Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell nails
Cocoa Cream as a jelly with Vanilla Cream and Chestnut blotches suspended in it, blurred rather than drawn.
3 bottles: Cocoa Cream, Vanilla Cream and Chestnut. Cocoa Cream and Vanilla Cream sit a comfortable distance apart: the motif is clearly legible without shouting, which is the easiest range to freehand in. The bottles are not all the same finish (crème and sheer), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.
On an oval the design is not stretched or compressed anywhere, which makes it the most neutral setting of the lot.
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Bottles for this nail
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Cocoa Cream, curing each one.
- 2 Drop Vanilla Cream and Chestnut into wet Cocoa Cream and feather every edge with a clean brush.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell
Is Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell 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 Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell?
3 bottles: Cocoa Cream (crème), Vanilla Cream (sheer) and Chestnut (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell work on short nails?
Oval is one of the better shapes for a short nail: it lengthens the look of the bed without needing free edge to do it, so the design carries over unchanged.
How many coats does Cocoa Cream Tortoiseshell need?
More than you would expect. Vanilla Cream is translucent, so the colour builds over three thin coats rather than covering in two. Stop wherever you like the depth — that is the point of a sheer.