Easy DIY Nail Art Techniques

Hooray for #ManiMonday! Starting off the week with your nails on point makes all the difference, right?

With all those fancy nail art trends flooding our social media pages, it can be a bit intimidating to try and replicate them at home. Luckily, I've found two quick, fool-proof techniques to amp up your nail game.

Here's a quick refresher on how I get a mani to last one whole week without a ton of chipping:

1. Spray clean nails with rubbing alcohol and wipe dry with a towel
2. Apply OPI Nail Envy Matte to strengthen and prime nails
3. Apply colour in thin coats, and allow for drying in between
4. Apply top coat - I'm loving the Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Strengthening Top Coat

See my full nail maintenance routine here.

Style 1: Gold Cross Accent Nail

Colours used: Wet n Wild 1-Step Wonder Gel in 718A "All That Jazzy" and 733A "Left Marooned"

This nail tutorial is really straightforward, but there is one crucial step that I don't want you to forget - put a layer of top coat over the gold polish, before applying your striping tape.

Here's the breakdown:

1. Prep your nails and apply a very thin coat of gold polish onto the nails that you want to stripe. Let this polish dry for around 10 minutes, depending on the paint thickness. 
2. Apply a thin layer of top coat over the gold, and once that is dry (another 10 minutes, you don't want smudges!) carefully cut and stick your striping tape in the desired shape. You can definitely adjust the strips if necessary, just be sure to stick them down really well around the edge of your nails.
3. Paint a thin coat of nail polish over the striping tape, and let it dry for a few short minutes before removing the tape. Don't remove it right away, and also don't wait too long. I'd recommend applying a pretty thin coat of nail polish, it looks better.
4. Get the brush of your top coat loaded with polish, and gently swipe a big glob of clear over the entire nail, without letting the brush bristles drag against the red nail polish. Really try to glide the brush right above the nail, simply moving the top coat around and ensuring a thick seal.

This is the striping tape I use - I purchased it on Amazon a few years ago

Style 2: Gold Ombré Glitter Tips 

Colours used: L'Oreal Nail Polish in 630 "Liya's Nude" and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in 120 "Go for Gold"

Here's the breakdown:

1. Prep your nails and apply two thin coats of a purple-y taupe nail polish. 
2. Let the colour dry completely, then apply a small glob of gold polish to a disposable piece of plastic. Quicky dip a foam eyeshadow applicator into the gold polish, and gently dab it onto the nail tips in layers. Lightly dab until half-way up the nail, let that dry, then re-dip the foam applicator to layer a bit more at the end of the nails to create that ombré gradient effect.
3. Gently apply a generous amount of top coat onto each nail. Much like with the previous design, try not to let the brush bristles drag against the nail colour - float the brush across the nail surface quickly, and always make sure that there's enough clear polish to manipulate in one go. 

And that's a wrap! Happy painting everyone :)

xx