Tired of the same old gradient design? Dress it up with this matte Aztec nail design!

Although gradient designs look gorgeous on your nails, it may become too repetitive after several similar manicures. Don’t fret, though. Gradients can be used as a cute base for a lot of nail art designs.

Try this Aztec nail design to give your manicure an awesome new look!

Gradient Matte Aztec Nail Design Tutorial To Spice Up Your Manicure

This Aztec nail design might take a bit of time and effort but you’re going to love how it will turn out! All you need is your favorite shades for the gradient, a black striper and a steady hand to make this look.

 

What you’ll need for this awesome matte Aztec nail design:

• Yellow and pink pastel nail polish (or 2 of your favorite shades to create a gradient manicure)
• White nail polish (for base)
• Black striper
• Base coat
• Toothpick
• Fast drying top coat
• Matte top coat
• Makeup sponge

 

Step 1: Prep With Liquid Latex

Prep your nails as usual before painting your nails white as base for the Aztec nail design. Since we’ll be applying the gradient with a sponge, cover the sides of your nails with liquid latex. This will help tremendously with cleanup later on.

Step 2: Make A Sunset Style Gradient

Using a makeup sponge, create a gradient base on your nails. Learn how to do this with this tutorial. Wait a few minutes for the polish to dry before peeling off the liquid latex.

Afterward, apply a fast drying top coat to make your Aztec nail design easier to draw on and scrape off. Clean off excess polish with an acrylic brush dipped in nail polish remover.

Step 3: Start Your Aztec Drawings

With a black striper, carefully draw on your Aztec design. You will need a steady for the lines to be properly drawn in.

Start with two diagonal lines that meet in the middle of your nail. Then start creating triangles on the side of the lines as shown above.

Don’t worry if you make a mistake. Since you already applied a top coat, you can scrape off any mistakes using a toothpick.

 

Step 4: Recreate Mirror Image Of Design

Create a mirror image of the drawing you just did on the bottom part of your nail.

Step 5: Encapsulate In Big X

When you’re done with both triangles, encapsulate it in a big ‘X.’ Fill in the outer edges of the ‘X’ with black as well.

 

Apply a matte top coat and voila! You’ve got yourself a gorgeous new matte Aztec nail design over your favorite gradient manicure!

You can also try other colors for the gradient or other Aztec patterns to spice up your design some more!

 

Watch the full video tutorial from Ane Li below!