NOTD: Leopard Print {Tutorial}

I've shared a few leopard print manicures lately and had a couple of requests for a tutorial. I am by no means claiming to be any kind of nail art knowledge source; leopard print is genuinely so easy that even I can do it, so here is a quick how-to guide. I apologise for the quality of the photos, trying to do this in the evening was a bad idea!
You'll need a base colour, a contrasting colour for the spots, and a third colour for the outlines - you can either use a dedicated nail art pen for this, or a hair grip/cocktail stick/similar object dipped in a regular polish. The choice is yours! You'll also need a top coat to seal your design and make sure it feels nice and smooth.

Paint your nails with your base coat. I used Nails Inc. 'Bluebell', which came free with this month's InStyle magazine, but you can use whatever colour you like! 'Bluebell' went on nicely and dried quickly, the first coat was patchy but two coats were opaque. Wait for your base to dry before moving onto the next step so you don't smudge it.

Then, use the brush of your second colour to randomly place dots over the nail - you can do it on all your nails or use it as an accent nail for a more under-stated look. I used a blue glittery W7 polish which has no name/number, but it came in a set of four from TKMaxx. It's actually quite similar in colour to 'Bluebell' so it's quite hard to see, sorry, not my best choice there! Your dots don't have to be neat or perfectly round, in fact it's best if they're not. This adds to the overall look of your design and is also what makes it so super-easy to do! If you like, you could use more than one colour, like I did here. Experiment with the positioning and spacing of your spots to see what you like the best. Again, wait for your spots to dry before moving onto the next step.

Finally, use your nail art pen or tool dipped in your third colour. Roughly outline the spots on your nails. Again, this doesn't need to be neat. Add a few small dots or streaks of your third colour, randomly, and leave some of your larger spots un-outlined. I used my Models Own Nail Art Pens in black and pink, but I did my first ever leopard print manicure using a cocktail stick. The nail art pens are easier to use but it doesn't really make much difference.

Once this is dried, paint on a top coat to seal your design, smoothen it out, and make it last. I used Essie Good To Go, which I'll be posting a proper review of soon.

Ta-dah! Just to show you how easy it really is, I'm including a photo of my right hand, too. Taking the photo was harder than painting the nails! You can see I didn't wait long enough before applying top coat to my little fingernails and they've smudged a little, but it's not too noticeable.
If you try this, please leave me a link, I'd love to see your work!

xo