How to Do Funky Neon Smoke Nail Art Using 3 Different Methods

Laurart
by Laurart
11 Materials
1 Hour
Easy

Today’s tutorial is on three different ways you can create colorful smoke nail art. There is so much room for creativity in this tutorial and the smoky look, creating smoke swirls and combining different colors.


I'll be showing you how to do neon smoke nails with neon pigments, acrylic powder, and even watercolor paint! Let's get started.

Tools and materials:

  • Black gel polish 
  • White gel polish 
  • Neon pigments
  • Acrylic powder pigment polish 
  • White watercolor paint 
  • Sheer jelly finish gel polish 
  • Clear top coat 
  • Fine tipped brush 
  • Regular brush 
  • Rubbing alcohol 
  • Curing machine


Neon pigments method

Applying black nail polish to a nail

1. Apply the base color 

Apply black gel polish to your clean, polish-free nails, and cure. 

Wiping off the sticky layer of gel polish

2. Wipe 

Wipe off the sticky layer with a paper towel or apply a clear, no-wipe top coat, and cure.

Applying white polish to the black nail

3. Apply white polish

Using a thin-tipped brush, apply white gel polish in a zigzag pattern from the top of the nail to the bottom. 

Creating a messy pattern for the smoke effect

4. Mess up the lines

Using the same fine-tipped brush, create a messy line from the line you just drew by rubbing the paint around. 

Smoke nail art tutorial

5. Use alcohol

Dip your brush in rubbing alcohol and repeat the same method from step four. 


The polish will start to run and appear to have a foggy/smoky look. 


Once you are satisfied with how it looks you can go ahead and cure your nails. 

Applying neon pigments to the nail

6. Apply neon colors

Apply neon pigments in the colors of your choice to a brush and then apply to your nail all over the white smoky line.


Use a clean brush to lightly brush off any excess pigment powder.

Applying a top coat to the nails

7. Apply top coat 

Apply your top coat then cure. 

Neon pink and purple smoke nail art

Here's the finished nail with the neon pink and purple smoke nail art. You can play around with the shape of the smoke and the color combinations - the design is unique every time.


Here's another example with a different shape and colors:

Applying the black base color

1. Apply the base color 

Apple black gel polish to your clean, polish-free nail and cure. 

Applying the white gel polish

2. Apply white polish

Using a thin-tipped brush, apply white gel polish in a jagged horizontal motion across the center of the nail. 


It should look slightly jagged and messy. 

Mixing the color with alcohol

3. Use alcohol

Dip your brush in rubbing alcohol and run it over the lines you just painted, to create a foggy look. 


You can get super creative and bring the fog down across the nail or really in whatever pattern that you would like. 


Once you are satisfied with how it looks you can go ahead and cure your nails. 

Applying neon pigments to the nail

4. Apply the neon pigment

This time we are going to apply the neon pigments in a horizontal pattern instead of vertical. 


Choose two colors from your powder gel set (I am using green and yellow) and apply them separately to either side of your nail, completely covering the white fog. 


Use a clean brush to lightly brush off any excess pigment powder.

Applying a top coat over the design

5. Apply top coat 

Apply your top coat then cure. 


That is it for method one! As you can see, there are so many looks you can create with this method. Feel free to get as creative and wild as you would like! 


Acrylic powder method

Applying black gel nail polish

1. Apply the base color 

Apply black gel polish to your clean, polish-free nail, and cure. 

Applying the white polish with a thin brush

2. Apply white polish

Using a thin-tipped brush, apply white gel polish in a jagged horizontal motion across the center of the nail. 


We are repeating the same steps as the previous method. 

Creating a smoke effect with rubbing alcohol

3. Use alcohol

Dip your brush in rubbing alcohol and run it over the lines you just painted, to create a foggy look. 


Once you are satisfied with how it looks you can go ahead and cure your nails. 

Applying acrylic powder to the nail

4. Apply the acrylic powder

Apply the acrylic powder to your nails using a brush. 


Make sure to pat the pigment down, then cure.

Smoke nail art on black nails

That’s it for method two! The acrylic colors give a more subtle effect than the neon colors. 


Watercolor method

Applying black nail polish to a fake nail

1. Apply the base color 

Apply black gel polish to your clean, polish-free nail, and cure. 

Mixing white watercolor paint

2. Mix the paint 

Using a brush, mix white watercolor paint with a bit of water on a piece of tinfoil. 

Applying white watercolor paint to nails

3. Apply the white paint

Apply the white to your nail in messy strokes. Feel free to get as creative as you would like.

Spreading the paint with rubbing alcohol

4. Use alcohol

Dip your brush in alcohol and run it over the lines you just painted, to create a foggy look like in the other methods. 


Redip the brush into the white watercolor paint for enhanced pigmentation when necessary. 

How to do smoke nails

5. Let it dry 

Let it completely dry. 


It is very important to make sure your nails are completely dry before moving on to the next step. 

Applying a clear top coat to the nail

6. Apply top coat 

Seal this layer by applying a clear top coat, then cure.

Mixing blue nail polish and clear top coat

7. Add the color 

Mix a tiny bit of blue gel polish (or the color of your choice) and top coat on a piece of tinfoil. 

Applying the mixture over the white pattern

8. Apply the color

Use a fine-tipped brush to apply the mixture over the smoky white pattern on your nail. 


When you are done you can go ahead and cure. 

Neon smoke nails

Neon smoke nail art tutorial

Now we are finished with method three! All three methods are super user-friendly and produce beautiful smoky nail art in the pattern and color of your choice!


As I said, there is so much room for creativity and self-expression with smoky nail art. 


Let me know in the comments how this guide works out for you!




Products used

Suggested materials:
  • Black gel polish
  • White gel polish
  • Neon powder pigment polish
See all materials

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