How To: Neon Nails
There are few things more relaxing than sinking into a lazy boy chair in a nail salon to get your hands pampered and massaged. Of course this comes with a price (usually upwards of $30), which is why I’ve learned how to give myself a manicure that rivals most salons. Here are my steps for recreating the professional experience with a trendy twist: the neon nail.
{All colors by Essie}
Punchy Pink (the one I’m wearing)
Funky Limelight
Perky Purple
Nail Corrector Pen
91 comments
Thanks for the how-to. I love that bright neon pink polish. It’s perfect for summer!
i really love that shade of pink…it has been my signature for years…it looks great on my really short nails!
Great color! My signature polish is Nina Ultra Pro’s Fuchsia Rage. Putting one coat of white polish on before the bright pink makes it pop even more!
Lovely nails and color!
I’m in love with neon colors these days!
Yeah, really great color. Can you buy them online?
cute. i love essie brand. love the crystal file and mademoiselle polish best. need to check out punchy pink now.
looks amazing!!
Very pretty polishes!
I also think both hands and feet often is too much in such a bright color!
And the remover pen is such a good idea!
x!
http://thischicksgotstyle.blogspot.com
such fun shades! and that remover pen is definitely a stroke of genius.
how cute! your nails look so pretty!! Thanks for the how to
I hope you have a fabulous day!! Huge hugs!! Britt 
I’ve been reading your blog for months, but I’ll comment for the first time. And actually I’m lazy, so I’ll comment due to a detail: manicure prices in US. I lived in Canada for 6 months to study english (I’m from Brazil), and I never went to manicures because the prices are an ofense. Here we pay US$14 for both manicure and pedicure, veeeery well done. It’s about US$6 for the hands, so we can do it every week (great!). But it’s fine…you pay much less for clothes and services. Cool blog! I come every day!
I wish I was that neat when I painted my nails! My hands always look a hot mess when I’m done!
I always try to keep my nails a little long, but you make a good point: There’s nothing cute about dayglow talons. lolz
Lovely nails…perfect for the summer
these look great… though there is something that i find ultra-relaxing about having someone else do them. fun colors!
I love bright colors! You should see some of the shorts I’m wearing this summer. CLASSIC!
love love love the neon.
Truly fantastic! Never thought I’d want neon nails, but now I’m jonesing …
Love the idea of neon nails! Yours look fab!
Look great… I’m loving the “perky purple”!
I was admiring your nails yesterday, in your delicious food post, and wondering if you were a manicure or DIY kind of gal. Thanks for the tips {pun totally intended}.
I love short nails and mine grow like weeds!
I love that pink - and I am now on the hunt for one of those pens - would be so much better than my cotton ball touch-up technique.
I love that color!
You are a braver woman than I! I skip steps 1-6 and go straight to the salon, where I find someone with steady hands to paint my nails! I seriously am the WORST at doing it myself—it looks like a 5 year old got a hold of my hands!
It would save SO MUCH time and money if I could do as good a job as you do!
That buffing step makes all the difference, I always get compliments if I’ve buffed my nails good before doing my own mani/pedi.
the polish remover pen is amazing!!! I need a new one so bad! I would suggest using a base coat, not only to help the polish stick better but it also will protect your nails better from becoming yellow from the polish, and as always the top coat just helps the color last longer [but only if you want a shine gloss touch, if you’re going matte your way is the best idea!]
… one more tip… after buffing and filing nails - wipe them down w/ a cotton swab, or bit of toilet paper dipped in rubbing alcohol - this will take the natural oils away from your nails, helping the polish to stay on better. Lastly … a special treat for your nails and to help protect them a bit while drying - use a bit of cuticle oil on your cuticles - this is great and helpful for your skin and nail conditioning!!! [sorry I think I went a bit over board with this comment… I used to do nails for a living and I agree natural is always best!!! [and I am SO thankful short nails are in style, because while I can grow them long, mine ALWAYS break when they get to the perfect, not too long length, forcing me to cut them all down again! Short nails rock!!!!
p.s. If you ladies can’t find the PEN for touch ups… a great thing is a small jar of remover that comes with the sponge inside [set this out with an orange wood stick inside and use the wet stick for touch ups as you go]… Most pros use this - I just think the PEN IS AMAZING!!!
I love short nails, especially with bright colours or black/navy. I hate going to the salon to have my nails done though so always do it myself! x
I love all of these colors, I may have to try and find one of them for myself
Those are the exact three colors from the Essie Neon line that I chose too (when Ulta had a buy two, get the third free promo). I have worn the pink and purple, but I am still getting up the courage to try the yellow! It is REALLY bright. Great post as usual Emily!
love the pink color! I didn’t know there is a polish remover pen - where in the world am I living?!
What a fun idea. Just found your blog, too - so cute!
I’ll have to check Essie for some sort of orange/tangerine. I’ve been on the hunt for several months!
Love the nails! I just ordered my first neon essie “flirty fuchsia” and can’t wait to try it. I was shocked that for someone who has 100+ polishes I dont own a single neon *gasp*.
My only piece of advice is that u need a glass nail file. It files much faster and does not damage your nails as much. It also lasts forever [unless you drop it]. I am also personally against buffing so I use a Ridge-filling basecoat called Nailtek II FOundation [found at any drugstore, or for cheaper try transdesign.com - no affiliation].
=)
I’m over paying salon prices to get my nails done, but I know I could never achieve results like yours on my own. I look like I’ve been fingerpainting whenever I try. And don’t get me started on self-painted toes. Boo hoo.
Punchy Pink! I’ve been looking for a great neon pink nail polish. This is it!
Love the neon nails! Great tips!
DON’T FORGET TO STOP BY THE SITE FOR MY GIVEAWAY!
xoxo
J
http://www.talkprettytome.blogspot.com
Oh my god. I FRICKIN’ LOVE THE PEN!!!!!
WHERE Oh WHERE DID YOU GET IT?!?!?! I always mess up!
And I always cut my nails super short too! I think long nails look like witch nails. Creepy. LOVE THE POST.
I’ve never seen a nail polish remover pen before! I didn’t even know they existed… Wow I am so out of the loop! I am going to have to get one now… Cottonballs can get so messy!
http://clothedmuch.blogspot.com
I love the funky green nail polish…but I just can’t pull it off. This post was super helpful, maybe I’ll make an attempt …
How funny i just painted my nails in punchy pink last night. I did a horrible job since I just don’t have the skills to paint my own nails.
great post! i have been in love with my nail pen since i got it. it is such a life saver when you mess up (which i often do). I’ve been looking for a good buffer…do you have a brand your reccomend?
My left hand is so challenged. I can never use it to get the right one to look right. I am into the neon polish though and I think I will score one of those colors for my next pedicure. Being mama to a one year old, I can’t keep a manicure to save my life.
Polish remover pen, uh? Didn’t know that existed! I must check it out…!
polish remover pen? i had it last week in my hands, didn’t know exactly what it was, but now i seeee, godddd i need that!!
i really love the pink nailpolish!!
I am horrible at painting my own nails but that essie polsih remover pen looks like a godsend!
That colour looks really good on your hands! For some reason pinks always make my hands look sort of red and bloated… uggh.
Love the blog, by the way!
http://dreamingspiresandoldcartyres.blogspot.com/
i have an obsession with nail polish!
great post!
Your nails always look so great! I should pick up one of those polish remover pens.
I need to get myself a Essie nail polish remover pen!
Cool tut. Really like the neon pink! That nail pen is a blessing for people with horribly unsteady hands… like me, hah.
LOVE short nails!
i love the bright bright pinks. goes great with a tan
http://cestgirlsochic.blogspot.com
I just clicked on over to cupcakes and cashmere today for the first time, looked down at my hideous chipped red nails and said to myself, self, today is the day for a self pedi. love it, and love your style.
oh and mani too
dayglow talons! LOL! love the pink, i’ve been wearing a similar shade.
Looks good, I think Ill pick up a bottle of the pink.
…nothing cute about dayglow talons…
lol So true! No neon Lee Press-Ons, please. No Lee Press-Ons ever, really.
“dayglow talons”… LOL. Love the pink!
Oh! Are those the nail file/buffer things that those weird people at the mall stop you for a demonstration for? I’m SO getting the nail corrector pen. How awesome is that?!
Great tips
One of the tips I always ALWAYS tell my friends and anyone who’ll listen is that neon nails should never be applied to long nails. They’ll look fake - like stick ons.
By the way, I’ve got a pair of Current/Elliott jeans to give away at my blog. Come check it out!
very nice, i need to get my hands on a polish remover pen. that’s a handy tool.
I like the perky purple
I just painted my nails for the second time with Perky purple, and i cant stop staring at them. I want that color everywhere now!!!
Great tips and thanks for showing the steps on how you take care of your nails. I always go to the salon but I’ll definitely reconsider after reading your post. It seems simple and it’s a budget saver. Love the punchy pink!
oh neon pink! That’s amazing!:)
wow! another great tutorial with some truly eye-catching photos. i’m gonna go paint my nails neon now, toodles!
Woo, I suspected the pink color was by Essie! Love it. I’m dying to get my fingers covered in Perky Purple. It looks too cool. I need to make a trip to Ulta!
xo, Kate
pretty!
You are genius! I followed this lsat night and my nails look brilliant! (pun intended.) Trust me - my nails are not usually a thing of much beauty but this did the trick! I used Watermelon by Essie and it’s bery cute.
Also tried your How-to beachy waves and again - worked like magic! Kudos!
You’ve inspired me to paint my nails bright pink! I love the neon!
I love my nails super short…mine grow so fast so I”m always cutting and filing…and I am obsessed with the new essie polishes this season!! I haven’t quite gone the full on neon route yet but my current loves are “Bahama Mama” - a delicious purple!! and “Rasberry” - a fabulous POP! pink. I also love their new series of reds but of course I can’t remember any of the colors right now…I’m alternating them with every pedicure I get:)
You make it look so easy peasy! But i cant paint my nails for nuts! haha!
Your pretty nails have inspired me to try again tmr!
Gorgeous color Emily! I have a neon orange that I’ve been a little scared to use on my hands, but I think I will give it a try!
such a great post!!! stunning colour, woohoo to summer colours xo
Wonderful post! I love the bright colors, and they look so cute on shorter nails! I had one of the polish remover pens from Sephora once…didn’t last very long, but they work great.
completely fun! who knew pink neon could be so flirty?
xo
and all you need now is a big diamond ring and your hand will be totally complete! lol
Fantastic tutorial..I’m off to do mine now ! Thanks!
Why did I not know about this cleanup pen. Genius!
I love neon polish, I started wearing neon pink & orange last summer and got quite a few stares but now I think it’s a lot more common. Currently I’m sporting a neon red which I’m nuts over!!
FYI I totally went and bought the Essie corrector pen AND this color!
Your blog is such a bad influence! Haha, it’s okay though because looking at my hot pink nails makes me very happy 
Love this post. “clip nails so they’re really short (seriously there’s nothing cute about dayflow talons).” Wonderful! could not agree more!
Joanna
http://www.simpleblueprint.typepad.com/
I’ve tried pink neon nails, too. (:
Nice post.
if you dont feel like buying a nail polish remover pen, another easy option using materials you already own is dipping a teeny tiny painbrush in nail polish remover and using that as your “pen” to clean up any mistakes!
This is great advice! Thanks! Totally trying it tonight (:
That polish remover pen is a genius idea. Where can I buy them?
O rosa é sempre lindo…
the pink is always sweet
Love the color and the polish remover pen. What a clever idea!
OH MY GOOD I love it your colors of nail polish,what is the name of they ?
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