Amber Glow under a scatter of open Noir Coral rings and Bitter Chocolate accents. The rings never close, and that is the whole trick.
3 bottles: Amber Glow, Noir Coral and Bitter Chocolate. Amber Glow against Noir Coral is a hard contrast, so the motif reads from across a room, and any wobble in the line reads with it. The bottles are not all the same finish (shimmer and crème), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.
It sits on a round nail, filed to follow the fingertip, which is the shortest shape here and the one that chips least, so the motif gets a soft frame rather than a pointed one.
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Bottles for this nail
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Amber Leopard nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two coats of Amber Glow, cured hard.
- 2 Scatter broken Noir Coral rings: open horseshoes, different sizes, different angles, never closed circles.
- 3 Drop Bitter Chocolate flecks into the gaps between the rings, then two top coats to level the paint.
Questions about Amber Leopard
Is Amber Leopard hard to do at home?
It is the hardest tier on the site. It is doable at home, but the technique is the point rather than the colour. Budget an hour or more for a full set, and three colours means three chances for something to bleed, so cure between each one rather than working wet on wet.
What polish do I need for Amber Leopard?
3 bottles: Amber Glow (shimmer), Noir Coral (crème) and Bitter Chocolate (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Amber Leopard work on short nails?
Round is already the shortest shape here, so yes, this is one of the designs that works at almost any length.
Do I need a UV lamp for Amber Leopard?
Yes. Amber Glow only works as a gel — the effect depends on rubbing or setting the finish into a cured tacky layer, which air-dry polish never gives you.