Tutorial: Citrus design


Hi everyone, welcome to my citrus design tutorial :) I first made this design for my entry in the Good Enough To Eat contest at Nail Polish Art Addiction, a few months ago. The shape of a sliced citrus fruit has always amazed me for some reason, so for the contest I made this exotic, abstract pattern. A few of you dear readers requested a tutorial for it, so here it finally is :) Now go pick three delicious, summery polishes, your nail art brushes and let's do some nail art!

Start with the base color you like (if necessary with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry.
Then use your nail art brush and a contrasting, opaque polish or acrylic paint to draw a few circle shapes. Spread them evenly on the the surface to make a nice composition. Then divide each circle in slices and round the two outer corners of each slice.
Clean your brush (or use a new one) and use a third color to surround each circle shape with a line. Leave a small gap between the circle and the line if you can. Then fill in the gaps with the same color and let the whole nail dry for a few minutes.
The surface is still a bit bumpy, so to make it smoother and protect your design, apply a topcoat. At last clean up the excess polish on your skin and you've got yourself a fresh and juicy design ;)
Tip: To clean your nail art brush(es), pour a little bit of nail polish remover in a small dish or the cap of the bottle. Let your brush soak in it for a few seconds and dab it a few times on a cotton pad. Repeat this until your brush is clean.

Check out the tutorial page for more useful tips. Also I would love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Products I used in this post are OPI The It Color, Essence Let's Get Lost and OPI Dim Sum Plum.
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39 comments

  1. Sarah ThompsonSeptember 16, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    Super cute design, I love it!

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  2. greeneyespinknailsSeptember 16, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    This is so cute! Great design!

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  3. ER-NailsSeptember 16, 2011 at 9:59 PM

    So cute! Didn't think it would be done like that, works so well though!

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  4. LizSeptember 16, 2011 at 10:07 PM

    This is so cute and summery!

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  5. Super Cute Super EasySeptember 16, 2011 at 10:11 PM

    WOOOW! You're so creative! Cool design and colors together look amazing:)

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  6. VickySeptember 16, 2011 at 10:46 PM

    That's so cute! And it looks so easy! I'm going to have to try this! :) Thanks for the tutorial! :)

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    1. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2012 at 9:18 AM

      It really is so very cute, and looks totally easy/do-able...lol. Gotta try this! Thanks

      Delete
  7. DOPE BeautySeptember 16, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    BEautyful design!:D

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  8. Fashion FootingSeptember 16, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    Oh my gosh this is completely adorable!! Sooooo cute!

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  9. lucy luSeptember 16, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    aww that's so cute! :D

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  10. Nail StoriesSeptember 16, 2011 at 11:41 PM

    Wow! I love this. I would have never guessed the yellow was your base colour, Lol! You say to use either polish or acrylics. I assume you used acrylics?

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2012 at 9:19 AM

      I didn't think yellow was the base color either...WOW, love it.

      Delete
  11. SandraSeptember 17, 2011 at 12:12 AM

    This is such a nice look. :)

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  12. anyweatherbeautySeptember 17, 2011 at 12:56 AM

    Wow that looks great :)

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  13. paint that nailSeptember 17, 2011 at 4:26 AM

    so cute!! and it looks really easy!

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  14. nSeptember 17, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    That's pretty neat!

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  15. HelgaSeptember 17, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Yey finally! This was one of my favorite designs :) I'll try it but the lines and circles look hard. We shall see :p

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  16. KiwiSeptember 17, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    This is so cute!

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  17. TinaSeptember 17, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    Super Cute!

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  18. NeeLaiSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    wow! i love the color combo, and the nail design! wow! i love it super! :) by the way im your new follower :)

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  19. beingprettySeptember 17, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    Loved this!!! SUPER Cute!!!!! :D ;)

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  20. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    So adorable!!! I love citrus (live in FL) so this is right up my alley! Can't wait to try it, I have some orange sparkle that would be more literal but cute! Thanks as always for a great tutorial!!

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  21. rental mobilSeptember 17, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    Very nice, thanks for sharing.

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  22. UnknownSeptember 17, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    this is great!

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  23. UnknownSeptember 17, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I love this tutorial after i read it, I immediately tried it!
    http://kknails.blogspot.com/2011/09/citrus-nail-art.html

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  24. LorSeptember 17, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    Let's see if I can try it today! I'll send you pictures!

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  25. KellySeptember 18, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    so cute! I definitely want to give this a go:)

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  26. SolveigSeptember 18, 2011 at 5:31 PM

    So awesome! Thanks for sharing your technique, I would never have figured this out myself! :D

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  27. Girly BitsSeptember 19, 2011 at 2:43 AM

    Great job! Beautiful.

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  28. MinnieSeptember 19, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Wow!! This looks awesome!! Thank you very much for the tutorial:D I have to try it~XD

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  29. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    waaaoooowww! dat is echt heel knap! ik heb het ook geprobeerd, maar de jouwe zijn echt veel mooier...

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  30. Ida PieOctober 1, 2011 at 10:06 PM

    So FRESH! Clean lines. Simple and effective.
    It is funny how "simple" designs often are the ones your eye turns too.

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  31. BellaOctober 27, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    So simple, yet so awesome!

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  32. AnonymousNovember 23, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Love it!! What's the yellow that you used?

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  33. Lexi J. BeeDecember 18, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    This is cute : ) really gorgeous! i'll definitely try it on my nails : )

    http://colourmeviolet.blogspot.com

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  34. NgelicJanuary 3, 2012 at 6:57 AM

    Hello,
    Just letting you know that I used your tutorial for this manicure: http://www.thekeytojennasis.com/b/post-preview?token=fYTZozQBAAA.Cwf-LPmrt0IhVASApvrukg.e3W5w1iZCgL-kmhl5riWxw&postId=4712899132518443092&type=POST

    Thanks :)

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  35. AnnandaMarch 11, 2012 at 5:03 AM

    sooooo cute. *-*

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  36. zayemMarch 28, 2012 at 1:22 AM

    awesomeee..!!
    thats incredible! :D

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