Toffee Rainbow Arches nails

Squoval · Rainbow Arches

Salon or steady hand

Nested rainbow arches in Milk Glass and Walnut stepped inward from the free edge over Toffee.

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 a squoval, meaning square walls with the corners filed off, which gives the flattest and widest canvas here and the least distortion at the edges.

Make it yours

Pick a part of the nail, then a shade
Base: Toffee · Crème Open the bottle

Bottles for this nail

Tap a bottle to open it on the shelf

What you need

Base colour one coat
Two gel paints contrast pair
Liner + dotting tool shapes and curves

How to paint Toffee Rainbow Arches nails

  1. 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Toffee, curing each one.
  2. 2 Paint the outer Milk Glass arc following the free edge, then step inward with Walnut, curing between colours.
  3. 3 Gloss top coat, cure, then cuticle oil once it is out of the lamp.

Questions about Toffee Rainbow Arches

  • Is Toffee Rainbow Arches 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 Rainbow Arches?

    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 Rainbow Arches work on short nails?

    A squoval works short: you lose canvas width rather than length, so the motif just sits closer together.

  • How many coats does Toffee Rainbow Arches 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.

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