A horseshoe in Milk Glass over Plum Wine, open end down, dotted for the nail holes.
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 coffin, sometimes called ballerina, tapered at the sides and cut off square at the tip. It needs real length and repays it with the largest flat area of any shape.
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Bottles for this nail
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Plum Wine Horseshoe 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 Draw the Milk Glass U in one stroke, thickening it slightly, then dot Black Plum holes along it.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Plum Wine Horseshoe
Is Plum Wine Horseshoe 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 Horseshoe?
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 Horseshoe 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 Plum Wine Horseshoe 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.