How to Paint Nails for Mardi Gras: 8 Steps (with Pictures) (2024)

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Co-authored bywikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 19, 2020

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   Choose your colors. Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras, so work with these colors as you design your nail look. Avoid pastels and instead opt for bold purple and green nail polish. You can also use a golden yellow in place of gold if you prefer.

   • Painting your nails in alternating colors is an easy way to get a Mardi Gras nail look. For example, you could alternate between purple, green, and gold.
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   See Also

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   Opt for glitter. Glitter is another great option for Mardi Gras nails, especially if you are short on time or don’t want to attempt any nail art. Try choosing a glitter with flecks of gold, purple, and green, or look for a solid glitter nail polish in one of these colors.^[1]

   • An easy Mardi Gras nail look is to paint all of your nails with gold glitter nail polish. They will be shiny and fun without a lot of fuss.
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   Add diamonds. If you have a nail polish liner pen, then you can easily create a diamond design on your nails. Start by drawing a few diagonal lines going across each of your nails. Then, cross back over the lines going in the opposite direction to create diamond shapes on your nails. Fill in every other row to turn your criss-crossing diagonal lines into diamonds.

   • Adding diamonds will help to give your nails a harlequin look, which is a popular theme for Mardi Gras.
   • You can use a black nail liner pen to create diamonds, or you can use a different color, to accent your nail polish.
   • You can also try drawing diamonds free hand, but using diagonal lines may provide a more symmetrical design.
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   Include an accent. Accenting your nails is optional, but it can add some extra dimension to your nail look. You can accent your nails with nail crystals, decals, or some nail art if you are up to it.

   • For example, you could accent purple and gold nails with some gold nail crystals or sequins. Or, you could choose one nail to accent with a special design, such as a mask or some feathers.^[2]

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   Go for glitter with one accent nail. If you are short on time, try painting all but one of your nails (such as your ring finger) with a glitter nail polish. Then, do a special design on your accent nail.^[3]

   • For example, you could do a chevron design on your accent nail, paint it a solid color and then add some decals, or use a nail wrap to add a complex design.
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   Try a color blocking look. You can divide your nails into two solid colors for a festive Mardi Gras nail look. To do this, you can either use tape or a nail art strip to divide your nails in half diagonally. Then, paint one half of all of your nails with one color, let it dry, and then paint the other half with the other color.^[4]

   • For example, you could paint your nails half purple and half green.
   • You could even use a gold nail polish liner pen to draw a line over the diagonal divide between the two colors.
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   Give yourself a gold, purple, and green ombre. Ombre nails are popular and fairly easy to do. You can paint your nails green and purple and then use gold glitter nail polish for the ombre effect. All you need to create an ombre look at home is some nail polish and a makeup sponge.

   • Start by painting your nails with the solid nail polish color(s) you have chosen. Then, allow the polish to dry completely.
   • Next, use a makeup sponge to dab gold glitter nail polish onto the ends of your nails. Try to dab more glitter polish onto the ends of your nails to get the ombre effect.^[5]
   • Use some nail polish remover on a cotton swab to remove any excess nail polish from your skin.
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   Accent one of your nails with nail beads. Mardi Gras is known for its plastic bead necklaces in purple, green, and gold. You can nod to this with your nails by adhering some nail beads to one of your nails as an accent.^[6]

   • Paint your nails and allow the nail polish to dry for a few minutes. Use purple, green, or gold nail polish.
   • Then, apply a gel topcoat to all of your nails. However, do not wait for the topcoat to dry before applying the beads.
   • Apply the beads to the nail you want to accent while the gel topcoat is still wet. Try to arrange the beads in a row so they look like they are connected. Then, let the topcoat dry completely.

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