Geometric Talons Nail Art- Essie Van D Go, American Apparel Polish

Talons (or stiletto nails) have been a big trend in the nail community this season, as spotted on many celebrities such as Rihanna, Fergie, Lana Del Rey and many more fashion forward ladies.  Talons are an easy way to achieve a slightly dangerous, sexy yet elegant look, and even the nudest polish can make these be a striking statement.  Miranda wanted an edgy nail art design that didn't actually include overly long talon nails - with that challenge in mind, I focused on using color to give the illusion of shape. This post is inspired by that popular nail shape, yet geared for all the short nailed gals out there (until we all get the courage to get a set!).  This talon geometric manicure is a more wearable and lower maintenance version of those lovely stiletto nails, but with all the edge and sultriness included.  I found that this design creates the illusion of sharp, almond shaped talons and also elongates the fingers - again, this is perfect nail art for short nails.  Faux talons are also a nice graphic design that photographs great and can be altered to match whatever outfit you have planned.  

For this design I used Essie's "Van D Go" (the pinky coral pastel) and American Apparel's nail polish in "Port" (dark burgundy) with a medium striper brush (from my MASH nail art brush set) to achieve the thin outlines.  My base color is Romantique Shellac from CND, but any nude or milky color could be used as a base (for an affordable polish, try the Wet n Wild's 2% Milk which you can see swatched in a paisley nail art here).  I recommend that for the outlines you choose an opaque darker color so that you don't need to apply two coats for full opacity and also avoid uneven lines.  You can mix and match the three designs as you please, but just remember to have fun with it!

I include a tutorial below for how to achieve these nail art geometric designs - my sister picked these brighter Essie and American Apparel nail polish colors, but using contrasting colors of your choice adds to the 3D effect of the nail art.