How To

How to Do Tortoise Shell Nails at Home
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  • Published on:10/10/2024

How to Do Tortoise Shell Nails at Home: Your Ultimate Guide

As we wave goodbye to summer and head into a new season, it's got us thinking about our go-to autumnal nails. The ‘it’ girl this year? Tortoise shell. If you want the lowdown on how to do tortoise shell nails yourself, we’ve supplied your ultimate guide.

Tortie nails are by no means a new nail design, but this year they have well and truly solidified themselves as the nails of the season over on TikTok (we think this is all thanks to Hailey Bieber’s nails , once again).

If you are one of the few who’s FYP isn’t an endless stream of the tortoise shell nail art trend, this is what we're talking about…

If you want to learn how to achieve these beautiful, classy nails using your home gel polish kit, we’ve got you covered with step-by-steps, video tutorials, and pics to get you inspired.

How to Do Tortoise Shell Nails at Home: Your Ultimate Guide

Tortoiseshell gel nails are an extremely versatile look that can create serious nail envy. 

They are great for daily looks, but can also be beautiful on a night out or when going out for an evening meal.

Tortoise Shell Nails With Blooming Gel

One of the easiest ways (arguably the easiest) to create classy tortoise shell nails is with a blooming gel polish. This gel essentially allows the gel colours to spread, creating that classic tortie or watercolour effect.

Read ourguide to blooming gel polishto learn more about this magic product.

Watch our video tutorial below for a super easy-to-follow visual…

Step 1: Prep Your Nails

The first step in any mani is prep, prep, prep. Push back and trim your cuticles, shape your nails, buff the surface, and cleanse with Prep & Wipe.

Step 2: Apply a Base Coat

Lay down your base coat. Our Base Coat Gel Polish provides the perfect foundation for tortoise shell nails, helping them last up to 3 weeks (yes, really!). Cure under our Pro LED Lamp for 60 seconds.

Step 3: Choose Your Tortie Gel Colours

Pick your tortie colours. If you want to go classic, you’ll want a sheer dark orange shade, a deep brown, and a black gel polish, along with blooming gel. 

Our Tortie Gel Polish Quad includes all 4 of these polishes, so it’s super handy.

Step 4: Apply the Base Colour

Select the shade Honey from your Tortie Quad (or your sheer dark orange) and paint a layer on your nails. 

Cure this for 60 seconds, adding further layers to build opacity if you want (remember to cure after each layer).

Step 5: Apply Blooming Gel

With your base nail colour now on, you should paint a thin layer of your Blooming Gel Polish over the top. Do not cure.

Step 6: Apply Your Tortoise Shell Design

Using a dotting tool, add drops of Not In The Mud (or a dark brown gel) and watch your patterns bloom. Once the drops have spread to your desired size, cure for 60 seconds.

Step 7: Create the Tortie Art

Add another layer of Blooming Gel. This time, using a dotting tool or liner brush, add small drops or strokes of Witching Hour (black gel polish) on top of Not In The Mud to create your tortoiseshell pattern. 

Cure this for 60 seconds.

Step 8: Apply a Top Coat

Seal your designs by applying a No-Wipe Top Coat and letting it cure for 60 seconds. And you're all done! 

See, you don't need to be a nail-art genius with our easy steps.

Tortoise Shell Nail Art Lookbook: At-Home Designs

Feeling inspired? 

We’ve rounded up some simply stunning tortoise shell nail gel nails that you can recreate at home. From subtle nods to the pattern to full-on tortie designs, your next autumnal mani awaits…

Using our wide range of gel polish and nail tools, you can easily recreate these designs at home.

#1 Tortoiseshell French Tip

Tortoise Shell Look

Everyone loves a Frenchie, so why don't you try combining both nail trends? Whether it's a full set or an accent nail, a tortoise shell tip creates a sleek look.

We are loving the grungy vibe of this design now we're coming up to October, and I think we might have just found our low-key Halloween set.

To keep things easy, try using a liner brush to mark out your French tip area for precision.

#2 Tortoiseshell River

The nude base is perfect for allowing the tortoiseshell to take over. To elevate this look even further, try adding some gold leaf to the river. Chefs kiss.

To us, these are party nails, so be sure to try them on a special occasion.

Our Be Jewelled Nail Art Kit is essential for the application of gold leaf, and it couldn't be easier.

#3 Half 'n' Half Tortie Nails

This cute set is perfect for every day and will compliment pretty much any outfit. We love how it shows both a fun and a minimalistic side.

You could play around with the base colour, but we think a pink or nude will make the tortoise shell pop. We wouldn't want your beautiful designs to go unnoticed.

#4 Reverse French Tortoise Shell

Two words. Absolutely stunning. We love the quirkiness of this set, and how well do blue and tortoiseshell go together, by the way?

You can obviously experiment with different colours, but tying in the block colours with the reverse French tip gives the whole look a sophisticated feel.

#5 Colourful Tortie Edition

We're all familiar with the classic tortoise shell pattern, but what if we went a little rouge?

Try playing around with different colour combos to create your own tortoise shell variations. Follow the same steps as above, and swap out the colours for a new take on a tortie mani.

Our favourite tortie colour combos using our gel polish colours:

The Roundup: Creating Tortoiseshell Nails At Home

You should now have all the info you need to create a trendy tortoiseshell look at home. Whether your tipple is a full set or a little accent nail, we know you'll be able to design something impressive.

It's never been easier to add something a little extra to your mani's, so shop our other Blooming Gel Polish Quads Below.

FAQs

Do I Need To Cure Blooming Gel Polish?

Yes, you should cure blooming gel, but only after you have applied your gel colours. Even then, you should wait 10 to 30 seconds before curing to give the polish a chance to bloom.

What Colours Do I Need To Create Tortoiseshell Nails?

You’ll need a sheer, dark orange, a dark brown, and a black polish, as well as bloomign gel.

Our Tortie Gel Polish Quad has all the colours you need to create a tortoiseshell design. It also comes with Blooming Gel Polish for ease.

Are Tortoise Shell Nails Hard To Do?

If you’ve never used a blooming gel polish before, you might find it takes a little practice to perfect your tortie design. The key is to not go too heavy on the blooming gel and to keep your layers thin. But it really isn’t tricky, and we have lots of videos and tutorials to help you out.

What Can I Use Instead Of Blooming Gel For Tortoise Shell Nails?

You can layer your gel polish colours to get a similar tortie effect. Start with a sheer dark orange polish as the base, and layer your dark brown and black on top by dotting small amounts of gel colour onto your nail. 

Go in with dark brown first, and use a dotting tool or toothpick to swirl it around before curing. After that, apply your black gel colour.

As the Head of Brand at Mylee, Merilin is a seasoned beauty industry professional with a strong passion for nail art. 

With a background as a licensed beautician and a track record of shaping and elevating beauty brands, Merilin is dedicated to empowering individuals to express themselves through nail art, making them a driving force behind Mylee's success in the beauty industry.

Merilin Notton

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