Feeling nostalgic for the Lisa Frank-fueled days of the 1990s? We are too. Keesha Carpenter, founder of The Academy of Electrik Nailz and online nail academy Halo Nail Academy, magically conjured up a fanciful nail set inspired by the kaleidoscopic brand. “I am obsessed with the ’90s and early ’00s and love to reflect this in my work with funky, bright colors and designs,” she enthuses. “I even used some stickers from my favorite Lisa Frank sticker book for the nail with the hand-painted lined paper background.”
Feeling nostalgic for the Lisa Frank-fueled days of the 1990s? We are too. Keesha Carpenter, founder of The Academy of Electrik Nailz and online nail academy Halo Nail Academy, magically conjured up a fanciful nail set inspired by the kaleidoscopic brand. “I am obsessed with the ’90s and early ’00s and love to reflect this in my work with funky, bright colors and designs,” she enthuses. “I even used some stickers from my favorite Lisa Frank sticker book for the nail with the hand-painted lined paper background.”
Unicorn Horn Detail
Step 1: Paint the nail white, and cure, but do not wipe the tacky layer after curing. Use a small fluffy eyeshadow brush to ombre your neon pigment powders onto the tacky surface. Be sure to clean the brush fully between colors.
Step 2: Use a clear builder gel and a liner brush to create diagonal texture on the nail, curing every few lines. Apply a thin layer of shiny, no-wipe top coat to the entire nail.
Step 3: Rub unicorn chrome over the entire nail, and seal it with a top coat.
Ombre Neon Star Detail
Step 1: Paint the nail white, and cure. Apply a top coat, and cure.
Step 2: Using a super fine buffer, buff the entire nail so the neon pigment powder will easily rub off.
Step 3: Paint stars with white gel, and cure.
Step 4: Apply the neon pigment powders to the tacky stars as we did on the unicorn horn nail. Use a clean finger to easily wipe away any loose pigment powder on the buffed background. Finish with a top coat.
Handpainted Unicorn Detail
Step 1: Paint the rough sketch of the unicorn with fine black lines over a white background. Apply a top coat, cure and buff as we did on the neon star nails.
Step 2: Paint the areas where the rainbow hair will be with white gel, and cure. Apply the neon pigment powders to the tacky hair as done previously. Wipe away any loose powder, and apply a top coat.
Step 3: Add details and shading to the unicorn, and clean up any black lines in the hair if needed. Finish with the unicorn horn, using Steps 2 and 3 of the unicorn horn nail instructions. Apply a matte top coat around the unicorn horn.
See the detailed step-by-step photos in Nailpro's April 2022 digital magazine.
