Sometimes when you look at pictures of models and celebrities online and in magazines you often wonder how in the hell they managed to get such extravagant nails and why yours can’t be as beautiful. Well, the difference there is usually because they have the help of highly paid nail art technicians. Not all of us can afford such a luxury, and not everybody possesses natural expertise at crafting fabulous nails like the professionals. So what can be done?
Well fret no longer, because it is possible to cheat at getting great nails without having to attend a two year course in professional manicure training. With these simple tips you’ll be able to quickly buff up your nail skills and show off to everyone fabulous fingertips they’ll think were done by pros.
So let’s begin the fast track beautiful nails 101 lesson!
Read WikiHow Guides
The internet is a massive resource of free and accessible information, but it’s often surprising how 
much people overlook its usefulness. Guides like this appear all over the web and WikiHow, an open source website dedicated to users contributing ‘how to’ guides on almost every subject imaginable, has countless articles on nail beauty. They’re easy to read, have picture demonstrations and break things down into simple steps so everybody can learn at a steady pace. There’s also a fair learning curve so newbies don’t get overwhelmed. By following the simple guides, you can become an expert in minutes and pretend as if you’ve known everything about advanced nail art the whole time.
Use Nail Appliques
Some nails can look really gorgeous with little acrylic decorations and jewels attached to them, but often these delicate designs can be tough for amateurs to master. Luckily you can cheat and make it appear as if you’re a master at these kinds of beautiful designs by getting ready made acrylic nails straight from beauty stores. They come in all different kinds of great styles and are remarkably easy to apply with just a bit of glue and nail polish. Even the clumsiest of you out there won’t be able to mess up putting these on, so they’re a great way to feign manicure competence.
Watch Online Video Tutorials
Sometimes the best way to learn is not by reading, but by visual demonstration. Apart from going to nail beauty classes, which can be expensive, you could take a look at many of the hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of video makers on YouTube that have compiled tutorials on nail art. Whole channels from users such as Robin Moses, who uploads many of her unique creations, and luxuriousnails provide easy to follow guides to making great nails. There are many more to discover with hours of content just a click and search away. Free knowledge is what the internet was made for, and you can find the best of it on YouTube.
Visit Nail Art Forums
Another sure fire way to ensure you get quick, free and easy advice is by engaging with the nail art community online. Visit forums where nail artists congregate and like to chat and you’re sure to find welcoming users that will happily share with you tips and tricks, as well as posting inspirational ideas you can use. A quick Google search will reveal the top forums, and Tumblr is a good place to go and see nail art blogs, but the Reddit community r/RedditLacqueristas is also another popular and open community for nail addicts.
Practice On Dummy Nails
If you’ve great ideas but don’t want to mess them up on your real nails, then buy some fake plastic or dummy nails to practice. Trial and error is the way forward when it comes to building up and learning new skills, and doing it in a safe, consequence-free way works the best. Fake nails are disposable so if you mess up it doesn’t matter and you can stock up on as many as you like until you perfect your technique and signature style.
Practice, practice, practice is really the best advice we can give, but with these hot tips going from boring nails to fabulous nails can be sped up. Soon you’ll be able to confidently wield beautiful nails that’ll be the envy of all your friends and they’ll want to know your secret. And the secret is – there is no secret. Just being wise and knowing the right places to research and learn.
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Kelly Jacobs is a fashion and beauty blogger that still considers herself a noob when it comes to doing her own nail art.