Winter nail art has a reputation for being slightly cheesy, but let Vanessa Hudgens's post-baby manicure serve as a much-needed reminder that that doesn't always have to be the case. The 36-year-old just announced the birth of her second child with her husband, Cole Tucker, and her first order of business post-delivery was to obviously get yet another cat eye nail design to last her through the holidays.
In the baby announcement photo that Hudgens shared to Instagram earlier this week, she can be seen wearing a metallic silver color on her nails. A few days later, Hudgens's go-to manicurist, Zola Ganzorigt, shared an Instagram reel of the High School Musical alum's new nails alongside the caption, "It's a fur season!" The video shows Hudgens wearing medium length almond nails with a French tip design, but instead of sporting classic white tips, she opted for a leopard print design with a holographic cat eye effect.
Cat eye manicures are created by applying a shimmery, magnetic nail polish to the nails before a magnet is used to spread out the particles and give the nails a super-shiny, almost reflective look that's meant to mimic a cat's eye. (They're pretty similar to chrome nails, except these have a shinier, more 3D-looking finish.) It's also been Hudgens's design of choice over the last few months. Prior to wearing the silver cat eye design seen in her baby announcement photo, she's experimented with several other cat eye looks including a neutral cat eye manicure featuring a nude polish and pink and yellow guava nails.
Leopard print may not seem like the ideal holiday nail design, but you can think of it as a way to complement the leopard fur you're planning on wearing now that the temperature has dropped. To copy Vanessa Hudgens's leopard French manicure, read ahead to shop some essentials.
Prints like this aren't always easy to DIY, so to save yourself the hassle if you don't have a steady hand, opt for a set of press-on nails.
These leopard press-on nails feature a mini French tip design.
This brown color will give your nails a velvety finish. Just make sure you have a magnetic wand on hand.
