Toffee with a diamond lattice in Milk Glass, overlaid with thin Walnut cross-hatching.
3 bottles: Toffee, Milk Glass and Walnut. Toffee and Milk Glass 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 Toffee Argyle nails
- 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Toffee, curing each one.
- 2 Block the Milk Glass diamonds first, cure, then rule the Walnut crossing lines over them.
- 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.
Questions about Toffee Argyle
Is Toffee Argyle 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 Toffee Argyle?
3 bottles: Toffee (crème), Milk Glass (sheer) and Walnut (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.
Does Toffee Argyle 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 Toffee Argyle 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.