A Lolita-themed manicure was a request from a reader named Annabelle, so thank you to her for this idea. I am out of town visiting my mom right now, but I made sure to upload these photos before I left so I could blog while away. (I didn’t want to keep you guys waiting too long for this one since I Twittered about it while searching for a black creme polish.)

This is a very busy manicure that will require several decoration items. Lolita fashion seems to be a lot of bows and lace, so keep that in mind while searching for deco items that could be used for this design.

Start out by painting most of your nails with a black creme, and a few with a white creme polish. Why? Because Lolita is not just a tee-shirt and jeans; Lolita is made of up many different pieces and we are representing that by creating this look out of several different design elements.

Apply white French tips to a few of your black nails. You can either freehand your tips or use guideline stickers like I did. If you’re going to use guideline stickers just make sure that your black polish is completely dry before applying them or you could peel part of it off along with the sticker.

Using white acrylic paint and a thin paintbrush, drag out a straight line above your French tip.

Then, using the same brush create small half circles along the line you just drew. This will begin to look like lace.

This is what your nail should look like at this point.

Add a little lace detail towards the top of your nail in the same manner, and apply the same on any other nails that have white tips.

do not forget to leave a few nails blank.

I used Konad stamping for the next part, but you could alternatively use nail stickers or handpaint on a bow depending on your skill level. If you’re at a loss of what to do, just leave a few nails blank or carry the lace detailing onto all your fingers.

I Konad stamped onto two of my fingers, and then searched through my nail stickers for more bows.

I applied bows above my Konad stamping and tiny cross-like detailing in between the lace decoration. Don’t forget to apply a clear topcoat after you’re finished adding all your stickers, acrylic paint or Konad stamping.

Obviously, work with what is available to you. You could potentially Konad stamp this whole manicure if you have the right plates. The type of bows you apply doesn’t matter so keep your eyes open for bow nail stickers or practice handpainting them.

It’s less about having exactly the right decoration items and more about the lace for this design. If you get the lace right and find some bows of any kind, done in strictly black and white this manicure’s inspiration should come across very clearly. Good luck and have fun with this one; it was an interesting design to wear.