10 steps for a perfect home manicure
I love home manicures. Not only do they save you money, they’re also time-saving and allow you to pamper yourself in the comforts of your own home.
Contrary to popular belief, manicures aren’t just for the professionals.
Follow these 10 simple steps to give yourself a good salon-quality manicure.
How to file your nails properly
The shape of your nails frame your manicure. Before you start painting your nails, it’s important to know how to file your nails properly.
How to paint your nails perfectly
Not everyone is born with the talent for painting nails perfectly. When I first started painting my nails I absolutely HATED it because I was so rubbish at it. I would get nail polish all over my fingers, outside of my nails and cleaning it up would take even longer than painting my nails.
I finally figured out how it was supposed to be done when I started going for manicures. If you look at how manicurists paint nails, you’ll find that they have a certain technique that ensures a neat coat of polish covering the whole nail every time.
Crackle nail polish – How does it work?
Crackle nail polish
Here are some of my favorite designs. The combinations are endless and always unique:
Whimsical colourful nails with bright feather accents
Phew, it has been quite awhile since my last manicure post. Work has rendered me unmotivated to do anything other than sit in front of the telly. So last week I finally made time to do my nails, after sporting a week’s worth of chipped polish.
This design is really easy to do and it looks artsy and interesting. I got this done in about an hour (could’ve been significantly less if I didn’t keep scratching and bumping my nails on everything), and it was so much fun to do.
Glitter nail polish and nail art designs
My current star product is glitter nail polish. It’s basically clear or coloured nail polish with specks of glitter in it.
Clear glitter nail polish, in particular, is the best cheat for a quick glam nail design. It’s versatile enough to used as a base, or as a top coat to add that sparkle to your nail colour.
The best thing about this new trend is that nail polish brands are coming up with lots of different types of glitter polishes. You can choose from a whole bunch of colours (silver, gold, multi, etc), shapes (hearts, stars, confetti…) and sizes (microscopic to ostentatious). The possibilities are endless!
Marni inspired nail art: Florals (more pictures)
I’ve come into the strange habit of painting only the nails on my left hand now that I don’t have lots of time to spare (I’m right handed). It’s funny how I sometimes end up doing a better job on my right hand. Anyhow, here’s the Marni florals without the stripes.
For this manicure I used the same base of Snow and dotted the flowers with Flyin’ High and High Hopes (all from China Glaze). Finally starting to get a hang of this nail pen!
Marni inspired nail art: Florals and stripes
Today’s manicure is inspired by Marni’s Spring 2012 Ready To Wear line. Marni did some pretty cool florals that I tried to replicated on my nails:
Also the main reason why I tried this design was cos I recently got my hands on a black nail pen (finally!) from one of the nail stores in town. It’s brandless and cost only S$7 (US$3), quite a steal. I’ve been dying to test it out for about a week but just couldn’t find the time. I also got some new nail colours (Snow and Papaya Punch from China Glaze) that this design was perfect for.
Top 5 nail art trends for Summer 2012
Nails are all the buzz this summer – they’re fun, easy to do and they’re new fashion accessory. Take your look effortlessly from work to play to everywhere in between with these top 5 nail art trends of the summer.
