St Patrick’s Day Nail Art

It's St Patrick’s Day this Saturday, which means we’ll be seeing a lot of green paraphernalia on our way to work. And since we’re down for celebrating, but not so big on covering ourselves green or donning a leprechaun suit, we’ve decided to show our support with this Irish-inspired nail art instead. It's fun, it's cute, and your nails will be #onpoint.

Festive nail art fanatics, you’re in luck!

RELATED: What are SNS nails?

What you’ll need:

1 x white nail polish
2 x green nail polish (light and dark)
1 x top coat
1 cup room temperature water
Toothpicks
Sticky tape

We love: L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Le Vernis in Wasabi Hint, Sinful Colors in Kryptonite Revlon ColorStay™ Gel Envy™ Longwear Nail Enamel in High Stakes, Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat, The Nail Lab in Gidget

1. Paint your accent nail (the one that will have the pattern) with a white base coat.

2. Place sticky tape on the skin around the edges of the accent nail, leaving the nail exposed. This will make it easier to tidy up the design.

3. Place a single drop of the dark green nail polish in the water. It should spread out. Then place a single drop of the light green polish inside the circle. Repeat this process until the nail polish stops spreading.

4. Using a toothpick, draw a line from the outer circle towards the centre of the circles. Create four lines that meet at a middle point.

5. Place your white nail in the centre of the water, making sure the majority of the clover shape goes onto the nail.

6. Detatch any additional nail polish floating in the water around the nail with the toothpick.

7. Remove the tape from your finger and finish the design with a clear top coat.

bh tip: We chose to do one nail with the design on each hand and paint the rest of the nails with the dark green colour, but feel free to be as creative as you want with the rest of your nails!

How will you be wearing green on St Patrick’s Day?

122 Member Comments

Tigerlily 2 Feb 2020 6:19 PM

That looks so clever! But I'm sure it is much more difficult than it looks like getting that clover on such a small canvas!

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Lucy16 6 Jun 2019 9:48 PM

I reckon it’s harder than it looks to apply...

Sootyhere 16 Jun 2019 2:45 PM

Absolutely Lucy, I'd get myself in a real mess.

Lucy16 16 Jun 2019 4:32 PM

I'd chip it the moment after it dried...

Lucy16 6 Jun 2019 9:47 PM

Too messy for me though!

Cute tips!

Sootyhere 16 May 2019 5:00 PM

Too messy for me but I can appreciate it would be a fun way to spend time. Great results

RitaB 29 Nov 2018 3:55 PM

I used to use this technique when I was in high school to apply nail polish. It was fun but it does waste a fair bit of product!

Kate Giddy 19 Nov 2018 12:30 PM

Iv'e always wanted to learn how to do this! It always seemed really commented!

sappheire 10 Nov 2018 3:17 AM

This was a great Mother and Daughter past time and we will be trying it again.

LeLe683 6 Oct 2018 12:13 AM

Ok I'll give it another try. My first try with nail polish dropped on water was abysmal. Maybe I didn't put enough in the water. This tutorial makes it look way easy. And I like the tip with stickytape.

perthchick 9 Jul 2018 10:01 AM

Woah. Amazing.

empbat 10 Apr 2018 6:30 PM

I have tried marbling my nails before. Using the old nail polish in a bowl of water trick. I made such a mess! The nails didn't look very good either. I like the concept of marbling but not for me.