Plum Wine Checkerboard nails
Plum Wine and Milk Glass in alternating blocks — a loose grid, and the wobble is what makes it look painted.
3 bottles: Plum Wine, Milk Glass and Black Plum. Plum Wine against Milk Glass 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.
It sits on a stiletto, filed to a point from a wide base, which is the most dramatic shape here and the one that compresses a motif hardest toward the tip.
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Bottles for this nail
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Plum Wine Checkerboard nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two coats of Plum Wine. A dark base shows every ridge, so the ridge-filling base coat matters more than usual here.
- 2 Block alternating Milk Glass squares with a square brush, four or five to a row.
- 3 Two top coats — the first fills the grid, the second flattens it.
Questions about Plum Wine Checkerboard
Is Plum Wine Checkerboard hard to do at home?
Yes, with a steady hand. The motif is freehand, so the first nail is usually the worst one. Budget around 45 minutes 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 Plum Wine Checkerboard?
3 bottles: Plum Wine (crème), Milk Glass (sheer) and Black Plum (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Plum Wine Checkerboard work on short nails?
Stiletto needs length, because the point is most of the shape. On a short nail it files down to something closer to almond, and the design still reads, just less sharply.
How many coats does Plum Wine Checkerboard need?
More than you would expect. Milk Glass 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.