Whether soft, feminine and pink or popping tangerine, colourful manis are fun! But there’s just something about a dark polish mani that’s edgy and sexy at the same time. So if you want to channel your inner rock chick and sport a dark mani here’s our simple how to:

Step 1: Shape Your Nails
Clean your nails removing any traces of old polish or treatment product. Trim your nails if needed – darker colours suit shorter nails so if you’re nails are quite long then you might consider trimming them down a little.

File and shape your nails. The squoval (square + oval) looks great with darker shades. Your nail should be straight with slightly rounded corners.

Step 2: Treat Your Nails
Now you’ve got your shape sorted time to prep the rest of your nail. If you have overgrown cuticles soften them by soaking your nails in warm water for a few minutes or rubbing some cuticle oil or cream gently into your cuticles. Once softened gently push them back with a cuticle stick. You can snip away any hangnails, however we highly recommend never cutting your cuticles unless you absolutely MUST, as they can grow back thicker. The skin there is very fragile and should be well hydrated and intact for strong, healthy nails.

Step 3: Paint Your Nails
Make sure you’ve cleaned your nails of any filing or cream residue by cleaning with 100% Pure Acetone, now you’re ready to apply your base coat. Depending on your chosen shade apply 2-3 coats of your polish. Assess your mani after 2 coats and if you need a third to perfect it then go ahead, however if you've got good coverage and depth don’t do another coat!

Finish with a top coat to seal in your manicure and wipe with an alcohol wipe to give long lasting shine to your mani.

Now you know how to, you need to decide which polish is your poison. Here are our top picks for a rock chick mani – perfect for the Autumn/Winter season! Which will you be rocking?




Pitch Purple Temptress Oak


The Black of Night Rich Mahogany In The Navy


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