A little nailspiration…

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When it comes to nail art, I’m more of a sidelines kinda gal.  I’ll peruse Pinterest looking for some fabulous ideas, but then when I attempt to do them myself, it usually ends up as a mess.  Maybe I’m too impatient to wait for the polish to fully dry, or maybe I’m just not good at art (I can’t draw straight), but nail art and Shayna just don’t mix.

Then Sally Hansen sent me some goodies from their spring 2014 collection, making their way into stores now.  From gems to stripers to glitter to stencils and tools, Sally Hansen is raising the bar for nail art.  Spoke too soon when you said that nail art is a passing fad?  Well, it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.

I thought I would take baby steps making my way into nail art, so I came up with two simple looks that will have you staring at your nails nonstop.

Purple-nail-art-with-gems Bow-thumb Sally-hansen-products-purple

The first one involves a lot of gems, glitter, and obviously, purple! Lay down a base coat and then a few coats of a neon purple colour.  I used Sally Hansen’s I Heart Nail Art Neon in Vibrant Violet.  You can layer this shade over a white base to really make it pop, but I chose to just paint it on fresh.

I wanted to do something different on each finger, so on the thumb I drew on a bow using a stencil from the Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Tool Kit and the yellow I Heart Nail Art Stylo (make sure you topcoat this right away as it can easily be removed just by wiping it).  In the middle of the bow, I put a silver gem from the I Heart Nail Art Studs Kit.  For the pointer finger I just painted a couple coats of the Complete Salon Manicure in Cheery on Top.  Middle finger was my favourite because it added some serious sparkle and shine.  Using Scotch tape cut at an angle, I first laid that down and then painted that top angled part with Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri in a gorgeous purple/blue glitter colour.  Remove the scotch tape and then put a line of gems where the glitter meets the purple polish.  For the ring finger, I just put a line of the silver gems, and then I left the pinky as just purple.  Topcoat everything to seal the design.  I used Sally Hansen Triple Shine Top Coat.

Since this look was literally a two-day process (I wanted the polish to be completely dry before I started experimenting), you can always just simplify it and embellish your ring finger.

Purple nails with gems

For something a little simpler and girly, I created another look using a pale pink polish, a glitter nail, and then a feather on my accent nail.

Feather nail art feather-manicure-tools

Start off painting your nails with a pale pink, I used Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure in Shell We Dance (love this shade, gives you a gel finish).   Because we aren’t using tape or anything that could damage the manicure, you don’t have to wait as long to start designing.  I waited five hours, but that’s just me.

Using the I Heart Nail Art Striper in Black, I painted a feather on my accent nail, which honestly looks hard than it is.  Because the brush is so thin, it makes control really easy.  First, draw a line diagonally across your nail, and then using short, light strokes, add the feathers.  For some extra bling, I just popped a silver gem at the base.  Wait 10 minutes before top coating it; you don’t want to mess up the design.  I felt like I needed a bit of extra glam, so I painted my middle finger with a glitter using Essie’s Hor D’eourves from their Encrusted Treasures collection.

I’m already brainstorming new ideas of what I want to do next and Sally Hansen’s I Heart Nail Art kits are totally giving me some serious inspiration.  I’m not sure if these are in stores now, but they are must haves if you are into nail art.  Plus, since they are by Sally Hansen, they will no doubt be very affordable.

Nail art kits Sally-hansen-nail-art-studs-kit Sally-hansen-nail-art-tools

Are you into nail art?  What are some of your tips and tricks?

Please note, I was sent these products from PR. All opinions are my own.

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