Getting Started with Nail Art (Patreon)

I went into a step-by-step in my “Getting Started with Nail Care” post. To reiterate the basic technique,

1. Clip and file/shape the nails.
2. Paint on a base coat.
3. Paint your color and do any additional nail art.
4. Finish up with a top coat.

But this post is more about tips and tricks for a long lasting manicure or pedicure and how to get started with nail art! Nail art trends are fast changing and all fun if you like having a creative way to express yourself that is temporary! By the time you are reading this post, there are probably already a bunch of new trends to find and try out, so let’s dive in!

If you find that your nail polish “peels” easily, what we call “lift,” soak a cotton ball in isopropyl alcohol and “wash” your nail beds before applying the base coat. This ensures that any debris or oils are wiped away and the nail polish has a clean surface to stick to, leading to better adhesion.

For those with dry cuticles, apply one drop of cuticle oil to each cuticle and massage. Doing this after each and every hand wash will repair dry and cracked cuticles in no time. I like to use Cuccio’s Revitalizing Oil because it’s made with natural ingredients and smells really nice. 

If I am doing intricate nail art or a design that is going to be messy, I use vaseline on my cuticles. Just a little bit on a q-tip or cotton swab. Then just to be extra careful, I'll wipe down my nail with alcohol to make sure there's no vaseline where I'm going to paint. The vaseline provides a thin protective layer that the polish cannot adhere to, making cleanup a breeze. Liquid latex is also available and works by painting a layer onto your cuticles, when dry it shields any polish from getting onto your skin and easily peels off when you're done painting. If you wind up using liquid latex, peel the dried latex off while your nail polish is still wet for best results.

For those of you who like to play for the weekend and need nude nails by Monday, here are a few products to get your nails clean. The key is to use a good nail polish remover made of pure acetone and a few cotton pads to scrub off the color and get into the cuticle areas. This kit has little nail wraps so you can soak your gel nails in acetone and also includes all the little scraper tools you will need to remove any tough to remove spots. This twist and scrub sponge helps to get the tough chunky glitter polishes off that seems to love to stick. 

Now that we’ve talked some tricks and tips for the best results and long lasting wear, let’s get into a few common nail trends!

Water Marble
An older trend, but still a moderately difficult and fun technique, water marbling is a fun way to get beautiful swirling colors on your finger tips. Gather a small disposable cup of water, a toothpick, and at least two nail polish colors. This technique gets fairly messy, so you will want to prep your cuticles with vaseline or latex.

1. Fill your cup with water
2. Add drops of color, one on top of the other, creating concentric circles
3. Run your toothpick through the center and swirl to create the pattern
4. Carefully dip the prepped nail into the paint. You want to aim for the prettiest swirl.
5. Clean up cuticles

Gradient
Easy to do with a little bit of practice and with fun results, you’ll find this technique useful for all soft edges and other sponge techniques. For this, you will need a makeup wedge and at least two colors.

1. Paint the makeup wedge with the colors of your choice, making sure to get the colors right against each other, leaving no gaps
2. Dab the painted wedge against your prepped nails, careful not to “mix” the colors too much so that you can see the gradient.

Stamping/Reverse Stamping
This is another fun technique that has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, the results are stunning. It requires some tools, but stamping kits are fairly common. I personally like this kit to start off with.

1. Paint on your base coat
2. Paint and scrape the color onto the stamping plate
3. Using the silicone applicator, “pick up” the pattern
4. Stamp the pattern onto your nail
5. Apply top coat

Reverse stamping is just another fun technique where you use your stamp to create small decals before applying to the nail. This allows you to “color” in whatever stamped pattern you so choose.

1. Stretch out some plastic wrap/cling wrap onto a flat surface or use a reverse stamping silicon pad
2. Paint a square roughly the size of your nail directly onto the flat plastic wrap with a clear top coat
3. Paint and scrape color onto the stamping plate
4. Use the silicone applicator to pick up the pattern
5. Stamp the pattern onto the clear square on the plastic wrap
6. Using regular nail polish, color in the stamped pattern, don’t worry about the stamp lines disappearing you’re technically painting from the back and will be flipping this decal when you apply it.
7. Wait for the decal to dry completely
8. Paint your base color onto your nail
9. Using a pair of tweezers, carefully peel the now dry decal off the cling wrap and “flip” it so that it’s pattern side up.
10. Apply the decal to the nail, patterned side up, using a clear top coat to adhere it and seal it onto the nail.

Acrylics
Acrylic nails have been around the mid-1950’s and are still a staple in the nail art world. These are most commonly seen at the drugstore as “stick-ons” but are a very popular option for those who want ultra long nails. Now acrylics are most commonly used as nail tips, where you can attach a long tip to the end of your natural nail for more art space and a modern glamorous look. While definitely doable at home, I usually let nail techs do these.

Gel Color
Using gels will last longer than regular polish and is very popular and common. Some brands offer two-in-one gel colors while others provide just a gel top coat that you can use with your regular polish. The key difference in technique is that gel polishes require a UV light to cure the gel for shiny and long lasting results. Without the UV curing light, the gel will never dry. The good thing is that gel nails are completely doable at home and a UV curing light is fairly inexpensive. 

Rhinestones
Gems are a really fun and easy way to get some bling onto your nails. These require rhinestone glue, which is really just a very thick UV cured gel like you would use for gel colors. Rhinestone kits can easily be found online that include glue, brushes, and a few starter gems. These also require a UV curing light.

Builder Gels
These are best left to the professionals to do, but builder gels work by using a few different chemicals to activate a gel like acrylic. These are mostly used in conjunction with acrylic nail tips to give the tip strength and a smooth finish. Nowadays you can get really creative with builder gels and you can create three dimensional flowers and bows with nothing but a brush and patience. This is different from the regular gel polish, as these have a thicker viscosity and use slightly different chemicals to achieve 3D layers you can build on.

Chromatic Powders/Dip Powder
A new and very common way to do nails now, this technique uses a few steps for fun long lasting coverage with the end result being very much like having a gel polish. Polymers in dip powders are actually stronger than gels and with proper care, can last up to five weeks. Once your nail is prepped, apply the activator, then dip the nail into the powder, clean up and use a UV light to cure the top coat, and you’re done! While possible to do at home, I find this technique requires a lot of extra tools and materials and I usually leave this up to the professionals. A chromatic powder uses the same technique, but has a shiny mirrored finish.

Magnetic Polish
This is another trend that has to do more with the actual nail polish than any technique. These polishes have metallic flakes in the paint itself, once you paint the color, you can use a small magnet to “pull” the flakes into fun and colorful swirls.

Listen to “Nails" for extra manicure motivation! Mind your Mistress and remember to always stay beautiful!

Read this post for a full list of Getting Started Articles! 

xoxo,
thelibrarian