Hi guys, so this is my entry for the Money Smart Nail Art competition! I am cutting it fine (again)! Anyways I was excited to do this post because it's one I've been wanting to do for a while! So I've just included a few different techniques you can try out at home, all the tools included in this post you'll probably already have in your home, and if you don't they're really cheap and easily available !
For those who may be familiar with these techniques, see if you can guess which household item I used to create each look then let me know if you got them all right in the comments !
This post is really picture heavy as I've included a tutorial for each look (which will all be added on the tutorial page) so I'll insert a jump after these first set of photos!
I won't be doing much talking here, I'll leave that to the tonne of photos I've included
The looks you can create:
SARAN WRAP/CLING FILM
What you will need
Base Coat
Top coat
2 Colours of your choice
A piece of Saran Wrap/Cling Film
STEP 1 - Apply your base colour ( it doesn't have to be perfect as the majority of it will be covered up)
STEP 2 - Apply a blob of your second colour on a piece of paper and scrunch up your cling film
Dab some of the excess polish off of the cling film onto the paper
STEP 3 - Lightly dab the cling film onto your nail. It doesn't matter if you get any on your skin you can clean it up after
STEP 4 - Apply Topcoat
STEP 5 - Using a cotton bud soaked in acetone/nail polish remover just clean up the excess nail polish on the skin !
DOTTING TOOL ALTERNATIVES
You can create an array of looks using these tools
The round end of a paint brush
Tailor Pin
Bobby Pin/Hair Slide
SIMPLE FLOWERS
What you will need
Top coat
BAse Coat
Base colour (I'm using White
2 Colours for your flowers
STEP 1 - Apply Base colour after base coat
STEP 2 - Once dry use your dotter and create a flower shape
STEP 3 - Use your second flower colour and apply a dot in the centre
STEP 4 - Apply Topcoat
LEOPARD PRINT
What you will need
Base Coat
2 colours; the base colour and leopard spots
3rd colour for the the outline of the spots
Top coat
Your dotter
STEP 1 - Apply base colour after base coat
STEP 2 - Use your dotter to create leopard type spots
STEP 3 - Use dotter with a smaller head and use your 3rd colour to create the outline of your spots
STEP 4 - Apply topcoat
SPONGING & LIQUID EYELINER
You can use a makeup sponge to blend colours together on the nail to add a bit of dimension to the design. Sponges can also be used to create a gradient effect on the nails, I have done many previous manis using this technique.
If you don't have a nail art brush but still want to do intricate and more complex nail designs you can just use an old liquid liner, I use a black one here but if your eyeliner is nearly empty or of no use then throw the product away but keep the brush, clean it and you can use it to draw intricate designs !
What you will need
Base coat
Top coat
Base colour
2 different shades of orange for the sponging
Makeup sponge
Liquid eyeliner
STEP 1 - Apply base colour (doesn't have to be perfect as you'll cover most of it with sponging)
Apply some of your oramge polishes on each corner of your sponge
STEP 2 - Start sponging, lightly dab some of your first colour on to the nail
STEP 3 - Lightly dab on your second colour
STEp 4 - Use your liquid eyeliner to draw on your tiger stripes
STEP 5 - Apply topcoat
SPLATTER
What you will need
Base Coat
Top Coat
Base colour
Pva Glue/ Tape (for easy cleanup)
Various colours for your splatter
Drinking Straw
STEP 1 - Apply your pva glue around your nail/ or apply your tape. This will help keep your fingers clean and make the cleanup a lot easier
STEP 2 - Apply your base colour
STEP 3 - Dip your straw into your polish (you can dip it straight into the bottle or put some polish on a bit of paper and then dip your straw into that)
STEP 4 - Blow sharply through your straw to get the effect below
STEP 5 - Repeat with the other colours
This is what your final design will end up looking like. Next you just have to peel off the pva glue/tape and use a cotton bud dipped in acetone/nail polish remover to remove the excess
Unfortunately I had to go out straight after I'd cleaned these nails up so I don't have final pictures, Sorry!
TAPE NAILS
FUNKY FRENCH
What you will need
Top coat
Base Coat
Tape
5 different colours, a lighter shade and a darker shade of the same colour
STEP 1 - Apply your base colour
STEP 2 - Apply tape straight across your tips (make sure your base colour is completely dry)
STEP 3 - Apply your darker polish over the tips
STEP 4 - Remove the tape whilst the polish is still wet for a crisp line
STEP 5 - Apply Top coat
JAGGED EDGES
What you will need
Top coat
Base coat
2 colours of your choice
Tape
STEP 1 - Apply base colour
STEP 2 - Cut your tape into triangle shapes
STEP 3 - Apply your cut tape in whatever pattern you desire. Make sure your base colour is completely dry
STEP 4 - Apply your second colour over the tape
STEP 5 - Remove the tape whilst the polish is still wet for clean crisp lines
STEP 6 - Apply top coat
DRIED POLISH SHAPES
What you will need
Base Coat
Top Coat
Base Colour
Various polishes for your shapes (I'm going for a neon theme here)
Hole Puncher/Scissors/Other Shape Puncher thingy
Silicon bun case/Ziplock bag/Non Stick Baking Paper
STEP 1 - Apply Base Color
STEP 2 - Paint a small area on your silicone cake tin/ziplock bag/baking paper
STEP 3- Once it's dry, peel it off, either using your fingers or tweezers
STEP 4 - Punch holes into your dried polish peices
STEP 5 - Apply a coat of topcoat and apply your shapes in your desired arrangement
STEP 6 - Apply a generous layer of topcoat
WOW ! That was a really long post, it took me about 2 days to get all these mani's done and another whole day to edit and type up this post ! I really hope you guys find it useful and I hope I proved that you can create awesome looking nail art using things you can find around your home without having to spend a lot of money !
i love flower and animal manicure
ReplyDeleteWow.... Your instructions were so easy to follow. Well done. I loved all of them!!!! Simple & easy with nothin too fancy.... Thanks a lot for sharing these. Looking forward to more.... :)
ReplyDeleteThe punch dot mani is so cool. I never would have thought to try that.
ReplyDelete