Summertime makes me want to try more fruit-inspired manicures. And what could be more perfect than WATERMELON NAILS? Quite nice for all those beach days and picnics IMHO.

This manicure is a lot easier than I thought it would be. In fact, I started out doing it as a tape manicure, like my Weetzie one, but ended up going free-hand! WACHOW SOMEBODY’S GETTING BALLSY OVER HERE.

Grab your polishes and let’s get started!

You’ll need:

  • Your favorite red or pink nail polish. I used Milani’s High Speed Fast Dry Nail Lacquer in Rapid Cherry.
  • Two green shades, one lighter than the other. I used Essie’s Mojito Madness for the darker shade and Santee’s Vikini Green for the lighter one.
  • A striping brush specifically made for nail art—use it with black polish, or get a little jar of polish that comes with its own nail art brush, like Milani’s Nail Art Precison Brush (I used Black Sketch).
  • An angled nail-art brush.
  • A clear topcoat. I used Seche Vite.

How to do it:

1. Paint your nails red. OR PINK! Either will look adorable.

2. Using your darker shade of green, paint the rind. At first I tried blocking the rest of my nail off with Scotch tape to create a line, but thought it looked TOO straight. I wanted the rind to go with the curve of my nail, so I ended up freehandin’ and used the nail polish brush. NOT BAD AT ALL MY BEWZ.

3. Now, let’s add the seeds! The Milani Nail Art brush was perfect for this. All I did was lightly dab my nail to make tiny black seed-like spots.

4. Dip your angled brush into your lighter green shade, and draw little stripes on top of the dark green stripe. This adds another dimension to your rind, making it look even cooler!

5. Top it all off with your clear coat and there you have it, WATERMELON NAILS! (Please don’t eat them though.) ♦