Leopard Nail Art

Nothing screams Fall this year than animal prints.  It's literally everywhere and let's face it not all of us can afford to follow this big trend, investing in pricey purses, footwear and attire, right? This is why I'm so excited to share this trendy inexpensive nail art with you.  You can achieve the same or similar look using the polishes you have on hand.  An easy way to replicate this look is by searching online for animal print patterns or you may go through your existing wardrobe to see if you can get your hands on a pattern. Then simply follow the pattern as a guide for choosing a color scheme. 

As pictured below, are several images taken under different lighting conditions.

To create this look all I did was applied a base coat followed by two coats of golden yellow polish and allowed to thoroughly dry.   Next step I used a brown polish and placed uneven random dots.  Once that dried I drew around the dots with a black polish, again using the uneven technique just so it would look like an actual leopard.  I also added a bit of gold sparkly polish here and there just to pull the look together and to seal in the design, I  applied two coats of a topcoat.

Somehow I really love this combination of colors.   I hope this post inspires you to create your own leopard nails this Fall.

Now talk about being frugal and trendy at the same time!

I'm in Nail Art Heaven

To those of you who know me well, know that I'm a Nail Art fiend which is why I'm like a kid in a candy store whenever I go shopping for nail art supplies.  There's a vast array of supplies which can be sourced online - ebay and other nail art specialty stores but sometimes I tend to get impatient waiting on my order to arrive;  especially if I'm going to need them for an upcoming occasion.  The good thing is that most craft stores are now stocking a lot of staple items for us DIY Nail Art enthusiasts.  Even the bargain shops now stock specialty polishes with the very fine tip brush, rhinestones and much more.

Back in the day, when I ventured into DIY  nail art, I relied completely on polishes to create images such as flowers etc., but have since discovered that water based paints serves as a better option since it can be easily wiped away if you make a blunder with your design. Just using a dampen a cotton pad with water and simply wipe away.  And just like nail polishes, you  can easily combine colors too, creating customized shades.  These paints can be found in the craft section at Walmart, bargain shops and dollar stores.

And for the best part, below are the items I was able to source locally.

Out of it's package. These are ideal for adding life to your designs, making them more interesting and realistic. It came with a mini nail file, orange stick and nail glue. 

And here's the star of the show -- water based paints.  Sourced these in the craft section of my local Dollar store. Yippee!

A closer look!

And for a while I have been wanting a super fine tip brush for my intricate designs and felt very lucky to find one at (pictured below - left) Sally's Beauty.  It wasn't exactly cheap but ideal for intricate work.  I paid $7.56 with taxes.  There were some other ones that came in a set but way more expensive. The Artist Series (pictured below - right) one came in a set and was sourced at my local Dollar store. In terms of performance I prefer the  one from Sally's however, the Dollar store find will be reserved for other type of designs, like making rose petals, dots, etc.

I'd like to also add that both brushes work amazingly well with regular nail polish too which is totally awesome. 

Happy Nail Painting, friends!