THE KARL LAGERFELD NAIL

Karl Lagerfeld: Head designer and creative director of Chanel, owner of Choupette, king of controversy, and now the art piece appropriately situated on my middle finger. Albeit nowhere near as impeccably finished as my inspiration, created by Madeline Poole, I'd like to think that every fashionista should don a Karl accent nail at one point in her life – and this nail art newb is proof that it's possible.

I began by painting two thin coats of Essie Nail Polish in Licorice on all nails, skipping over the middle finger – the easiest part of this manicure. To create my mini Karl, I had to be inventive, a modern day MacGyver if you will. I began with the half moon to form his blazer – painting the moon shape with Licorice before evening the edge, creating a crisp line, with my Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black. As this portion of the nail dried I created his hair line – my God that man has white hair. The hair was quite simple, merely requiring a thin stripe of white, which was created with my Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Striper in White. Now onto those tricky, tricky glasses. Karl is always seen wearing thick black sunglasses, and I knew that none of my dotting tools would suffice, so in their place I used a Q-tip. I began by soaking the Q-tip in water before pressing the tip firmly against the table to create a large oval shape. Picking up a hefty amount of Licorice polish I placed my two large lenses in the center on the nail bed. I once again used my striper in black to create a [somewhat] even line mimicking the frame, and added a hint of white in the center to give dimension to his shades. To finish Karl off I went back to the half moon portion, which by now had dried, and added two triangular shapes to mimic his crisp white collar, once again using my striper in white. Finish with a high-shine topcoat, like the Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Top Coat and you're ready to flaunt your Karl nail!

Be sure to send me photos if you re-create this fashionable mani!

AM¥     XO