A wide Milky Ochre wave across Tangerine, with a thinner Rust Ember wave running beneath it.
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.
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
Tap a bottle to open it on the shelfWhat you need
How to paint Tangerine Wave nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Tangerine, curing each one.
- 2 One wide Milky Ochre wave across cured Tangerine, then the thinner Rust Ember wave once the first has set.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Tangerine Wave
Is Tangerine Wave 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 Tangerine Wave?
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 Wave 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 Tangerine Wave 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.