I have been on a bit of a tortoise shell kick lately. Tortoise shell accessories match everything, and much like denim, add texture and a casual edge. Using this tutorial I tried tortoise shell nails and I am really enjoying how they turned out!
I did not have any of the nail polish colors reccomended in the tutorial but I was able to mix what I already had to acheive the colors I wanted. I used Finger Paints lemon sour for the base, and mixed lemon sour with Essie Glamour Purse for the textured second layer. For the sienna layer I used Essie Very Structured, and mixed Essie Licorice with Very Structured to create the dark brown top layer. An acrylic paintbrush and a bent bobby pin acted as my nail art brush and dotting tool. This manicure is very flexible and any variety of browns can work--just look at all the variations of tortoise shell!