My Take on Emmy Awards Nail Art

The Emmy Awards aired Sunday night and the celebrities not only dressed fabulously, but made sure to adorn their nails also. One star in particular caught my attention for her uniquely patterned finger tips.

Zooey Deschanel, a young quirky actress and star of the television show New Girl, accessorized her nails with a somewhat avant-garde design.

Deschanel boasted a black and white manicure with a checkerboard pattern. Within the two black squares, she dotted a speck of white polish to create a contrast.

I was inspired by this non-conventional use of black and white nail polish, so I did my own rendition.

Photo: My Own

Using a white creme-finish nail polish, I combined it with a creme-finish black nail polish and created a diagonal free-hand design.

Steps to achieve this look:

1. Paint the nail with a base coat for the nail to stay protected and strong.

2. Once dry, paint two complete coats of white nail polish to allow complete opacity.

3. After three minutes of dry time, grab the black polish and by using the corner of the nail polish brush, drag it along the nail to create an outline of where the black polish will meet the white.

* For this step, I applied the diagonal design free-handed without any tape for guidance in making a straight line. If you prefer to use tape as a guideline, you can use blue painter's tape while gently pressing it on to the side of the nail you want to stay white, as the side that is not covered by the tape will be the black painted area.

4. If using the tape, gently remove, avoiding any pulling of the white layers of polish. It is essential that you apply the tape only when the white is 100 percent dry. After removing, fill in the rest of the diagonal with the black polish.

5. You should be left with a beautifully straight-drawn diagonal nail design! I added extra sparkle because a nail design isn't complete without it!


Nail Polishes Used and Where to Buy:

Base Coat- Seche "Seche Clear." GBS Beauty Supply. $6.50.
White polish- Sinful Colors "Snow Me White." CVS Pharmacy. About $3
Black polish- Confetti "Blackout." CVS Pharmacy. About $3
Silver Holographic Top Coat- China Glaze "Fairy Dust." Sally Beauty Supply. About $8

HAPPY DESIGNING!