3 negative space nail art designs to try now
The nail art trend may have subdued to neutral manicures on the runway in recent seasons, but if social media is any proof, this beauty pastime is far from leaving us any time soon.
Negative space nail art has been generating some talk for some time now. Judging from the cool manis we’ve seen around the web, we can understand why. It gives you an opportunity to play with your creative side while showing off your healthy and natural nails—basically, the best of both worlds. As much as we are fascinated by crazy nail trends (see #glassnails), they can be high-maintenance for day-to-day. Plus, with the negative space nail art, your nails will last longer than your basic manicure since most of the time the nail polish in the design rarely reaches the tips of your nail (aka the chip zone).
So if you’re gung-ho, YouTube and Pinterest are no-brainers for inspiration. But why sift through endless tutorials when we’ve actually rounded up a few cool designs just for you, courtesy of our Beauty Panel? Flip through the below to see some of our favourite negative space nail art designs.
Challenge 104: What is your favourite negative space nail art design? See the answers now! »
Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at [email protected]. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.
Colleen Conroy
Vancouver | Blush Rouge
I really love the trend of negative space nails. The options are endless and it is a great way to make your nails unique.
Being a fan of minimalist nails, any simple design with a single line, dot, etc. is high up there for me. For this challenge I tried out black triangles. I love the edginess that it lends. There are a lot of great tools out there to help you achieve different negative space nails, such as tape, stickers, dotters and brushes. I personally prefer to work freehand with a brush, which is what I did here.
I started off prepping my nails by filing and buffing them. I moisturized my cuticles with a bit of grapeseed oil and then gave my nails a coat of Opi’s Nail Envy, which is a great strengthener. Then I took my detailer brush from Quo and drew the outline of a triangle on my nail before filling it in. I did this on each nail, and then went back and did a light second coat on all. I finished it off by applying a topcoat only to the triangle.
I’m especially excited about this mani because I feel it may be less likely to chip (knock on wood!). Since I did not bring the triangle tip down to the end of my nails and without having any polish on the sides, which are the areas where I notice most of my chipping, this manicure may last me much longer than usual.
Products used: Crystal Nail File, Buffer Block, Opi Nail Envy Nail Strengthen, M.A.C Nail Laquer in “Nocturnelle,” Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.
Stephanie Lau
Toronto | Fun Size Beauty
Polish colours are pretty but long, healthy nails are beautiful too! The best way to appreciate both is by way of a negative space manicure.
To create this look, you can use any polish colour of your choosing (my favourites are black, white, nude, pastels and oxblood). Imagine your nails are divided into thirds. Using the length of the brush to create a straight edge along the width of the nail, fill in the two outer thirds and leave the centre space between the two coloured blocks blank as your “negative space.” If you’re OCD about your nails, you can clean up the lines around the centre of your polish using a small paint brush dipped in acetone. Then, add a top coat, and before you know it, you’ll have a simple and chic negative space mani.
Products used: Essie First Base, Rimmel Rita Ora 60 Seconds Nail Polish in “Sweet Retreat,” Essence the Gel Top Coat.
Maisie Dunbar
Germantown, MD | Maisie Dunbar
I decided to add a variation to my negative space by using an ink art pen by VPP Art in a bottle.
Products used: China Glaze Nail Lacque in “Reggae to Riches” and “Grape Pop.” Zoya Nail Lacquer in “Ray” and “Daisy.” Opi Nail Envy Nail Strengthen, Seche Vite Top Coat
, they can be high-maintenance for day-to-day. Plus, with the negative space nail art, your nails will last longer than your basic manicure since most of the time the nail polish in the design rarely reaches the tips of your nail (aka the chip zone).
So if you’re gung-ho, YouTube and Pinterest are no-brainers for inspiration. But why sift through endless tutorials when we’ve actually rounded up a few cool designs just for you, courtesy of our Beauty Panel? Flip through the below to see some of our favourite negative space nail art designs.
Challenge 104: What is your favourite negative space nail art design? See the answers now! »
Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at beautypanel@fashionmagazine.com. Read on for the answers to this week's challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.
Colleen Conroy
Vancouver | Blush Rouge
I really love the trend of negative space nails. The options are endless and it is a great way to make your nails unique.
Being a fan of minimalist nails, any simple design with a single line, dot, etc. is high up there for me. For this challenge I tried out black triangles. I love the edginess that it lends. There are a lot of great tools out there to help you achieve different negative space nails, such as tape, stickers, dotters and brushes. I personally prefer to work freehand with a brush, which is what I did here.
I started off prepping my nails by filing and buffing them. I moisturized my cuticles with a bit of grapeseed oil and then gave my nails a coat of Opi’s Nail Envy, which is a great strengthener. Then I took my detailer brush from Quo and drew the outline of a triangle on my nail before filling it in. I did this on each nail, and then went back and did a light second coat on all. I finished it off by applying a topcoat only to the triangle.
I’m especially excited about this mani because I feel it may be less likely to chip (knock on wood!). Since I did not bring the triangle tip down to the end of my nails and without having any polish on the sides, which are the areas where I notice most of my chipping, this manicure may last me much longer than usual.
Products used: Crystal Nail File, Buffer Block, Opi Nail Envy Nail Strengthen, M.A.C Nail Laquer in "Nocturnelle," Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.
Stephanie Lau
Toronto | Fun Size Beauty
Polish colours are pretty but long, healthy nails are beautiful too! The best way to appreciate both is by way of a negative space manicure.
To create this look, you can use any polish colour of your choosing (my favourites are black, white, nude, pastels and oxblood). Imagine your nails are divided into thirds. Using the length of the brush to create a straight edge along the width of the nail, fill in the two outer thirds and leave the centre space between the two coloured blocks blank as your "negative space." If you're OCD about your nails, you can clean up the lines around the centre of your polish using a small paint brush dipped in acetone. Then, add a top coat, and before you know it, you'll have a simple and chic negative space mani.
Products used: Essie First Base, Rimmel Rita Ora 60 Seconds Nail Polish in "Sweet Retreat," Essence the Gel Top Coat.
Maisie Dunbar
Germantown, MD | Maisie Dunbar
I decided to add a variation to my negative space by using an ink art pen by VPP Art in a bottle.
Products used: China Glaze Nail Lacque in "Reggae to Riches" and "Grape Pop." Zoya Nail Lacquer in "Ray" and "Daisy." Opi Nail Envy Nail Strengthen, Seche Vite Top Coat){kind=link}