How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

Ruffian Manicure, until a couple of days back I did not know the literal meaning of this term. At a nail salon in select city walk, a woman beside me was getting done her nails. Her nail art design looked so simple yet very classy. I have seen those nail art designs before as well but did not know much about the nail art. I must have looked really interested in that nail art when the nail-art-pro asked me if I wanted to change my design. As it was already done on one hand so I did not want to waste time (and money too ;-) ) in getting it erased to start all over again. I just satisfied myself with the nail-art name – to come back home and know more about it in detail.

Ruffian Manicure is usually done with dark contrast colors. Shades like Corals, nudes will not work great for Ruffian Manicure for two reasons. Firstly, those shades have to be applied a number of times to remove streakiness, and that will give the nail a slump look. Secondly, the top color has to be dark and opaque enough to prevent the base color from peeking underneath. The best shades for Ruffian Manicure are dark, bright, and most importantly opaque. If a shade is dark and opaque you can get the perfect clean look in 1 or maybe 2 coats. However, you can choose any dark (opaque) color but the best look would be attained with a contrasting combo. The most worn combo is a contrast of black and gold, where gold is the crescent and black is the top coat.

How to do Ruffian Manicure

Step 1: Start with a transparent base coat. I always prefer to do this step as it saves my nails from paleness and provides a smooth surface. But if you do not have time you can skip this one. Switch to step 2 when the base coat gets completely dried.

Step 2: Choose the base color, for the crescent or inverted moon shape. Ensure that this is a totally opaque color or the one that does not require too many coats to cover the translucency. Before moving on the next step, wait for the base color to dry. Otherwise you will end up mixing the 2 colors. For this tutorial I am using a combo of three neon colors as the base color.

How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

Step 3: Once the base color is dry, start applying the top color. Leave some space for the inverted moon and using the nail brush mark a point just above the head of crescent. Spread the nail color along the shape of inverted moon (or an inverted C), pulling it to the top of the nail. If necessary, go for the second coat. After applying the top color your base color should not be visible. Wait until the nail color completely dries.

How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

Step 4: Now, to seal the manicure apply a transparent top coat. This will prevent early chipping and extend the life of your freshly done Ruffian Manicure.

How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

The Story behind how ‘Ruffian Manicure’ got its name

Ruffian is a design label just like Gucci, Guess and Prada. A couple of years ago Ruffian was running a runway in New York city, where a world renown creative nail design salon was doing the nails of the models. This is the design they were making, everyone took notice of the design and liked it a lot. When the design spread across the globe it was being referred to as Ruffian Runway design, and later named Ruffian Manicure. So, this is how Ruffian Manicure got its name; before that it was called half-reversed-moon or probably something like it ;-) .

How to do Ruffian Manicure – The Latest Nail Art Trend (DIY)

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