National Polka Dot Day Nail Art: 3 Spotted Manis Serve Up Little Spheres of Style for Your Digits

If you're seeing spots today, don't try to adjust your vision. It's National Polka Dot Day!

These stylish little spheres can't help but make you smile. Maybe it's because there's nothing stuffy or formal about them. Instead, polka dots promote a playful repetitive pattern of spots that can appear on anything from attire, such as blouses, dresses, socks and nylons, to serving ware sets, wallpaper and furniture.

For beautynistas, spots and polish go together as well as itsy bitsy teenie weenie bikinis and yellow polka dots. They not only perk up your digits with a pop of color, but they also lift your spirits. So, in honor of National Polka Dot Day, we've created three spotted nail art manis. They're bright, bold and beautiful--just like you! 

Use a professional nail dotter, the tip of your polish brush or a rounded toothpick to create your polka dots. Plus, don't forget to apply base and top coats to these manis. You'll be a diva dotter in no time.

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Tranquil Gray (medium gray), Smitten (light beige), Midnight Express (black) and Cotton Candy (neon pink). BEAUTY: Apply two coats of gray lacquer to your index, ring and pinky tips. Paint another two layers of beige on your thumb and pink on your middle finger. On your ring finger tip, layer beige lacquer over two-thirds of the nail. Then draw pink dots and a black stripe to complete the look. Do the same on your pinky finger, but use a black backdrop with beige dots and a pink stripe. 

BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

SHINE: Color Club Where's the Soiree (black), Poetic Hues (cream), Feelin' Groovy (neon green) and Peace Out Purple (radiant orchid). BEAUTY: Apply two coats of black polish to each nail. On your ring finger tip, paint a confetti of contrasting colors--green, purple and cream--in a tight polka dot pattern. 

BEACON: Free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Vegan and no animal testing.

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Smitten (light beige), Midnight Express (black), Cotton Candy (neon pink) and Watermelon Slice (bright dark pink). BEAUTY: Apply two coats of beige lacquer to each tip. Layer another two coats of neon pink polish over half of your nail from top to bottom. Then paint three black dots along the inside edge of the neon pink polish and four bright dark pink dots along the other side to create an interlocking effect.    

 BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Photo by Alex Proimos

Merry Macaron Manis: Start Your Own Nail Art Trend this Holiday Season with Pretty Pastry Party Polishes

Photo by Nurit Gazit

Move aside cupcakes, there's a new sheriff in town. Macaron mania has swept the country--and just in time for the holidays. Call it confection heaven!

Think of these pretty pastries as a somersault for your senses. A generous amount of ganache, buttercream or jam layered between two meringue-based almond biscuits sends your taste buds into a tizzy. Even better, these decadent dessert sandwiches come in several colorful creations--mint, pistachio, coffee, lemon, raspberry, coconut and chocolate.

The festive flavors inspired us to present playful party polishes for one-of-a-kind Merry Macaron Manis. Winter whites, noteworthy neons, mighty mochas and pretty pastels come together to make bold style statements. Alternate the shades on each digit, create a polka dot accent nail, or paint eye-popping half moons or French tips. 

This is the best time of the year to be a beautynista. So have yourself a holly, jolly mani season!

Photo by Louise Docker

SHINE: Color Club Professional Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Twiggie (retro green), Warhol (neon pink) and Almost Famous (bright yellow). BEACON: Free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Vegan and no animal testing.

Photo by Louise Docker

SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Cotton Candy (bright pink cream), Broadway Beige (medium tone taupe cream) and Pea Pod (light yellowish green semi sheer shimmer). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Photo by Keven Law

SHINE: Color Club Professional Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Age of Aquarius (turquoise), Blushing Rose (pink), Almost Famous (bright yellow) and Killer Curves (daring brown). BEACON: Free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde. Vegan and no animal testing.

Photo by Nurit Gazit


SHINE: Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer. BEAUTY: Strawberry Macaron (light pink cream), White Lightning (white cream) and Sahara (bright yellow cream). BEACON: Vegan, and contains no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, camphor or nitrocellulose. 

Color Blocking Nail Art

Has color blocking jumped the shark? The retro fashion trend of mixing large chunks of pastels or bold color wheel shades may have recently crashed and burned. Katy Perry took the concept a little too literal at the VMAs by sporting a huge golden cube crown, prompting many style critics to dub her a cheese head. 

Inspired by the contemporary art world (hellooooo Mondrian), the trend first appeared on runways last spring. Marc Jacobs, Etro, Gucci and Diane von Furstenberg rocked the block in eye-popping palates of turquoise, purple and green; wine, purple and orange; and black, turquoise and green.

We're still working our way around the color wheel, so we're not ready to retire the trend. As summer gradually turns to fall, check out the following color blocking nail art combos.

ESSIE

Mani model: Rachael Maria Simon

BEAUTY: Apply two layers of Vermillionaire (orange) on top of a base coat. Using a flat watercolor brush, paint two coats of Pretty Edgy (green) over the top half of each nail. Clean the brush and then apply two layers of Velvet Voyeur (purple) to create a color block in the top right half corner. Complete the look with a top coat.  

BEACON: Contains no dibutyl phthalate, toluene or formaldehyde.

OPI PRODUCTS

BEAUTY: Over a base coat, apply two layers of Need Sunglasses? (yellow). Paint two coats of Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? (orange) over the top half of each nail using a flat watercolor brush. Clean the brush and then apply two layers of Pamplona (purple) to create a color block in the top left half corner. Finish with a top coat. 

BEACON: Contains no formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate or toluene. Also supports the American Heart Association and Gilda’s Club Worldwide. 

SPARITUAL

BEAUTY: Apply two layers of Twig (sandstone) on top of a base coat. Using a flat watercolor brush, paint two coats of Knowledge Is Power (neon pink) over the top half of each nail. Clean the brush and then apply two layers of Street Smart (black) to create a color block in the top right half corner. Complete the look with a top coat.  

BEACON: Vegan, and contains no synthetic dyes, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or formaldehyde. 

ZOYA NAIL PRODUCTS

Mani model: Rachael Maria Simon

BEAUTY: Over a base coat, apply two layers of Raven (black) on the pinky finger, Tangy (apple green shimmer) on the ring finger, Creamy (yellow) on the middle finger, Sweet (pink) on the index finger and Purity (white) on the thumb. Finish with a top coat.

BEACON: Contains no toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin or dibutyl phthalate.