Here are some handy tips I’ve picked up on my nail art journey, and I’ll share more as I think of them!
Prep
First things first—wear elastic pants while you do your nails! Trust me, I’ve ruined my designs more times than I can count just trying to button my pants before finishing. Also, make sure to clean your nails with acetone before painting. This helps remove oils, allowing the polish to adhere better and reducing chipping. And don’t skip the base coat unless you’re okay with yellow-stained nails!
Miscellaneous
Fun fact: nails are like vampires—they don’t need to “breathe” since they’re already dead. So go ahead and paint away! If you only need to remove polish from one nail and want to keep the rest intact, grab some tweezers to hold an acetone-soaked cotton ball and gently rub it over the nail.
Stamping
For stamping, use old gift cards as scrapers. They won’t scratch your plates, and you can just toss them when they get too dirty. While many instructions suggest cleaning the plate before stamping each nail, I’ve found I can often stamp several nails before needing to clean. Just be cautious if you’re a slow stamper using quick-dry polish; you might need to clean more often. I keep stamping until the design doesn’t transfer well anymore, then I clean with nail polish remover.
If you use Seche Vite top coat (I haven’t tried others) before stamping, you can easily remove any mistakes, like off-center designs. Simply scrape it off gently (make sure the polish is completely dry) or lift the image off your nail with a piece of scotch tape. Happy stamping!
