Summer Nails: Neon Mandala Nail Art

Many of us – amateurs nailistas – started this amazing journey into the heart of nail polishing because we found a creative outlet and an oasis of relaxation in the simple gesture of painting our nails. Taking things further on the nail polishing road, I come today with the next step in lacquer zen: mandala nail art!

Mandalas have been used to define the individual and the Universe in various beliefs and religions or psychiatric perspectives. I can attest to their amazing relaxation value: I painted two different mandalas design instead of an afternoon nap and I felt amazingly satisfied with the result and full of positive energy! If you’re thinking ‘she’s crazy!’ right now, you ain’t seen my nail polish stash! Wink – what name will you come up with then?

It all started – as you may suspect – with me wanting neon nails. Neon nails for summer – so revolutionary, right? I painted three of each hand, different color for each hand (China Glaze Heat Index on my right and Shell-O on my left hand’s nails). I left the middle and the ring fingernails white because I wasn’t sure of the right accent to go with these neon beauties…

It’s hard to find the right kind of nail art for neons that won’t take the color shine away – glitter will definitely outshine them and I wanted something that’ll make them pop even more, not dull their magic! So I started to play with some fluorescent paints I got from Ikea a while back directly on the white nails I already covered with my favorite art-enhancing matte topcoat and before I knew it, I had a mandala right there! Contoured it with black thin stripes and couldn’t stop staring at those fabulous fluorescent nails!

Needless to say I felt adventurous enough to start a different mandala design on my right hand’s nails and the result was half Aztec, half mandala… Not quite what I was aiming for, but very catchy nonetheless! The next day we went out at the pool (the kids were begging for some water sliding) and I got so many compliments, I already have a couple of friends who can’t wait to get the same nails! My accidental mandalas were fantastic!

See also: Fabulous & Easy pastel flowers nails tutorial!