Inspired by the nautical anchor design that’s omnipresent in the summer months, this nail-art look is perfect for days spent lounging poolside or on the beach.

 

 

I just can’t get enough of the nautical anchor design! It’s so cute and summery that I want it everywhere. I have one on my wall to add some pizzazz to my summer decoration, but I think it looks even cuter on your nails! Believe it or not, an anchor is easier than it looks to freehand when you have the right tools, but I’d rate this summer nail-art look at a medium difficulty level.

 

Here’s what you need: a thin nail-art brush, medium and small dotting tools, a clear base coat and top coat, gold glitter polish, gold metallic polish, white polish, and navy blue polish.

 

 

1. Clean off your nails and apply a thin coat of a clear base coat. Paint your ring finger and thumb navy blue. Then paint your pointer and pinky fingers white, and paint your middle finger with several layers of gold polish until you can no longer see your natural nail through the specks of glitter.

 

 

2. Dip your thin nail-art brush in the gold metallic polish; use it to paint stripes across your pointer and pinky fingers by placing the brush on one side of your nail and rolling your finger. It’s much easier to get a straight line if you roll your finger and let the brush glide along the surface than it is to try to draw the line.

 

 

3. Clean off your thin nail-art brush and dip it in white polish. Now draw an anchor on one of your blue nails by painting a slanted lowercase T. At the bottom of the T, paint a U shape with an arrow at each end. Then dip your medium dotting tool in white polish, and place a dot at the top of the anchor. Once that dries, dip your small dotting tool in blue polish, and place a small blue dot in the middle of the white one to make it look like a hole. Repeat on the other nail.

 

 

4. Apply a simple gradient glitter to the tip of your ring-finger nail and thumbnail. If you haven’t done this before, refer to this video to learn how.

 

And there you have it: lovely nautical summer nails perfect for poolside sipping and beach parties. Below is a Pin-able version with all the steps. Enjoy!

 

 

For more nail-art tutorials by Jocelyn, visit Polishpedia.