Brothers Robert and Vu Nguyen are stars on the nail competition circuit, have done nails for numerous magazine covers, and taught nail workshops nationwide. The duo now taps into their wealth of expertise with their release of 1-2-3 Nail Art, a series of nail art tutorial books that feature designs from beginner to advanced. Each step-by-step features instructions in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish. Books 1 (handpainted art) and 3 (3-D art) are already available, with Book 2 (French tip art) available sometime this summer. Here’s an excerpt from Volume 1, a step-by-step dubbed “Zeo Zebra”.    

1. Use gray paint to make a quarter circle in the lower right corner.   

2. Make a gray quarter circle in the opposite corner.   

3. Add a gray line parallel to the design from Step 2.   

4. Use red paint to make a quarter circle parallel to the design from Step 1. 

5. Use black paint to make a quarter circle parallel to the design from Step 4. 


6. Use light gray paint to make a quarter circle parallel to the design from Step 5.   

7. Use black paint to make a diamond at the center of the nail.   

8. Use black paint to make an arc at the nail’s moon.   

9. Blend white paint into the gray at the right corner.   

10. Add black stripes to the right corner. (The lines look better uneven.)   

11. Apply a red rhinestone on top of the diamond from Step 7.    

12. Apply a gel coat or top coat over the entire nail for a glossy look.  

Buy these books (for $25 each) from www.nailsmag.com/store: Volume 1, Volume 3

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