Simple Nail Art Ideas & Nail Art Tools Every Beginner Needs

Mar 25, 2014 on Fashion and Beauty

Are you bored sick of simple, single colour manicures? We’ve got a solution, and it doesn’t involve spending hundreds on professional salon manicures. Believe it or not, creating your own nail art at home isn’t as hard as it looks! All you really need are some simple nail art ideas and a few inexpensive nail art tools. Today, we’re going to show you two of our favourite nail art designs for beginners to help you get started.

 

But before you begin bringing any nail art ideas to life, it’s a good idea to invest in a few cheap nail art tools to make your life easier. Take a look at our nail art tools check-list below.

 

Nail Art Tools Check-List

 

1) Nail Polish Base Coat: Whether you’re doing nail art or just a regular manicure, a base coat (applied before your polish) is the key to protecting your natural nails from damage and discolouration. Choosing a good quality base coat is extra important when you’re taking the time to paint one of these nail art ideas onto your nails. After all, a painter wouldn’t paint on an unprepared canvas and neither should you! Check out the Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel Base Coat (Target) for up to eleven days of perfect colour.

 

2) Nail Polish Remover: It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro: your nail polish remover will quickly become one of your most important nail art tools. If you’re worried about drying out your skin, choose an acetone free remover. However, for a quick clean up, we recommend a product that contains acetone to cut through the polish, like the Up & Up Acetone Polish Remover (Target - $0.97).

 

Note: If you want to achieve the perfectly clean nail edges you see on nail art blogs, get yourself a cheap angled paintbrush (Ebay - $1.55). You can dip this in acetone then run it along the edges of your nails to create a smooth, professional line.

 

 Simple Nail Art: Nail Art Tools

 

3) Nail Polish Top Coat: Like a base coat, a top coat is vital for preserving your nail art design for as long as possible. Not only will it prevent your polish from chipping, but it will also flatten any raised layers to create a smoother, seamless finish. Most importantly, a top coat will give you all the shine of a salon manicure. Most nail bloggers agree that Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (Amazon - $4.74) is an ideal choice, because it dries quickly and generally won’t smudge your designs.

 

4) Dotting Tool: Most of our beginner’s nail art ideas aren’t equipment heavy. However, dotting tools are used for everything from polka dot nails to creating cartoon eyes, so having a dotting tool in your nail art arsenal will make your nail art journey a lot easier! Check out this set of four dotting tools (Ebay - $5). Each is dual-ended with two different sized dotters for maximum versatility. However, as you’ll see when we get into our favourite nail art ideas, if you can’t get a hold of some of these nail art tools, you can often substitute them with common household items.

 

5) Striping Tool: A striping tool is another convenient nail art tool to have on hand. It will help you to draw straight lines on your nails with minimum fuss and you’d be surprised at just how many designs you can create just using lines and dots. For a striping tool, you can use a thin paintbrush and dip it in any of your existing polishes, or you can go the easier route and just get a polish with a built in striping brush, like the Nubar Nail Art Pens (Amazon - $6.21). If you only get two colours, make it a black and a white!

 

You can pick up everything on our Nail Art Tools Check-list for a bargain using Target promotion codes, Ebay coupons and Amazon coupons.

 

 

Now that we’ve covered the basics in terms of nail art supplies, it’s time to explore two simple nail art ideas that even a complete beginner can pull off ( for more ideas read the article: 10 easy nail art designs ideas)

 

1) Polka Dot Nails

Polka Dot nails are a fantastic nail art design for beginners. They’re great for shaky or unsure hands, because polka dots are allowed to be messy! You’re also only dealing with two colours, making touch ups a lot easier if you happen to make a mistake. Want to learn how to create these nails? Let’s get started!

 

Step 1: Prep your nails with the Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel Base Coat (Target) to create a smooth canvas and maximise wear time.

 

Step 2: Paint a thin coat of a gorgeous red nail polish, like Essie’s Twin Sweater Set (Beauty.com - $8.50) on your thumb, middle finger and little finger. While you’re waiting for that to dry, select a good quality white nail polish, such as Oui Madame (Beauty.com - $8.50) and apply it to your index finger and ring finger.

 

*Never buy an unreliable cheap white polish, as they’ll often be very sheer and difficult to work with.

 

Step 3: When your first layer is dry, apply a second layer of polish to each nail to achieve a more opaque finish. Wait for this layer to dry before proceeding to step 4.

 

Step 4: Pour a few drops of white nail polish onto a plastic lid or similar surface. Then, dip the end of your dotting tool into it, getting a generous amount on the ball. Carefully press the white tip of your dotting tool onto your red nails to create white polka dots. For some versatility, make sure at least a few of your dots are on the edges and tips of your nails, not just the center. Less is more – you don’t want your nails to look crowded.

 

* If you don’t have a dotting tool, you can actually use Doctor’s Brushpicks Interdental Toothpicks (Drugstore.com - $2.99) instead!

 

Step 5: Repeat the process, this time dipping the end of your dotting tool or toothpick into the red polish before applying it to the nails you painted white.

 

Step 6: Once you’re happy with your polka dots, it’s time to clean up your nail art ideas for a polished final look. Take an angled paintbrush (Ebay - $1.55) or a cotton swab (Drugstore.com - $3.99) and dip it into your acetone based nail polish remover. Once the cotton swab or brush is soaked, run it along the edges of your nails to remove any excess polish.

 

Step 7: Wait until your polish is dry to avoid smudging, then carefully apply a layer of a fast-drying top coat, like Essie Good to Go (Beauty.com - $8.50) to seal in your design. And you’re done!

 

Need to stock up on these nail art supplies? Use Target coupons, Beauty.com coupons, Drugstore.com coupons, and Ebay coupons for some awesome savings.

 

Let’s take a look at the second of these easy nail art ideas.

2) Striped Nails

Once you’ve mastered polka dot nails, striped nail art is the next step. It requires a little more patience and a slightly steadier hand, but the results are worth it. It’s also a great way to practice creating the straight lines that are required by more complex nail art ideas. Let’s get started.

 

Step 1: As with the first design, start by applying a base coat to your nails. This will make the colour last longer and protect your nails from damage. If you’ve already got nail damage, try Seche Vite’s Ridge Filling Base Coat (Drugstore.com - $7) to disguise this.

 

Step 2: Paint your nails with an opaque white nail polish, like China Glaze White on White (Drugstore.com - $6.09). You may need to apply two or three layers to reach full opacity. If so, make sure to let each layer dry in between to avoid smudges and air bubbles.

 

Step 3: Taking a striping nail polish, such as Sally Hansen’s easy to use I Heart Nail Art Striper (Drugstore.com - $3.99), slowly drag it along your nails in thin horizontal lines. You need just enough polish on your brush to complete a single clean stripe at a time. If your lines are blobby, wipe the brush against the mouth of the polish between strokes.

 

Step 4: Using an angled paintbrush (Ebay - $1.55) or a cotton swab (Drugstore.com - $3.99) dipped in nail polish remover, clean up your nails and fingers for a perfect finish. You can do this by dragging the brush or Q-tip along the edges of your nail plate to remove excess polish.

 

Step 5: Wait for your design to dry, then apply a fast drying top coat. Essie’s Good to Go Top Coat (Beauty.com - $8.50) or Seche Vite Dry Fast ($4.74) are both good for this step, because neither cause excessive smudging, which can be a problem when light colours and dark colours are combined.

 

Get all the nail art supplies you need to create this cute design for less with our coupons.

 Nai

We hope these two gorgeous nail art ideas have inspired you to create your own fab manicures at home. Remember, no one gets it totally right the first time and we all learn through our mistakes. Fortunately, all you really need to create amazing nail art is a little patience and a few cheap nail art tools to start your nail art journey today. Good luck!