Easy Cheetah Manicure Tutorial!

Above are the supplies I used to my manicure, the polish I used was , White "White On White", Turquoise "Flyin' High", Purple "Spontaneous", Pink "Purple Panic (Neon)" all from China Glaze, "Black Onyx" from OPI, and "Glitter Hologram" from Art Club. You also need a base and top coat.

Here is what you need:

• Nail Polish in the colors you desire, including base and top coat
• Paper Plate
• Orange Wood stick
• Dotting Tool
• Paper Towels
• Old Towel that you can get nail polish on
• Nail Polish Remover

Steps:

1) Set up all of your supplies, you can use the set-up I have above or however you choose.

2) Put a base coat on clean and dry nails and let it dry.

3) Select the base color that will be under the design, I chose a white polish and used two coats. I let the polish dry in between coats and before I put the design on. See below for example.

4) Take your paper plate and the colors you want to make the spots out of (see the first picture for the names of polish I used), start with one color and put a dollop (about two drops, see TIPS below) of the polish onto the paper plate.

5) Have in mind where you want to place the dots of the first color, take your dotting tool and dip it into the polish on the plate. Transfer that polish onto your nail creating as many spots as you want in whatever shape or size you want. If you are planning on using more than one color of spots, definitely be conscientious of how much space you have.

6) Repeat the above with all the nail colors desired, you can use one color or several colors as I did. See below for an example.

7) Put a dollop of the black nail polish onto your paper plate, start by tracing the edge of the spots with “C” like shapes.  I didn’t trace the spots around completely, but you can do whatever floats your boat. Here is where your own artistic interpretation starts to come in. See below for an example.

8) Then you want to add additional black polish to finish up the look, this is when it really starts to look like cheetah print! Add little black spots and ovals of all sizes, filling up all the area’s that are still empty and balance out the design. See below for example.

9) You can add glitter over one or all of the colors if you like; I used a silver holographic glitter by Art Club over my purple spots. It was easy because the polish has a long skinny detail brush and is perfect for detail work. It ended up making my purple look grey-ish though so I would advise using as little as possible.

10) Wait until all of the polish is completely DRY, this may take an hour or two, before adding a top coat or you will smear your design.  

11) Voilà! Easy at home hand painted cheetah nail art on your finger nails!

Here are some TIPS:

• Use your orange wood stick to clean up any polish that may get on your skin or cuticles. Use just the stick when the polish is still wet; if the polish is dryer dip it in polish remover first.
• Make sure each coat is DRY before going onto the next step, this is crucial because if you move too fast your design will get messy and won’t turn out as desired.
• Try to use crème based or metallic polish as it gives the most coverage with the least amount of coats. I chose China Glaze because it has good coverage and tends to dry faster.
• When you put the polish on the paper plate make a dollop with about two drops at a time. As soon as the polish hits the air it will start to thicken giving you a limited amount of time to use it. Once the dollop starts to get sticky and stringy don’t use it, just move to a different area of the paper plate and start again with a new dollop.
• When you put the top coat on try to use one with a thicker consistency like Seche Vite, because you don’t want the brush to drag on the design itself. Put a dollop down by your cuticle and gently push the top coat around the nail, add more as needed.
• You can get all of the polish and supplies I used at Sally Beauty Supply except for OPI, as far as I know they do not carry it. You don’t have to use OPI though, any black crème polish will work.
• This manicure takes time and patience so make sure you do it when you have a few hours to dedicate to doing it.
• Have fun with it! It doesn’t have to be perfect, make it unique and make it your own. :)

Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to see your own nail art so feel free to share it with me!!