Layered nail polish can add a custom look to even the most simple manicures. From a double-coated base below French tips to a ballerina-like nude nail, overlaying one color with another can turn nail polish classics (cue OPI Bubble Bath) into a love child manicure.
“I love custom layering nude shades to achieve the perfect color,” celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik writes on Instagram, layering Essie’s Mademoiselle and Skinny Dip for a custom peach pink.
Below, ESSENCE breaks down the steps for layering nail polish and customizing your look.
Nail prep
The first step to any nail look is an actual manicure. According to CND Founder Jan Arnold, the key to healthy nails is a regular manicure; grooming the cuticle, buffing the nail bed, and shaping your nail. “For each of my clients during their service, I do a full Russian manicure,” celebrity nail artist Rose Hackle told ESSENCE in April. Although, try to avoid “common mistakes including overcutting cuticles, cutting their nails too short, over-filing the nail bed, and or thinning the nail plate.”
Apply the base coat
Just like with any manicure, applying a base coat over a buffed nail plate is the foundation of a layered nail look. Base coats (like the Essie Strong Start Base Coat or OPI Stay Classic Base Coat) protect and strengthen the natural nail and support smooth polish application. It is standard to layer colored polish over a clear coat, but using a similar method, you can also layer color over another color.
Lay down the first sheer coat
Think back to the glazed manicure or blueberry milk polish of the season’s past. Layering one coat on top of another is not a new trend (neither are Aura nails), but with the recent rise of natural beauty looks, nude shades are the most popular layering tones for 2024. For Bachik, a sheer buildable base like Aprés Be Still or Renewal work well as the first color coat. If you are using a single color only, repeat with about three coats.
However, when layering Jennifer Lopez’s SNL manicure back in February, “I applied a single coat of [Essie’s] ‘Mademoiselle’ as my base coat for a sheer milky pink,” Bachik says. Depending on the color you’re trying to create and how sheer of a look, you can either use one to two coats for the base. Then, allow the color to completely dry before adding a second color.
Layer the second coat
For the second coat, finding a color to complement the base can make or break the look. For example, pairing milky white with a light shimmer, or a nude base with a silver glitter (like Kokoist Ultra Non Wipe Top Coat Gel), each compliment each other, hitting off the layered look. Just like the first color, you can apply one to two passes of the second color to finish off your manicure… and don’t forget the top coat!
