4 Animal-inspired nail designs

Jul 20, 2011 11:02 AM by Brianna Martinez

Posted in Beauty & Style / Manis, Pedis & More

More Nail Roar

Fierce nails are the look of the moment. Give your nails some growl with animal print-inspired nail designs that are easy enough to do yourself without a trip to the salon. Check out these four roaring nail designs that will have your pretty paws looking like queen of the jungle.

Cheetah spots

Get creative with colors and textures and do this design yourself. An easy-to-use nail pen for drawing in the spots is Nicole by OPI nail pen which comes in many colors, giving you the option to use any color for the spots' outline and filling. Start by painting on a solid base color, letting it dry, and then painting on small dots for the spots. Finish up by painting the outline of the spots using a nail pen, let dry and then paint with clear top coat. Mix and match unexpected colors to add a funky look.

Zebra stripes

For this type of look, make sure that the stripes aren't exactly the same so they look more realistic. Wider stripes work well in black for the zebra effect. To spice it up, paint your nails a bright neon color like Essie's Pink Parka, a neon fuschia, and then use a black nail pen to paint on the stripes. To get perfectly straight stripes, you can use scotch tape by cutting out an outline of the stripes and using it as a straight guideline. Wait until nails are completely dry to take off the tape.

Under the sea

Get your nails siren-ready with this glitter gradient mermaid design. Painting them as a glitter gradient will give them a mermaid scale effect. Choose four to five glitter polishes that get darker in color. Deborah Lippmann hasmany glitter colors to choose from that are comparable in color. When you've picked your polishes, paint your nails in a solid, dark color to serve as the base coat. Start by painting a half moon at the bottom of your nail with the lightest color. Next, paint another half moon that slightly overlaps the bottom moon. Continue that design for each color, getting darker each time. To fill in any spots, use the middle-colored polish.

Take flight

Give your nails some flight by painting on a peacock feather design, or making your own feathery look. To achieve this look, paint your nails a dark green like Ulta's Shimmer Finish Salon Formula in Envy. After you let them dry, use nail pens to paint on the feathers. Sephora by OPI nail pens in metallic gold, royal blue, vine green and bright white are good colors to work with for this design. Subtly paint on the feathers in strokes of upward motions. To accurately paint the design, go off of the peacock design of your choice. Add rhinestones for a gleaming touch.