NAILS readers and editors love Pinterest. This social network allows for idea organization and sharing. Nail techs can save anything from nail art they want to try to salon décor DIYs. Because holiday-themed nail art is an easy sell, we looked to our 130 boards to give us Valentine’s Day inspiration. We took the ideas behind some of our most popular Valentine’s Day pins and had them recreated to show just how easy it is to give clients Pinterest-worthy nails. We asked Newcomerstown, Ohio-based nail tech and NAILS Next Top Nail Artist Top 7 competitor Dana Cecil to share the love when it comes to Valentine’s Day nail art techniques.

Inspriation: 23,500 saves

Negative Space Hearts

1. Paint an outline of a heart using black gel-polish and cure. 

2. Fill in the space outside of the heart with the same gel-polish used for the outline. Cure and remove the tacky layer. Choose a striping tape to create lines.  

3. To create a sugared glitter heart outline, use a non-tack top coat to outline the heart. 

4. While the top coat is still wet, dump a holographic glitter onto it, then cure, and dust off the excess glitter.

5. Top coat then add Swarovski crystals with glue. Use a glue dryer to create a fast adhesion. 

Inspiration: 10,700 saves on Pinterest

Floral Heart Tip

1. Using a pearly white gel-polish, coat the nail and cure. Repeat for two coats.

2. Using a blush nude, create a heart using the tip of the nail as the point of the heart and cure.

3. Using a pink gel-polish, start creating roses randomly. Take a bit of the darker pink and mix it with a little white to create a lighter shade for the rest of the roses and cure.

4. Using the same pinks, add details to the roses. Also use green gel-polish to create the leaves and cure.

5. Lastly, you will use a dotting tool to dot the outline of the heart in white gel-polish. Cure and add a top coat.

Inspiration: 7,000 saves

Envelope of Love

1. Paint the nail with a gray gel-polish and cure.  Create the envelope flap with white gel-polish and cure.

2. Outline and create the folds of the envelope using black gel-polish and cure.

3. Paint the hearts using a bright pink gel.  

4. When painting over a darker color with a lighter color, try painting the design in white first. Paint hearts with white gel-polish to make them pop and cure.

5. Apply top coat.

Harlequin Hearts: 1,000+ saves

1. Section off the nail using a gray gel-polish and cure.

2. Using the same gray color and a bright pink, fill in the sections. Cure for two coats.

3. Using a white gel-polish, create a heart in the center and cure.

4. Section off the white heart.

5. Fill in the sections with opposite colors for each one. Cure, then apply top coat.

Inspiration: 400+ saves

Heartbeat

1. Paint two coats using a blush nude. Cure between coats.

2. While tacky, use an opalescent powder additive and rub on with a sponge or brush.

3. Using gel-polish, hand paint the heartbeat, leaving a space to add the larger heart.  

4. Top coat with a non-tack top coat. Before curing, measure out and lay down a ball chain to the right of the heartbeat and cure.

5. Using the same top coat, paint over the heart and the space to the right of the ball chain. Pour black glitter over the heart and pink opal glitters into the space beside the chain, then cure. Dust off the excess glitter.