Chevron may have not even gone anywhere, for all I know – much like sexy didn’t really go anywhere before JT brought it back. I actually have a chevron blanket currently draped casually over my couch that desperately needs to be washed. I mean really, the amount of chip crumbs embedded in the fibers is atrocious. What can I say? I’m a nibbler.

But back to the nails (you’re very likely to read this sentence at least once in every Nail Friday post). For the first time, but not the last time, I will be using these ingenious nail guide stickers that I bought from eBay (and learned about from the lovely, Dainty Squid). I really wish I was the dude selling them because then I’d at least be making some money from recommending this stuff in my posts, but I’m not. That dude lives in the UK and sells 1,100 stickers in 9 different shapes for only $6.19. If you don’t have the stickers, you can also try struggling with tape and pinking shears (but you should really just shut up and buy the stickers).

For this tutorial, you will need the following shit:

And I used nail guide sticker number 8, pictured below:

You want to start by painting your entire nail the color that you want for the middle stripe. Since this tutorial works by placing the sticker on an already dry layer of polish and repainting your other stripes over it, you can use it when all your nails are already painted a solid color and you just aren’t feeling it or it seems a bit boring. Also, the tips and cuticle sections don’t need to be perfect since you’ll be painting over those parts anyway. This makes this tutorial perfect for second-day polish that starts to chip or show some growth on the tips. Personally, I had already painted my nails in Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color (did someone on the Sally Hansen marketing team think that name was catchy?! good grief) in “Mint Sprint,” but realized that as a “nail expert,” I couldn’t very well walk around with only one color on my fingers, now could I? Here’s what your nails should look like after you apply a basecoat, middle chevron stripe color coat, and top coat (Seche Vite, as always).

Next, you want to take your number 8 zig-zaggy sticker and place it right across the center of each of your nails. Make sure that you press down when applying and push out any air bubbles trapped underneath the sticker. You’ll also want to use your nails to smosh the sticker down between your nail and side cuticle so that there aren’t any gaps between your nails and the sticker where polish can leak through and ruin everything.

Next, paint the tip the color that you chose (Essie’s “Bermuda Shorts” for me). The tip and cuticle colors should be opaque or darker than the middle/base color. I made the mistake of using two thinner colors and so, rather than being bright and pretty, they turned into this shell of their former selves. Another way to avoid this or be able to use a less pigmented color is if you choose a middle/base color that is very light (think white, nude, or pastel). Don’t make the same mistake I did.

Next, paint the cuticle section the other color that you chose (Sinful Colors’ “Folly,” I think).

You want to wait until the nail polish is a bit dry and still tacky. If you take off the sticker immediately, the top and bottom layers will run. If you take the sticker off too late, the edges will be jagged. If you don’t follow your own advice and use a thin polish for the top layers, your chevron nails will look like shit.

See how gloppy that orange color looks? That won’t happen if you don’t use 15 layers of polish to try and get a non-opaque polish to be opaque. It doesn’t help that the colors look absolutely disgusting together. But you know what? This is part of doing fancy things with your nails. Sometimes it’s awesome and sometimes just…no. If you do use the right polish types, you’ll want to wait about 10 minutes and then put a clear top coat over your nails to pull everything together. It is essential that you do not paint your top coat on too soon as you can streak the layers if they are still too wet and therefore, shatter your own world.

Here’s a photo of previous chevron nails that worked out well (like the feature image for this post) and a small reminder that Rhiannon gave me the “nail expert” title. I’m just a person!

Next time, I’ll try really hard to take a picture of all five fingers, like someone suggested in the comments for last Nail Friday. It’s really hard to take a picture of both of your hands with your camera phone when you’re alone though. Think about it.

As always, any input, suggestions, and feedback is welcomed with open legs in the comments.

Written by Taylor Blakin
Follow this nail expert and avocado-enthusiast on Blogspot and Tumblr!