Espresso with a Bare Rosé lace border, the pattern densest near the cuticle.
3 bottles: Espresso, Bare Rosé and Bitter Chocolate. Espresso against Bare Rosé 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 (crème and sheer), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.
Coffin nails give the most surface of any shape here, which is why the heavier finishes tend to live on them; they also need the most length to work at all.
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Bottles for this nail
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How to paint Espresso Lace nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two coats of Espresso. A dark base shows every ridge, so the ridge-filling base coat matters more than usual here.
- 2 Draw the Bare Rosé scalloped edge first, then fill behind it with dots and short arcs.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Espresso Lace
Is Espresso Lace 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 Espresso Lace?
3 bottles: Espresso (crème), Bare Rosé (sheer) and Bitter Chocolate (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Espresso Lace work on short nails?
Coffin is the one shape here that genuinely needs length. On a short nail there is not enough free edge to cut square, and it will read as a squoval instead.
How many coats does Espresso Lace need?
More than you would expect. Bare Rosé 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.