My nail art essentials

When doing nail art, it is essential that you have the right tools for the job. So here are a list of all the tools and polishes that I think you need for doing really good nail art.

1.     A good base coat – Now not all people agree with applying a base coat. Some people see is as a waste of time, or that it takes too long. But I couldn’t disagree more. I think a base coat is super important, not just to protect your nails from becoming weak and stained, but also to help the polish stick better to the surface of your nail. My favourite base coat is Avon nail experts adhesive base coat. It makes your nail varnish stick like glue, and is amazing at protecting nails from damage.

2.     A good quality nail varnish – Now this really depends on what you class as a good quality nail varnish, but I find as a base colour, nail polishes that are a little thinner in consistency work well. I like Maybelline colour show (look for a review of this product coming soon). But for doing design work, I find thicker nail varnishes to be good, such as Barry M, as they won’t bleed and will hold their design better than thinner polishes.

3.     A top coat – Now a top coat is different to a clear nail varnish. In the past, I have used clear nail polish as a top coat and it works fine on just regular painted nails. But on nails that have an intricate design, I find that clear polish can drag and blur the design, which doesn’t happen when you use a top coat, so it’s a good investment.

4.     Dotting tools – I love dotting tools, they are so versatile, not only can you just do dots with them, but with the smaller tools you can do more intricate designs, like drawing pictures on your nails, which is easier than doing it with a brush. I have Cheeky double-sided dotting tools, and they are fantastic. Dotting tools are cheap enough to buy from Amazon, but if you don’t want to buy them, you can use things from around the house, like the bottom of a make up brush, or the bottom of a pin, whatever you can find that will create dots.

5.     Nail striping brushes – These come in either sets or individually and are small pots of nail polish that contain a small brush for applying it to the nail. You don’t have to buy these specifically, and if you wanted to make your own stripers, you can cut an old paint brush down to size, or use an old eyeliner brush.

6.     Masking tape – Masking tape is a brilliant way of achieving different techniques on your nails. You can use it to create squares, triangles or any shape, and it can be used to create French tips or half moon manicures. I think masking tape works much better than cello tape as it is less sticky and is therefore easier to remove from the nail, whilst doing the least amount of damage to your manicure.

7.     Nail polish remover – A pretty obvious choice, and you can use whatever you want, ordinary nail polish remover, the pads, or the new pots, which allow you to soak your nail. Either way your going to need good quality stuff, because sometimes you can have a few layers on your nails, and it takes a while to remove it.

So there you have it, these are my essential tools for doing nail art. You don’t need them all, but I think with all of these you can create any design possible on your nails. If there is anything you think I have missed, don’t hesitate to comment. 

By Lucy Bunce