.8 to 3 millimeters, from tiny snow to big polka dots.
The striping tape. An Artdone striping tape kit with ten colors of thin nail tape and 28 small brushes and tools, for stripes, plaid and French tips.
The no-polish option. Dashing Diva Holiday Gloss Nail Strips in Deck the Tips: 32 red, green and nude gel strips with shimmer, ribbon and light designs, plus a prep pad and a file. They need no dry time or lamp, and the maker says they last up to 14 days.
Who this is not for
- If you get gel manicures at a salon, bring a photo of the design you like to your appointment.
- If you’d rather not paint at all, holiday gel nail strips or press-on nails are the no-polish option.
- If your nails are very short, choose dots or a single sticker, which fit on a small nail better than stripes.
Start on any Monday
This week, choose one design and the colors you need, and check that your top coat hasn’t gone thick.
On a quiet evening, paint all ten nails in the base color, let them dry, and add the design to one accent nail on each hand. Seal everything with top coat.