BY KATE PUHALA

As Krista writes at www.makeup.com, in most parts of the country it’s just warming up enough that we’re having daydreams of sun, sand and salt water. The warm weather just can’t get here quickly enough. But since we still have quite a bit of springtime left and summer vacations still seem far off, we’ll bring the sea to us with a few polishes and a steady hand. No need to abandon ship — you too can do this with our easy nautical nail tutorial. There’s even an accent anchor nail to take your look from breton stripe to “Ahoy, fabulous!” So let’s batten down the hatches and begin (sorry, these puns are just too easy).

1. After you’ve prepped your nails, apply two coats of white nail polish as your base.

2. Once dry, use a striping brush to make thin dark blue stripes across the nail. Leave an even amount of white in between each stripe so the alternating stripes are the same width.

3. On your ring finger (our favorite accent nail), use a toothpick and create a small circle about a fifth of the way up your nail from the cuticle with a red nail polish.

4. Polish a line down the center of your nail and then a half circle at the base of this line in the red color as well. This is your basic structure for the anchor nail.

5. Next, fill along the bottom of the half circle using the toothpick to create the end of the anchor. Create a triangle in the center of the circle for the anchor tip. Place a small line off each side of the half circle’s ends for the flukes of the anchor.

6. Finish your anchor by swiping a stripe of red lacquer perpendicular to the center anchor line. Seal your manicure with top coat and go back to daydreaming about your upcoming boating adventures.

 Pastel colors are also here this spring..