If you think “easy nail art” sounds like an oxymoron, you’re in luck: Negative-space manicures are as accident-proof as it gets.
As someone who has tried (and failed) her way through countless DIY designs, I know how frustrating nail art can be. Painting on a canvas that moves and is barely wider than the brush you’re painting with can feel next to impossible. But this look is a lot easier to create than it looks.
Negative-space manicures invite you to paint only a fraction of your nails, and the abstract patterns easily hide any wrong strokes. The results are effortless and stunning, which is why celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Dua Lipa have all dipped their fingers in the trend — flaunting everything from ’60s spirals to ’90s flames.
If the color-blocking seems daunting, don’t worry: According to Sigourney Nuñez, OPI education manager and nail artist, even artistically-challenged people like myself can achieve some of the best results with nothing more than a bottle brush (though the adventurous among us can use a detail brush to elevate their designs).
Nuñez says that all line work is going to be challenging at first, but practice makes perfect, and “the look is very therapeutic to pull off.”
Once you master the basics, the possibilities are endless: You can reinvent a French tip à la Kylie, get advanced with a Queen’s Gambit-inspired checkerboard, or see how many of the season’s freshest shades you can fit on one hand.
Below, we get Nuñez’s pro tips on how to perfect three different negative-space designs, so beginners and experts alike can make the most of this mani.
