Hello lovelies!! I am so glad I made this post in time for Valentine’s Day. As the title states, I’m going to share a simple but fun and cute nail art design with this month’s holiday in mind. Hope you like it!
Instead of coming up with several designs (and borrowing my poor mother’s nails to showcase it), I decided on just making one design for you guys, which is this cute red and gold heart nail design!
Obviously, the the theme colors for this month are anything red, pink, perhaps even gold and nude! You can mix it up with different colors honestly, but for my nails I chose to keep it simple and picked a nice bold red color from Estee Lauder and a glittery gold color (called “Gold Sand”) from OPI to make my nail design.
You may need some nail tools to make the heart like a thin paintbrush, dotting tool, toothpick, cotton swab, or even painter’s tape! I actually used the painter’s tape method to make a heart stencil for my nails, which I’ll be showing you a little later on.
dotting tool and paintbrush
Step 1: Figure out your colors
Step 2: Decide your accent nail and paint!
The common accent nail used is the ring finger, which is what I also used. I decided the majority of my nails would be red and my accent nail would be gold. I also decided on a secondary accent nail (where I add the second heart), which is my thumb nail.
Step 3: Add heart details
It’s time to add the heart details on your accent nails! Since my accent nail is gold, obviously the red heart goes on it. For the secondary accent nail, I just inverted the color so it will have a gold heart on it. As I stated before, I used the painter’s tape method to apply the heart.
I like painter’s tape because I feel like it’s not as sticky as regular tape (or you can use Scotch tape) and peels off easily. Basically I just cut a heart shape into the tape. It was a bit tricky because you have to make sure that 1) it looks like a nice heart and not some weird triangle and 2) it’s small enough to fit your nail! Once you get past that, you’re good to go.
Stencil time
Just align it to the center of your nail and paint over! It’s really easy and I was able to use the same painter’s tape stencil on all of my nails. Make sure to dab the excess nail polish off the stencil itself with some paper towel after every use just to make sure that excess paint doesn’t get on anything by accident!
Step 4: Apply Top Coat and Clean up Excess
Once you’re satisfied with your accent nails, apply top coat and clean off any excess nail polish from the sides of your nails! I usually use a cotton swab or wrap a thin piece of a cotton ball on the tip of a toothpick and dip it in nail polish remover to get the job done. I’m usually super messy (and I still am, my apologies!) around the sides because I want to make sure I’m covering the entire surface! Red is also more staining than other colors so it’s not the easiest thing to remove once you get it on your surrounding cuticles and such, unfortunately.
Anyway, you’re all done!
I hope you liked my Valentine’s Day inspired nail tutorial! I’m looking forward to making Spring inspired nail designs in the future!
Until next time ♡
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Alex says
February 13, 2019 at 9:58 amYour nails are so cute! I don’t know why I never thought of making a stencil?!??? I’ve tried nail art in the past by freehand, and it did not go well… 😂
Geraldine says
February 13, 2019 at 2:48 pmThanks Alex!! <3 Stencils do require some patience to be fair because you have to make sure your nails are dry or else it might take off the paint! I usually do it freehand too, don't worry ... it takes me a couple tries too 🤣
Chloe Chats says
February 13, 2019 at 2:36 pmI love these! The gold colour is so pretty too ❤️ I’m never good at making my nails pretty haha but I like the idea of using a lil heart template like that to make them neat.. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before haha!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Geraldine says
February 13, 2019 at 2:56 pmThanks Chloe!! I think gold and red go really well together 🙂 Templates can be tricky as well as take some time as opposed to just drawing it freehand. Definitely give it a try though, it may work much better for you! <3
Hanmwill says
February 13, 2019 at 5:36 pmThey look so cute, Ger! I can’t even successfully paint my nails without getting nail varnish all over my fingers so I’m very envious! Though the idea of making a stencil out of tape is genius! Fab post, lovely! ☺️💗
Geraldine says
February 14, 2019 at 12:25 pmThank you Han! It takes practice not to get it on the sides and trust me, I still do get it there LOL!
Jackie says
February 14, 2019 at 12:14 pmI’ve never thought about using painter’s tape as a stencil! I feel like I would somehow still manage to mess that up hahaha. I usually just paint my nails one color and leave it at that lol!
Geraldine says
February 14, 2019 at 12:26 pmHaha I’ve been painting my nails one color most of the time cause I get lazy!! Painter’s tape or even scotch tape are really helpful if you want to make a pattern over your nails 😁 just have to wait til they’re really dry!!
Natonya says
February 14, 2019 at 2:18 pmSuch a cute and festive way to celebrate Valentine’s Day! I really like the stencil idea, you gave me a quick way to add shapes on my nails 😁
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com
Geraldine says
February 14, 2019 at 11:14 pmThanks Natonya! I hope the stencil works out just as well for you!! 🙂
Ruth says
February 15, 2019 at 6:05 amThese look so pretty – I really like the red and gold together! OPI nail varnishes are some of my favourites, so I’ll be keeping my eyes out for that gold next time I fancy a treat. Lovely post!
Geraldine says
February 15, 2019 at 5:41 pmThank you Ruth!! I think it’s a very classy and elegant look as well. OPI is one of my fave brands!! Thank you so much for reading xx
Lauren says
February 15, 2019 at 9:12 amThese are so cute and not just for Valentine’s Day! I love the gold heart on top of the red. You’ve definitely done a great job! It would take me so many attempts to do this. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Geraldine says
February 15, 2019 at 5:43 pmThank you so much, you can most definitely use it for any occasion! The stencil helped me tremendously. Thank you so much for reading Lauren!
Melissa says
February 15, 2019 at 12:13 pmThis is such a cute design! I feel like I’m always too impatient to wait for my nails to dry to use a stencil haha. I also normally used regular tape whenever I needed it for nail designs, and painter’s tape is probably better to use.
Geraldine says
February 15, 2019 at 5:44 pmI’ve tried regular tape and it didn’t work as well for me haha! Honestly I really am impatient as well but the nail polish I used dried really quickly so it helped!
Nancy says
February 16, 2019 at 1:23 amI love that you kept your nail design simple. Ooooohoo I love the glittery gold polish! The inverted heart nails look cute. I like that the steps are kept simple and you don’t need to spend a ton on a stencil. Thanks for sharing the v-day nails!!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Geraldine says
February 16, 2019 at 10:41 amThanks Nancy! I used to do more complicated work but I’ve grown lazy too and it’s easier for everyone to follow 🤣 definitely something for everyone to try, whether beginner or advanced! The gold OPI is amazinggg
Sydney says
February 16, 2019 at 3:42 amThese are super cute and fun! I love theming my nails for the upcoming holiday. I don’t usually do it for Valentine’s Day, but I love having Halloween and Christmas themed nails throughout October and December. Great job on these!
Geraldine says
February 16, 2019 at 10:43 amHey Sydney! Thanks for reading! I don’t usually paint my nails to reflect Valentine’s Day either 😄 I just bought new nail polish recently and had to use it hahaha!! I’m definitely looking forward to making other nail art for different reasons! Thanks so much for reading ☺️
Abby Heird says
February 17, 2019 at 3:21 pmGeraldine, this is amazing!! When I come to visit, you’ll have to do my nails. Because I could actually never succeed at this lol! I love it and I love that it is VDay inspired!! <3
Geraldine says
February 17, 2019 at 4:58 pmHAHA Yaaass girl come come and I’ll do your nails for you! Thank you so much 😍😘
Jasmine says
February 19, 2019 at 1:17 amYou are so talented! I can barely paint my nails without getting it all over my cuticles haha. Can’t wait to see more nail art from you 💅
Jasmine | http://www.thekindcalifornian.com
Geraldine says
February 20, 2019 at 12:31 pmHaha it’s years of practice girl! Trust me, it was all over. LOL
Alice says
February 19, 2019 at 10:35 amThese are super cute, I absolutely love them! It’s such a clever idea that you used painter’s tape for doing the heart, I’ve seen people do nail art freehand SO neatly and I’d just never be able to achieve that so this is a really great way around it. It’s been years since I’ve done proper art on my nails, I used to have all the little brushes and things and spend ages on them but I don’t bother nowadays. Maybe I should get back into it! You’ve inspired me.
Alice x
Geraldine says
February 20, 2019 at 12:34 pmThank you so much Alice!! I usually do things freehand as well but it’s a challenge especially if it’s small details. I used to be the same, I have so many tools for nail art that I just don’t use much anymore! I’m happy I got to inspire you, can’t wait to see what you might make! <3
Amanda says
February 26, 2019 at 11:50 amthis is so simple and neat. will keep this in mind for next year..
Geraldine says
February 26, 2019 at 2:48 pmThank you Amanda! I tried my best for the sake of the tutorial but it was definitely hard haha!
Creative Nails says
March 4, 2019 at 6:03 pmI love the colours you have chosen in this post – they are so pretty! Especially that gold, it’s gorgeous! I have enough nail polish, but seeing these have made me want more 😂 I love how you have made this stencil, it’s a great way to make one – looks so easy and simple! Some people may find it difficult doing things free hand so this would definitely make it easier. Gorgeous nail design!
Amy,
https://creativenails.uk
Geraldine says
March 5, 2019 at 5:00 pmThank you so much!! I loveee the gold, it’s my first gold nail polish ever! I’m definitely looking for ways to make it simple for myself as well as for everyone that reads it so they’ll be encouraged to try it for themselves 😊