How to Paint a Heart on Your Fingernails

Use red nail polish to paint hearts on your nails.

Fingernails can complement your style, just like bracelets, earrings and other fashion accessories. Whether you feel like painting your nails on a whim or you're decorating them for a special occasion, looking down at your colorfully adorned fingertips is sure to make you smile. Heart shapes on your fingernails is an appropriate design for Valentine's Day but can be enjoyed any day of the year. Painting heart shapes can be challenging if you're not accustomed to applying nail art. One option is to use pre-made nail stencils rather than paint the hearts yourself. Learn how to paint a heart on your fingernails and dress up your look.

Things You'll Need

• White nail polish
• Pink nail polish
• Red nail polish
• Top coat
• Nail Stencils
• Eye-shadow brush

Instructions

Painting the Hearts

1. Paint two coats of nail polish on your fingernails as a base color. You will be painting the hearts on top of this. Paint on one coat and let it dry for 2 minutes. Paint on the second coat and let dry for 5 minutes before doing anything else. Choose a base color such as white or pale pink.

2. Dip the brush included with red nail polish inside of the nail polish bottle. Dab it against the inside of the bottle. Press the brush onto the nail twice, right next to eachother, to create two dots.

3. Put the tip of the nail polish brush inside of one dot and pull it down to form a "V" shape. Repeat on the other dot.

4. Dab the nail polish brush into the center of the heart. Fill it in with the red nail polish. Let dry for 5 minutes.

5. Brush on a long-wearing top coat. Apply it in three smooth strokes to each fingernail.

Stencils

1. Apply two coats of nail polish to your nails. The color to use depends on your preference. Some options include beige, pink or white nail polish. Let your nails dry for three minutes between each coat of polish.

2. Press a heart-shaped nail stencil on top of your fingernails. Hold it firmly in place for five seconds. Apply the nail color of your choice over the opening of the nail stencil. Carefully lift the stencils off of your nails. Let the nail polish dry.

3. Apply one coat of top coat to your nails. Let the top coat dry thoroughly before using your hands or nails.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have an eye-shadow brush handy, use that to create the heart shapes.

References

• Beautiful Healthy Fingernails: Fingernail Art
• The Nail Teacher: Valentine's Day Nail Tutorials