Monday, 20 August 2012

Nail Art: Prep and My Favourite Designs

It seems everyone from Olympians to celebrities have jumped on the nail art band wagon. The nails are a bare canvas in which we can express ourselves it seems!

Here are some of my nail art preparation tips:

1. Apply a good hand exfoliant, pretty and soft hands are the start for nail art. This one by Pretty Hands exfoliates with no need to wash your hands after. The formula breaks down as you massage it in, leaving you with pretty pinkies!

2. The most common error when people file their nails is that they pull the emery board back and forwards furiously. The back and forward motion weakens nails, so use single strokes in the same direction until you get your desired nail shape.

3. Laziness or lack of time means people will not apply a base coat, but using one prevents the nail from staining after using dark polishes. It also helps create a perfect flat base for the polish and increase the longevity of the colour.

4. Choose a shade to create a base for your designs. Apply carefully and leave the layer dry before adding any more coats.

5. Once all the nail polish coats are dry you can start your nail art design. Topshop have nail art pencil in style of felt tips and WAH nails also have their own pens. You can also search eBay for nail art pens and tools.

6. Apply a top coat to seal the design in and dab a cotton bud in nail vanish remover to clean up any mistakes and voila!

Here's some inspiration for your designs...