The Casino Nail Trend Will Make You Feel Like a Winner

A (mis)match made in Vegas.

To turn your next manicure into a winning hand, bet big on casino nails. Red, white, black, and covered in dice decals, this nail art trend is resurfacing all over Tiktok. Look at it as a continuation of the mismatched manicures worn by celebrities like Hailey Bieber and Rita Ora. But instead of snakeskin patterns or aura designs, you’ll see playing cards and lucky 7s.

“This is a simple way to spice up your manicure with designs that aren’t too complex,” says Deborah Lippmann, celebrity manicurist. Like other mismatched nail trends, you can personalize it whichever way you want. “You have flexibility,” she says. “It can be interpreted and done many different ways.” No matter which designs you choose, just know that the final effect is meant to be fun. Lippmann describes the ultimate casino manicure as “so colorful, so happy.”

The Trend

The antithesis to barely-there neutral nails, the casino manicure is best worn as the MVP of your beauty look, not a background character. “It’s a fun way to get excited about an upcoming trip or to summon lucky vibes,” says Sigourney Nuñez, Sally Hansen partner and licensed manicurist.

That doesn’t mean you can’t tailor your designs to fit a more minimal aesthetic. Nuñez recently created a casino set on a Vegas-bound client, starting with a milky pink base and strategically placing little dice decals and golden hearts as accents. Or, you can dial them all the way up. On Tiktok, you’ll see every interpretation from metallic French tips, to matte black-and-white, to the classic three-shade combo. The one thing they have in common: at least a few symbols to channel your lucky streak.

“Whether you wear cheeky cherries or a 777 jackpot, it’s easy to feel like a winner in a casino manicure,” says Nuñez.

How to Wear It

Some manicures need a lot of real estate to shine, but this isn’t one of them. “It will look great on any nail length,” says Lippmann. If you have short nails, Nuñez recommends maximizing the look with a full-coverage, solid-colored base. “Medium-to-long nails can get playful with negative space and French tips while adorning the set with details of casino-inspired symbols,” she says.

If you want to leave it to the pros, bring a few reference photos to your manicurist. But both Lippmann and Nuñez say it’s a completely doable design for beginners. Lippmann recommends simplifying your designs into basic shapes. “For example, the cards are just rectangles and dice are just squares with dots,” she says. (You’ll just need a detail brush or two to get it done.) Another way to add impact is to start with a black, red, and white color palette as your base shades. “This will already help start the casino vibes,” says Nuñez, who recommends using a dotting tool to easily create dice patterns.

Get the Look

One last tip from the pros: Nail stickers are always an option. “Nail decals are an easy way to get the look in half the time,” says Nuñez. For every single casino-inspired design you could ever need, try the Tsumekira x Tokyo Spice Vegas Baby! Sticker sheet ($9), created by iconic nail artist Britney Tokyo, or Deco Beauty's Jackpot Stickers ($10).From there, freestyle your casino manicure, using the following steps as a guide.

Step 1: Prep. All manicures last the longest on a prepped base. Lippmann likes to gently smooth ridges with her Smooth Operator Nail Buffer ($14) and clean cuticles with a combination of Cuticle Remover ($22) and Cuticle Pusher ($28), working in a drop of Cuticle Oil ($22) at the base of each nail to keep them nourished.

Step 2: Prime. Next, Lippmann applies her 2-Second Nail Primer ($14) to cleanse away any oil, dirt or residue. “Make sure to also go underneath your nails,” she says. Once that’s dry, apply your base coat. Nuñez likes the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Color Grip Primer ($9), which she says will help give your manicure added wear time.

Step 3: Paint. Your base is entirely up to you. Lippmann suggests an alternating combo of Deborah Lippmann Hot In Here, Fade to Black, and Amazing Grace ($20 each). “I love polishing each nail a different shade,” she says. Use two coats of each shade for a fully opaque base. Or, you can keep your base layer a single shade and switch up the designs on top. For a crisp white base, Nuñez applies two coats of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Get Mod ($11).

Step 4: Design. Decals, dots, or hand-painted shapes: the choice is yours. To play off her mismatched base, Lippmann shuffles around the same three colors to create contrasting designs. For a simple dice design, Nuñez uses a dotting tool and a black polish like Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Onyx-pected ($11) to create dots on each white nail, mimicking a set of dice. “For example, your pinky can have one dot in the center, your ring finger can have two diagonal dots, and so on,” she says.

Step 5: Seal. To keep your casino nails looking fresh, don’t forget to lock them in with your favorite top coat. “Once the art is dry, seal it all in with the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat ($11),” says Nuñez.

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Read the original article on Byrdie.