Lace Nails

Now I like awesome nails almost as much as I love makeup, so I like having specific designs for different events.

The most recent nails I decorated were some lace nails. I'm going to post a little tutorial here, but bear in mind that this is my first attempt at these nails, so some of them aren't as good as they could be, but on the whole the overall outcome was rather good.

What You Need:

- Coloured nail polish that will go on the nails, under the lace. I chose white as it will perfectly contrast the black lace that I chose. But if you wanted to use white lace then you can have a black polish, it doesn't really matter. Choose whatever colour you'd like as the base. You'll also need some top coat.

- False nails. I'd suggest that you don't do this on your own nails. For one thing it would be very awkward. For another, when sticking the lace to the nails, if you get on the skin it will attatch itself firmly and burn. So false nails are the safest and easiest route. Also it means you can do them in advance! 

  

- Emery boards to smooth the false nails and shape them how you want them.

- Rhinestone picker-uppers. Not sure if these have a real name, but that's what I'm going to call them from now on. These will be used to place and hold down the lace. If you don't have any of these then pointed or even regular tweezers should do the job just as well.

-Lace. This is a dress I picked up for cheap in a charity shop. Any old lace clothing that you have at home and don't mind chopping up will do. If you haven't got any, then pop down to the chairty shops and you may find something that you can use.

- Nail clippers. I am using these to trim my lace, but if you have small sharp scissors you can use them instead.

- Nail glue. Important for attatching the lace to the false nails, and the false nails to your real nails.

- Orange wood sticks (and blue tack). Very important. You'll see why soon.

- Scissors. To cut the lace. Mine are very clumpy and blunt, so that's the only way that I'm going to use these.









How:

Preparation:

Attatch the false nails to the orange wood sticks using blue tack. You can do a couple at a time if you don't have enough sticks for all of them. Make sure that they are attatched firmly. This will help when painting or using nail glue on the nails as you won't have to touch them with your hands and instead can hold onto the stick.

 Step 1:

File the nails. Smooth out the edge and make them to the shape you'd like them. I like having mine fairly square.

 Step 2:

Paint the nails with the colour you have chosen. You may have to do a couple of layers, but that's fine. Wait for the nails to dry completely before you continue.

 [Just to show you, there was a point to painting the nails white, and that they don't actually look the same as before!]

 Step 3:

Cut a small amount of lace, a little bigger than the nail that you are planning to decorate.

 Step 4:

Apply the glue over then nail and place the lace where you want it. Be careful not to touch the glue. It's incredibly strong. It will stick your skin to whatever else it is touching, and it will burn. If you do get any on your skin, dont pull it off as you will just end up pulling your skin off. Instead, soak it in acetone based nail polish remover as this should help loosen it.

 Step 5:

Using the rhinestone picker-uppers or tweezers, pull the lace to cover the whole nail and press the lace onto the nail, specifically around the edges.
After a fair few seconds, I used my finger to push it onto the nails to make sure it all has stuck, but if you do that you must wait until it has dried enough not to stick to you. (You don't have to do this step. The lace should stick fine without) There's no exact time. In fact I used trial and error. The first time I stuck my thumb to the lace. It hurt. A lot.

 Step 6:

Using nail clippers or some small sharp scissors, trim the excess lace from around the nail. This will make the nails look neater and more professional.

Step 7:

Apply a top coat over the top of the lace. This will help the lace to stick more, will attatch any parts that didn't stick down with the glue, and will also make them a little more long wearing.

The final outcome. As I said, some worked out better than others, but I think that's something that you would get better at the more you practise it.











My Advice:

• If you want to wear lace nails for a specific reason, make sure to do them a few days in advance. They look easier to do than they actually are, and they take an awfully long time (a lot of waiting for things to dry, etc.)
• A thinner lace would probably work better, as I found the thicker parts of lace had more trouble sticking to the nails.
• Keep a bottle of acetone based nail polish remover next to you. Despite any precautions you may take, there is always a chance that you could get some nail glue on you.
• Make sure you're in a well ventilated room. The fumes from the glue are rather strong. They do make your eyes sting if you get too close.
• Just be sensible. It's nail glue. It can be dangerous if you misuse it.

And there you have it. Lace nails. =]

Love B xxxxx

P.S. I now have a facebook photography page. Go and "like" it: http://www.facebook.com/BLJohnsonPhotography