Tough as Nails

Cool DIY Nail Art

These trendy designs look impressive but applying them doesn't require you to have an art degree.

Center stripe

Using Revlon Nail Art Expressionist in Pastel Punk ($9, drugstores), swipe on two coats of the pink polish. Once nails are dry, flip the tube and use the skinny brush to draw a thin stripe of the gray polish down the center of your nails.

Foolproof design

Size a sticker to each nail, peel off the back and smooth on the sticker with your finger. Fold the excess, then file it away. We love Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Sweet Marble Floret ($10, drugstores).

Glitter fade

Start with an orange polish, like Dior Vernis Nail Lacquer in Mango ($23, dior.com), as the base. Dot glittery gold Fergie by Wet n Wild Nail Color in Glamorous ($3, drugstores) along the tip of nails, then lightly spread it toward your cuticles for a sparkly and polka-dot effect.

Python polish

Brush one coat of Essie Nail Color in Crocadilly ($11, essie.com) over nails. Then layer on a second coat and hold the magnetic cap over your nails, one at a time, for five seconds to produce a snakeskin pattern.

Instant texture

Apply two coats of OPI Liquid Sand in Stay the Night ($9, opi.com for salons) to nails for a matte yet glittery effect. To maintain the matte finish, skip a topcoat.