It’s official. We’re past Thanksgiving, the mall is well within its rights to play “Let It Snow,” and even though I won’t be seeing any snow this holiday season, I already have my tree up and I’m getting into the spirit. Nails are always a great way to add a touch of cheer to your ensemble, and ’tis the season to get away with a little more. I decided to try out this candy cane manicure because it’s playfully festive and non-denominational — everybody loves candy canes!
I started out with my favorite pigment-packed American Apparel nail colors (don’t write them off, the colors are spot-on and the quality is great), and my base and top coats. I decided to give myself a break and have an accent nail of just red. So, that’s two coats of white on the thumb and three fingers, and two coats of red on the ring finger.
Then it was time for the stripes. I used a toothpick to draw the stripes with red onto the white like a candy cane: two skinny stripes followed by a wide stripe and alternate. That way it’s clear that it’s a candy cane and not a barber pole (this confusion wouldn’t be detrimental but could definitely happen in my line of work!). It went quickly, and I’m happy with the results. I sealed it with a top coat and cleaned up the edges. Voila!
What other ideas do you have for holiday-themed nails? We’d be thrilled to try out some of your ideas!
Editor’s Note: Hey Lovelies! We loved this candy cane manicure Kackie shared with us last year, so that we decided to share it with you again! So perfect for the holiday season! Between this and the snow mani, my nails are going to be super festive this year! Happy Holidays! -Katie
guest
Cute idea! Personally, I’d do the stripes on just the ring finger for an accent (my bling finger .. currently decked out in silver sparkles) and stick with solid red for the other nails. I bet it’d also look nice with a deep red and cream color for a little more “grown up” look.
daisy / 506 posts
@stateofhart@datingish - Cool idea!
guest
very easy & looks cute.
guest
oh i have to try this one!
magnolia / 1369 posts
aww this is a super cute idea!
guest
I love this! I’m definitely going to be trying it. Great idea!
guest
Pretty! You should try doing snowman nails, that’d be interesting to see… and adorable!
orchid / 152 posts
This is adorable! I’ll definitely be trying this out. I especially like how you varied the size of the stripes.
Stupid, stupid question: I have a white nail polish with a french tip (thin) brush, but don’t have a red with a brush like that. I know you used a toothpick, but I’m not a fan of using them on my nails. Do you think it’d look as good with red as the base colour?
guest
Nice nails; nice hands. (Not to sound like a creeper)
guest
I saw this done with a gorgeous red glitter by Milani. I’m all for the blingy glitter manicures, so I’d tweak it a bit. I think I’d have to get all fancy and buy some nail art brushes, though. Just to satisfy the perfectionist in me.
guest
This is so cuteeeeeee.
guest
Really cute! I also love this: http://pinterest.com/pin/156429787026566374/
orchid / 159 posts
I would do all of them striped. Maybe I’ll rope the boyfriend into painting my nails. I have no talent when it comes to this sort of thing.
sunflower / 321 posts
@leave_it_lovelier - I actually did that initially, put white stripes on the red. I’ll tell you, it looked almost exactly the same. But, the white tended to be more translucent… maybe your nail art one is more solid!
guest
i really really like this. i think it’d be cool with just the stripes on the ring finger instead of the others as well. maybe some jewels would be cool too. i don’t tend to do my nails fancy at all, but i want to try this!
guest
This is so so cute! Aww! I’m going to try it next. Now I have an excuse to buy white nail polish.
guest
aww how cute!! I am just realizing that I have nail polish in nearly every color but NONE in a bright red or white, wtf is wrong with me? lol.
guest
I like! I think I’ll try this out asap.
guest
Just wanted to point out that you have gorgeous nails.
guest
thts sooo nice!!
D
maybe u can try some snowman/ gingerman pattern nailss
guest
i wore my nails like this last year and it was definitely one of my favourites and very easy!
guest
These are super cute! I’m going to have to try these out sometime.