I really do love getting my nails all did up at the fancy nail salons. There is nothing quite like walking into the salon, having the door make that loud "ding" noise in your ear and everyone turn to stare at you while the Mama San yells from across the room"Wha you want? You want flower? Five dolla extra ok?" I want to shout, No, it's not OK and turn on my non-pumiced heel and walk out but I need my nails to look nice so I begrudgingly sit down and they get to work. By the time I get out of there, I have spent anywhere from $30-$50. There has to be another alternative; a way to stay cute AND cheap!
The obvious alternative is to do your own nails.When you do your nails at home and you don't want things to get too expensive or intricate, you really only have two choices. You can either use regular nail polish, or those nail polish stickers. I do enjoy the Sally Hansen nail stickers , from time to time, but I think they have a very limited selection of designs and they are a little difficult to work with. With a good sticker polish, and a little patience, your nails can come out like this (don't pay attention to the sausage fingers.) The stickers run from $8-$15 and are only good for one time use.
Your other option for do-it-yourself, is using plain 'ol nail polish, but with a twist. I've seen it in magazines but I never could replicate anything on my own. I decided to seek advice from my talented sister-in-law because her nails are always cute and I know she also lives on a "Whorders" type budget! She kindly sat me down to give me an awesome, at home crash lesson on a funky Betsey Johnson inspired cheetah print nail polish design.
All you need for this adventure is a positive attitude, nail polish remover, cotton balls, a clear base coat, a clear top coat, and three solid color polishes. I do suggest the color you decide to use for the outline in this pattern is either a nail polish pen or a very thin design tip polish brush. If those seem to complicated to use, grab a toothpick and get to work!
Step One: Nail polish remover. Even if your nails are clean of polish, the remover will get the oils off of your nails and allow the polish to adhere evenly and last longer.
Step Two: Apply your clear base coat to prevent staining, breakage, and splitting.
Step Three: Put on the first layer of your main solid color. Let dry, then follow with a second layer to make the color richer.
Step Four: Take a fun,contrasting color and apply polka dots on all of your nails. You can apply them sporadically and they can even be different sizes.
Step Five: After your polka dots have dried, take your black polish with a thin applicator (Skinny polish brush or toothpick will work) and outline the polka dots in "c" or "u" shapes.
Step Six: Seal with a glossy top coat and voila! You're done!
Your finished product should look something like this. This should cost you under $10, and you will have all the polishes for years to come for other fun designs. So instead of going to those expensive nail salons, just to have the girl who is doing your nails make fun of you in another language, do it by yourself (or have your sister-in-law do it), and feel better and have more money in your well manicured hand.
The main pink here is ORLY in Oh Cabana Boy, and the polish I used for the cheetah print is LA Colors Art Deco in Black and Art Deco in Tropical.
~Charlotte the Whoreder
*update* Don't forget to enter this blog giveaway at Spellbinding Nails who is crazy good at nail art!
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