If rocking a jersey for Super Bowl Sunday isn't exactly in line with your wardrobe tastes, consider lacquering up a nail art design as a subtler nod to your favorite boys. We teamed up with celebrity manicurist Stephanie Stone to paint up a duo of Super Bowl-inspired manicures to cheer on either the Denver Broncos or the Carolina Panthers. Get the step-by-step instructions on how to tackle each look below.
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Denver Broncos
1. For this look, you'll need an unrolled paper clip on-hand to form the super-straight white lines. Once you've completely unwound it, start on your nails with your favorite base coat, and follow with a bright orange hue like Nailing Hollywood's Hazard ($10; harmondiscount.com) over the top.
2. Use the Unicorn lacquer ($10; harmondiscount.com) to give the orange tone some extra shimmer, then use Nailing Hollywood's Infinite ($10; harmondiscount.com) to swipe a horizontal bar across three of your nails, leaving two accent nails untouched. "Make sure the bar is about two brush widths wide," Stone advises.
3. Moving on to your accent nails, apply a white lacquer over each of the two digits entirely, leaving a small crescent free at the base. Once dry, repeat the same motion with the Infinite shade applied in step 2, and leave a thin white half-circle exposed.
4. Here's where that unrolled paper clip comes in handy—pun completely intended. Dip the paperclip in the white lacquer, then press it vertically over the three horizontal patterns. "This will create a thin white line down the center of the nail that might otherwise be tedious to paint," says Stone. Talk about a #lifehack. Finish with a layer of top coat.
Carolina Panthers
1. After applying your base coat, paint all of your nails in a crisp white shade like Nailing Hollywood's Strike ($10; harmondiscount.com). Allow the color to dry completely, then use the Nailing Hollywood Splatter lacquer ($10; harmondiscount.com) to impart a spray-painted effect on two accent nails.
2. Pick up a bold blue color—Stone used Nailing Hollywood's Marina ($10; harmondiscount.com)—to apply over the layer of white in an upward V shape, making sure to leave an open space in the center. "Start at the left base of your nail, and swipe your brush diagonally up toward the free edge," she advises. "Repeat with the opposite side of the nail so that only a tiny whtie triangle at the cuticle is exposed."
3. Use a black nail color to paint on two rounded shapes over the blue portions on each side of the nail. Make sure to leave thin portions of the color underneath exposed, and once the final layer has dried, seal in your work with your favorite top coat.
