NAUTICAL NAILS //

When you hear the word nautical, it's always associated with colours of the sea, anchors, stripes and fishes. Who says it has to be navy? I decided to use a lighter shade of teal for my nautical theme. Here is my take on the nautical nails:

STEP 1: Paint a coat of white for the base of all the fingers. And let it dry. Then paint a coat of teal on all the fingers except for the ring finger. 

STEP 2: As the other fingers dry. Use a striping tape or masking tape to create stripes on the ring finger. (I used approx 4 striping tapes across the nail at random positions.)

STEP 3: Paint from dark to light on the sponge to make a gradient effect. I mixed the darker green with a bit of white to get the middle shade. Then quickly sponge the colours on the nail.

Like this:

After sponging the colours, quickly remove the tapes and you'll get this cool gradient effect on top of the white layer.

STEP 4: While waiting for the ring finger to dry. Proceed with making polka dots for your thumb. Paint white dots against the teal nail for a light contrast. Let it dry.

Once all your fingers are dry it's time to stick the anchor decals onto your fingers.

STEP 5: how to apply your decals? click here

I applied the 2 different anchors on my thumb and ring finger. (If you don't have any anchor decals you can also be creative and draw your own anchor using black acrylic paint, nail polish or even a pointed tip marker.)

Lastly seal all your designs with your favourite top coat and you're ready to sail the seas!

Have fun :D

WATER DECAL NAIL ART //

Water decals are the simplest and easiest thing to use if you haven't got the time or skills to create a design using your polish and brush. There are many different patterns and designs available out there that you can easily get. I mostly get mine online from bornprettystore as they have the widest and cheapest range of decals compared to local stores, not to mention they have free worldwide shipping.

So here's how to use water decals:

*You will definitely need a bowl of water (duh) tap water is fine.

STEP 1: If you are using your decal to fully cover your whole nails then prepare by cutting them into the size of your nail bed first. If you are using it for the particular image then just cut out the image. Be careful not to remove the plastic film covering the pattern when cutting. They are now ready to be used. 

STEP 2: Trim and clean your fingers first. Then paint the base colour you want and let it dry.

STEP 3: Remove the plastic film and plunge the cut out decals into the bowl of water for about 10 - 20 seconds using tweezers for a better hold.

STEP 4: Remove the decal from the bowl and stick the pattern in position on your nail. Moisten your nail with a bit of water so you can adjust the decal on your nail.

STEP 5: Dab with paper towel to absorb the remaining water on your nails and let it dry.

Lastly seal your decal onto your nails with a top coat and you're done!

Have fun trying! :D

ABSTRACT FOIL NAIL ART - PART 1 //

I just received my order from bornprettystore and this time round I decided to try nail foils! I've heard alot about these foils and they do have a pretty finish when done right. I purchased #18 and #23. #18 is a multi colored rainbow foil. #23 is a silver metallic holographic foil. However I didn't get the foil glue when I purchased this hence the different parts. So I'll update the post when I receive my foil glue around 2 weeks time and I'll try to do another set using the foil glue. 

In the meantime, here's my take on the nail foils without glue. (:

So here I've already prepared the foils by cutting them in small rectangles so it would be easier to place on the fingers and stick them on. You can measure accordingly to the size of your nails to get a good fit. At first I thought the foil was just a small square, but was surprised when I opened it and it was pretty long, 30cm x 10cm.

I don't have any photos of the process but I think it's pretty straightforward. 

Step 1: first paint one coat of the base color that you want and let it dry.

Step 2: paint the second coat and leave it until it is tacky. Because we aren't using any foil glue, we need the polish to still be tacky to stick the foils. If you wait till it dries the foils won't stick. (you can also try using a top coat to stick the foils, tho you still have to wait till it is tacky too.)

Step 3: once it is tacky, you can start to stick the foils. (Remember, it's dull side down, shiny side up.) I find that without using glue, no matter how you try, the foils won't fully stick to the whole nails. You can try to cover the whole nail if you want to but i doubt it'll work.

Step 4: So instead I made abstract nail art using the foils by dabbing the foils on the still tacky nails. I let the foils randomly stick on the tacky nails to create an abstract random pattern.

This is the result: 

 This was my first try:

This was after many many MANY tries:

I tried several times to get it right and fit the whole nail but no matter what I do it won't happen. So in part 2, I am gonna try to cover the whole nail and this time using the foil glue. I guess the only way to find out is to do trial and error. Lastly, using a top coat at the end after sticking the foils will make the foil a bit crinkly but it will seal the design in place.

With that said, enjoy trying out your abstract foil nail art! :D