This Manicure Is The Dr. Pimple Popper Of Nail Art & I Have To Go Throw Up Now
Nail art is supposed to be pretty, right? Hearts, stars, glitter, and fancy geometric designs, that's what I think of. Well, manicurist Natasha Lee says otherwise. Lee has turned the nail world on its head with acne-inspired nail art, and her videos of pimple-popping manicure will leave you shook. If you're in the middle of consuming any sort of food or beverage, I urge you to stop. You've officially been warned.
There are some are unquestionably gorgeous nail art trends out there, like the quartz and geode styles. Others styles such as Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino nails and succulent-adorned nails are equally impressive, although I'm not really sure how you're supposed to function as a productive member of society with those things on. Nipple nail art (say that five times fast) is feminist-tastic, but if your school or office hasn't freed the nipple yet, you may want to save it for the weekends. And who can forget the selfie nails with hair? Those definitely earned a spot in the nail art Hall of Fame, or Fall of Shame, depending on how you look at it.
Nail art vlogger Lee has officially taken the cake, though, with her interactive pimple popping nail art, in case squeezing your boyfriend's zits isn't satisfying enough.
Lee posted the YouTube tutorial for these Dr. Pimple Popper-inspired nails a few days before Halloween, so I can give her a (very) small break since they were originally meant to be for the ghoulish holiday. While I know I'm going to regret this if I see any of you actually sporting this nail art, I will go against my better judgement and take you through how to get the look. Please just wait until I'm not around to pop any of your finger zits.
Lee starts the gross transformation by painting on a surprisingly innocuous layer of O.P.I.'s Tiramisu For Two ($9; target.com). This milky-nude lacquer is one of my top five favorite colors out there, so she get bonus points for using it. Lee then applies a generous dot of Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream ($9; burtsbees.com) right in the middle of the nail bed, which functions as the pustule's filling. A generous coating of nail strengthener locks the faux pus into place, and Lee opts for Magpie's Give Me Strength Professional Gel ($13; magpiebeauty.co.uk), but you can use O.P.I.'s Nail Envy Nail Strengthener ($18; ulta.com) for similar results.
The next step Lee takes is mixing a little bit of red nail polish, like Roxie's Hart from All That Jazz ($13; allthatjazzuk.com), together with the Tiramisu For Two and using a makeup sponge ($2, jet.com) to blot it onto the "pimples" for some good old fashioned redness.
Next, Lee uses pale yellow Lola The Showgirl ($13, allthatjazzuk.com) on the tip of the blemish to create a disturbingly realistic looking whitehead. Hold on one second...
I'm starting to feel a little queasy.
Lastly, a protective layer of O.P.I.'s Matte Top Coat ($11, ulta.com) lends a skin-like texture. At the very least, Lee's not trying to give you zit-ridden and oily "skin." Once everything has dried, the pimples are ready to pop. Please squirt responsibly.
A quick disclaimer: If you don't want to make all ten nails squeezable, some can have purely ornamental zits. For those, skip the dollop of hand cream and use a smaller drop of the nail strengthener to give you a simple clogged pore look. Apply the redness on top just the same.
I'm still not sure what possessed Lee to create such a nausea-inducing manicure, but I'll give her props for creativity. It's also semi-original, I've never seen zit-themed nail art before, but I have, unfortunately, seen these pimple popping cupcakes.
I know everyone likes a little shock-value, and popping real zits is legit satisfying, but can you please stick to beauty trends that don't make me gag?
I'll never look at nail art the same way again.