Polish, paint, pixels & ink

Nail polish themed ink.

I noticed an unfortunate lack of dope nail polish tattoos while searching online. If I had the money, I would GLADLY change that with a traditional-style tribute to one of my favorite mediums. If they figure out how to put glitter in tattoo ink… I’ll just have to take out a loan.

Double crossed.

LA Colors • Transformer
Nail Fetish • Penny
Sinful Colors • All About You

This is a fun way to get a really detailed design without having to paint your nails. It also avoids the trouble of having to paint with your left hand. It’s not going to last as long as a regular mani, but it’s easy and you get good results.

For this design, I used images cut out of a magazine. You can use any kind of image, as long as it’s small enough and the paper isn’t too thick. This time I went with a tattoo theme, using pictures from Skin & Ink magazine.

• Cut out a couple options. When you decide on your design, use a small pair of scissors to cut out the images (I use the little eyebrow grooming scissors). Keep in mind that you’ll want something small enough to fit within the center of nail. You can’t cover a large area because you need to seal in the image with top coat to prevent peeling.
• Apply your base colors and finish with a top coat and let dry. I picked a dark red and a gold glitter to go over a bronze base coat. Whatever matches your images is fine- cream, shimmer, glitter, etc.
• Brush a thick layer of top coat on to a plastic surface (I use a plastic lid as a pallet because cardboard will dry out your polish). With tweezers, place the paper cut-out on to the layer of top coat. Move it around to completely coat the bottom. Let it sit for a couple seconds to lightly soften the paper, but make sure to wipe away an excess polish.
• Still using tweezers, apply the image to your nail. Leave as much room near the tip of your nail by applying it closer to your cuticle. The paper near the tip of your nail peels much quicker.You have a couple seconds after applying it to move it into place. Try to avoid moving it too much because it will damage your base coat.
• In order to “seal” the paper on to the polish, flatten it out and remove the bubbles with an eyeshadow sponge applicator thing. You can use a Qtip, just make sure you don’t get any cotton fibers stuck in the wet polish. Before applying more top coat, let the layer between your nail and the image dry for a bit and become tacky. Smooth out and parts of the image that are separating.
• Finish with one or two layers of high shine top coat. You’ll need to reapply the top coat a couple times throughout the day to keep a waterproof seal.