Beaut.ie How To: Cloud Print Nails

Any fine day that there's been recently, I've gotten an itch to do some class of summery-feeling nail art on my nails. The result is that scattered white clouds on a blue background are now my default sunshine paint job.

Admittedly, it's a little on the cartoonish side - Himself said straight off that it reminded him of a tub of Ben & Jerry's, which immediately made me want some Cookie Dough ice cream and explains the accent nail! - but it is cheerful and reasonably easy to do.

Here's how...

1. After removing any old nail varnish, filing nails into shape, and applying a base coat, apply your chosen blue polish to ape the sky. I used the mini bottle of M&S pastel blue that I mentioned in this round-up of blue nail polish shades.

2. Decant a small amount of white nail polish (I just pulled a completely justified random and ancient one out of the back of my stash) onto an old piece of plastic or crockery or even a magazine cover.

Sorry February's InStyle...

3. Load the nib of a ballpoint pen by carefully dipping it into this pool of white polish...

... and then dot onto nails repeatedly to form the outline of a fluffy miniature cumulus.

4. Dip the nib of the pen in the white polish again and use it to fill in the body of the cloud. It's a good idea to wipe the nib clean every so often to prevent the build-up of claggy nail polish; working with small pools of polish that you only decant as needed serves the same function.

5. Repeat! I like to do two or three clouds per finger, with some pulling a disappearing act at the edges of the nail.

6. Top the lot off with a coat of Seche Vite (delicious melty ice cream cone optional.)