Ever since I started playing around with nail art, I’ve wanted to try monarch butterfly wings. I was a bit intimidated, but it turns out it’s pretty simple if you have the patience to try! You will need at least one nail polish in any color you choose, a black nail art pen or striping brush, and a white nail polish with a dotting tool or the edge of a bobby pin.
Step 1
Start by choosing your base coat and the base color for the manicure. Since I wanted to do an alternating accent nail, I chose two colors. I used polishes by Deborah Lippmann, Sugar Daddy for the champagne color and Brick House for the orange, which perfectly matched a monarch butterfly wing. Let the base dry mostly before moving on to step 2.
Step 2
Use your nail art pen or striping brush to make a curved line from one corner of your nail to about 1/3 of the way to the opposite side of the nail. Try to make sure the thickness of the line is the same all the way across. I love the new It’s So Easy Stripe Right Striping Polish because the brush is super-easy to work with, but if that makes you nervous, nail art pens found at any drug store or Sephora are an easy alternative.
Step 3
From the line you just painted, paint 3 to 4 lines up toward the top of the nail. It’s really a choice as to what you think looks best on you and how wide your nail beds are. I like to do these with a bit of a curvature as well because it makes it look like it has movement.
Step 4
Now it’s time to fill in the edge of the wing with black. I like to start at one edge of the nail and do each section on its own so it gets the curve. Make sure you do enough of the black so that you can do a few white dots on top of it.
Step 5
At this point, this is what your nails should look like. The more curve the black has, the more it will look like an actual wing. If it’s just straight, it looks a bit like stripes so just play around until you feel comfortable.
Step 6
Now it’s time for the white dots on the tip of the wings. I like to use Essie Blanc for white nail art because it’s very opaque. I used a dotting tool, but you can use a tip of a bobby pin if you don’t have a dotting tool, or even a toothpick can work. Dip the tool into the white polish and place white dots at random along the black polish at the tips. Do as few or as many as you like. Now it’s time to topcoat and—voila—a gorgeous monarch butterfly manicure!
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