Smileys in Milky Ochre over Tangerine, drawn small and slightly wonky.
3 bottles: Tangerine, Milky Ochre and Rust Ember. Tangerine and Milky Ochre are close in tone, so the design is tonal rather than graphic. It shows up in daylight and softens indoors. The bottles are not all the same finish (crème and sheer), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.
It sits on an oval, with walls that follow the finger and a tip rounded off, which flatters a short nail bed without needing much length and keeps the motif undistorted.
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Bottles for this nail
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Tangerine Smiley nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Tangerine, curing each one.
- 2 Two Milky Ochre dots and one curved stroke per face; do not tidy them up.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Tangerine Smiley
Is Tangerine Smiley hard to do at home?
Yes. There is no freehand work that has to be accurate. Budget about 30 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 Tangerine Smiley?
3 bottles: Tangerine (crème), Milky Ochre (sheer) and Rust Ember (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Tangerine Smiley 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 Tangerine Smiley need?
More than you would expect. Milky Ochre 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.