Yesterday I was checking out my
pinterest board NAILTOPIA and realized that my most shared pin is the DIGITAL
NAILS TUTORIAL . So I decided to make my own contribution. I was browsing here,
surfing there and just googoling for some images to work with and found some
awesome tribal designs.
I’ve wanting to get a tribal mani
for quite some time now, but they are complicated and time consuming. And that
is precisely something a working mom trying to spend quality time with her baby
and husband doesn’t have much of, so I had to find a shortcut. Like I said, I
started googoling for images to work with and experiment all that turned out to
be very inspiring. What I find is so great about this type of mani is that not
only is quick and easy but super dirt cheap. Decals or other type of
embellishments can be expensive and sometimes is hard to find (we have Sally
Beauty’s and Nailmarts where I live but the designs are limited and a bit
pricey; online orders take a while to get here and what I want is instant
gratification) what you’re looking for. Those who are in my same situation know
that beauty and fashion come on a budget and finding tweaks and tricks is vital
to get the latest out there without burning a hole in our pockets. I would be
rich if I got a penny every time my husband rolls his eyes with a face like “DO
YOU REALLY NEED ANOTHER PASTELPURPLEGREYISH POLISH?” or “MORE NAIL TACK” as he
calls it. Soooo, digital mani is hell of a good and cheap!!! J alternative to get
some fab nails on a budget.
The technique is very easy, here’s
what you need:
- Find the design
you want to work with. Sky is the limit and there are many sources, they could
be magazines, newspapers or something you printed out of the web. If you chose
to print your own, make sure you do it with a laser printer as ink jet ones
bleed the colors out and you’re left with blotches and stains instead of a
transferred image. You can cut to nail size strips or bit bigger, you decide.
- Alcohol. Plain and simple rubbing alcohol. Pour about ½ oz into a small cup, I use silicone cupcake mold from the dollar store.
- Cotton pads.
- Nail polish of your choice to use as a base. I recommend jellys, crèmes or plain white. Dark colors, chromes or metallic don’t work very well here. Forget about glitters or textures.
- Top coat. Always, always use top coat. You will hate your mani to chip off after so much work.
- Paint you nails with the color of choice. Wait for it to be
COMPLETELY DRY Patience, patience and mas patience.
- Cut the printed paper to fit your nails, if you haven't already.
- Place the paper onto your nail with the printed side facing the nail bed.
- Now, you have 2 options, either dunking your fingertips in the alcohol to wet your nails or soak a cotton pad or art brush, get rid of the excess and then pressing it on the print. I prefer the latter because the color and image transfer payload seems to be a bit heavier. Ok, now press firmly on to your nail and DO NOT RUB IT, about 30 seconds should do; lift the paper and admire the results.
- Apply top coat and listo!!
- Digital printed image. I chose a tribal design that I can share with you (I haven't figure out how to place it here as a downloadable) so if you want to I can email it.
- A no color name polish by a brand called Premium. I picked this one at walmart 2 days ago, is some sort of pink blush, really nice nude color. 2 coats as a base.
- Kleancolors Starry Meteor for the accent nails.
- Top coat.
