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Your Summer Nail Art Guide

Now's the perfect time to break out of your plain nail polish routine and try something bright, bold, and fun
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Pastel Rainbow
This pastel mixed-color mani requires absolutely zero nail art skills, but it still has a trendy, beachy vibe. You can use any five pastel shades of your choice -- one for each nail. Essie, $8 each, has some gorgeous pastel options like Mint Candy Apple, French Affair, Coat Azure, Tart Deco, and Pop Art Pink.

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Grey Half Moons
The half moon style is essentially an opposite French manicure. Instead of the tips, you are highlighting just above your cuticles, creating a half moon. First paint your nails in a neutral shade. A soft gray like Essie in Chinchilly, $8, works nicely. Let this dry completely.

Next, paint over your nails in a bright shade like Butter LONDON in Primrose Hill Picnic, $15. But do not paint your nails entirely. Instead, leave a gray crescent shape just above your cuticles. For more precision, you can use a thin paintbrush to create the half moon shape. Finish with a clear topcoat.

Summer is the perfect time to try all the trends you've been too much of a scaredy cat to try the rest of the year. From May to August, there's pretty much zero excuse for being boring and sticking with your same old beauty routine. And the easiest place to start when it comes to injecting some color and pattern into your style? Your nails.

So, set aside the plain red polish you've been wearing non-stop for the past three months, and switch things up with one of our five favorite nail art trends. Do you prickle at the suggestion of "nail art"? Don't worry, these aren't super intricate, Picasso-level nail art designs.

Instead, we've rounded up the cutest (and simplest) nail designs that even the shakiest of hands can master. So get to painting your nails, and then treat yourself to some frozen yogurt (extra rainbow sprinkles, please), because it's officially summertime.
AUG 23, 2013 | SHARES
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