Fashion is not all about the clothes, step in alternative manicures…
Nail Art is the one this season! And being students, a simple style update that only involves changing the colour of your nails is perfect. A cheap way to fill up our spare time (when not studying, of course!) and the result: staying perfectly on trend.
Zooey Deschanel Golden Globes 2012
Nail Art has recently overtaken Tumblrs, Twitter pages, Instagram, YouTube Tutorials and more recently, Pinterest. The craze has truly gone global as a social networking phenomenon. Zooey Deschanel has a dedicated feature on her hugely popular website HelloGiggles called ‘Nails of the Day’. It’s even been accepted by the God’s of the fashion world, Vogue and Elle magazines, after being seen on many catwalks for Spring/Summer 2012 and even staying strong throughout Autumn/Winter 2012. Nail Art is here to stay girls!
1) Water Marbling: Add drop after drop of nail varnish into a cup of waiter and use the swirly patterned layer formed on the surface to coat your nails, creating a hypnotic swirl affect.
2) Magnetic Nails: Paint the nail varnish on, and before it dries hold a magnet over the top without touching – the negative charge pushes the polish away to create a shimmering psychedelic pattern.
I used Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish, available from Boots for £4.99
3) Nail Foils/Wraps: Patterns on foils of pre-cut nail shapes which last up to two weeks. Heat up foil until it starts to curl, then place onto nail. Smooth the foil over the nail and file the excess off.
I used Primark foils for £3 and various eBay versions.
4) Crackle Paint: Simply paint one layer of your choice of varnish on your nails. Wait for it to dry, then go over all nails with the crackle paint. As this layer dries the crackle will reveal.
I used Barry M Crackle Paint, available from Boots for £3.99
Crackle Paint
Nail Adhesive Stickers
5) Nail Adhesive Stickers: (above) As easy as they sound! Simply paint your nails whichever colour you like, and stick the stickers on. Available in many alternatives.
My adhesives were a freebie from a beauty event.
6) Glitter Nail Dust: Paint your nails a similar colour to the nail dust you have, wait until the nail varnish is almost dry, but still tacky. Then dip each finger into the pot of nail dust. Wait for it all to dry and brush off an excess with an old makeup brush.
I used GOSH Glitter Nail Dust pots, available from Superdrug for £3.99
7) Nail Art Pens: (My Personal Favourite) Made with two ends, one a small nib for intricate details, the other more of a brush suitable for the less fine details. Allows you to create all sorts of patterns.
I’ve used Model’s Own available for £6 on their website, or alternatively you can find many cheaper alternatives on eBay.
Check out my Flickr slideshow for images of mine and my friends’ experiments with nail art pens:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Try a few out for yourself and let me know what works for you. Post your photos onto Goodness Gracious’s Facebook or Twitter or even in comments below.
GG
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