On the Dot: Dotted Half-Circles

Arden:  Goodness, I had a hard time figuring out what to name this manicure!  Curved dotted lines?  Funky dot pattern?  I guess dotted half-circles it is!

I started by painting my nails Essie Mint Candy Apple (one of my favorite light green shades!).

So pretty!

Then I dotted on large dots using the largest end of my dotting tool in Zoya Mira.  I tried to dot them in two opposing half-circle patterns.  Some of them turned out better than others.

Please excuse the smudged dot on my pinky.  I have no idea how I missed that!

On the Dot: Peacock Nails!

When I first saw a version of this design online, I thought, "That looks so cool, but there's no way I could ever make dots that perfect!"  Then I looked at it again, and decided that maybe I could!

Full disclosure: The original version of this design DEFINITELY had better dots than mine that were actually in a pattern of perfect concentric circles, not weird concentric oval-ish shapes like mine, but I still really like how mine came out!

I started with two coats of Essie Midnight Cami. (Aside: Why do navy polishes ALWAYS photograph black?  It took a lot of finger contorting to get these to even look a little blue.)

Then I dotted a little flower pattern of 6 dots on each nail using Essie Good as Gold.  I used a dotting tool to make these dots, but they easily could've been made with a wall nail, toothpick, or basically any other household object with a tapered end.

On the Dot: Dotted Gradient Nails

Hi friends!  It's Arden, and I'm trying out a new recurring feature today: "On the Dot," where I showcase nail designs using dots!  I realized the other night that I really love to make dot designs, but I haven't been doing it as often as I'd like.

Before we begin, I should explain the tools I use to dot: namely, a few different sized wall nails and toothpicks.  I own exactly one dotting tool, which I originally bought to mark paper for easier folding while scrapbooking.  I hope someday to own a set of dotting tools with several size tips, but for now I'll just keep using whatever I can get my hands on!