Happy National Banana Split Day! It might be a silly food holiday, but it was the perfect excuse for a playful manicure. We teamed up with guest nail artists Stef and Jess, the Australian sisters behind the creative blog How Two Live, who were visiting Los Angeles. They’re nail art pros, so when they stopped by the studio we went straight into mani mode—and this banana split manicure was born.
Supplies:
- Pink nail polish
- Yellow nail polish
- Brown nail polish
- White nail polish
- Red nail polish
- Black polish or nail art pen
- Nail art brush
How to recreate the look:
- On each hand, paint one nail yellow and the rest pink as your base colors.
- On the pink nails, paint a wavy brown section across the top to mimic melting ice cream. On the yellow nails, add a pink wavy section the same way.
- Add a second “scoop” by painting a white section over the brown or pink scoops to build layered ice cream.
- Use a nail art brush to paint crescent-shaped yellow bananas on the remaining nails.
- Finish with details: outline bananas with black, add colorful sprinkles to the white scoops, and paint a small red cherry on top of each sundae.
Photos by Jeff Mindell | Manicure by How Two Live | Creative direction and hand modeling by Kelly Mindell
I’m obsessed with how this mani turned out. I wore it throughout a road trip and received so many compliments—my nephew loved spotting the bananas on my nails. If you try this design, you’ll have a whimsical, eye-catching manicure perfect for summer or any playful occasion. Big thanks to Jess and Stef for joining us at the studio and sharing their talent—keep an eye on their work for more fun projects.
p.s. Don’t forget the banana split–themed wrapping paper printables for a matching gift wrap touch.