Happy Friday! As you might know, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to try out more nail art. I originally began this blog to experiment with nail art after seeing so many great designs on Pinterest, but I quickly realized that nail art is no joke. I find it really challenging, and often have a lot of nail art fails when I’m attempting to come up with designs. Today I’m sharing one of those fails with all of you in hopes that you won’t feel as discouraged when attempting new nail art. I received a set of nail vinyls from Born Pretty Store and was super excited to put them to the test. My first time trying nail vinyls didn’t go as planned! Let me share my Valentine’s Day nail art fail with you!
Here is a look at the sheet of nail vinyls. I received the fish scale design in style number JV203. This sheet comes with twelve vinyls that need to be cut before use. They are designed to work just like striping tape. I thought of these like a stencil. I love that this sheet of vinyls is super affordable at just $1.99 HERE.
My idea for this manicure was a Valentine’s Day ombré. I began with a white base from Sally Hansen Insta-Dri and let it dry completely.
My first attempt at nail vinyls was a huge fail! I applied the vinyls directly on the nails and pressed them in place. I applied my polish, but when I peeled off the vinyls my nail polish came with it. I was so bummed! My base was dry, so I figured my issue was that the vinyls were just too sticky to go directly on the nails.
For round two I decided to place the nail vinyls on my hand before putting them on my nails. I did this twice to remove a lot of the stickiness, and then applied them to the nails. However, I didn’t press down firmly on the vinyls. That is where my problems arose this time around. The polish leaked through the vinyls because they weren’t affixed to the nails firmly. However, I can see a lot of progress with this technique!
My thumb nail actually came out really well during this second attempt. This is what I was trying to accomplish all along! I used a wedge sponge to apply pink nail polish to the base of the nail and a red to the top. I completed the look with a glossy top coat. This is what I hoped to share with you! Alas, it only turned out well on one nail.
All in all, I’m so glad I finally got the chance to try out nail vinyls! I do really like this set from Born Pretty Store, and will recommend it. That being said, it’s important to remember that nail art can sometimes be frustrating, especially when trying something new. I look forward to continue trying vinyls in the future. If you have any tips and tricks when it comes to nail vinyls, let me know in the comments! As always, you can shop at Born Pretty Store using my coupon code FZL91 to save an additional 10% off any order.
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I got these from Born Pretty store also and have yet to try them. I’ve made the same resolution to try more nail art also but I’m just so bad at it. I’m going to hunt down a silicone mat and try the stamping method on that and see if I have better luck that way. But it just gets so frustrating when you see so much amazing stuff online and yours just doesn’t turn out. But I totally see what you were going for and your thumb looks great!
Thanks, Rebecca! It can be discouraging, but with practice it always gets easier. Stamping was difficult at first, but I’m getting the hang of it now. Best of luck!
I’ve only tried vinyls once and had the same result you did so I haven’t tried again. I did some research though and others are saying you have to top coat your nail after applying your color and let it dry before doing the vinyls.
I don’t know how long it has to dry to cure, because apparently to the touch and not sticky when you touch two nails together doesn’t work, so I’d say to be safe, wait several hours. I tend to do my manis in stepwise order such as painting the base in the morning and then doing the “art” in the afternoon or evening. You might try that.
Yes, that’s what I do as well! I always wait at least an hour, usually more. Or I do as you say and do the nail art the next day.
Thanks for the top coat tip!
Hi there! Try applying a quick dry top coat and letting that dry 15 minutes before applying the nail vinyls. That seems to help me. I like taking the stickiness off on my hand, too. Sometimes they are just too sticky.
Thanks for the tip!