You've nailed it! Home nail art tutorial by Jenna James
Everything you need for flip flop-ready toes...
The amazing weather we’ve been having means we’ve waved a gleeful goodbye to those closed-in shoes and thrown ourselves feet-first into flip flops. So, with our toes on display to the world and with nail salons closed for the foreseeable future, it’s a case of DIY toe renovation. We spoke to nail artist Jenna James for her tips on salon quality nail designs that you can try yourself. You can find Jenna on Instagram.com/jjennajjames
I’m Jenna from Nails by Jenna J and I first qualified in the beauty industry over 20 years ago, I am a fully qualified hairdresser, lash technician and nail artist. My speciality and passion is nail work so 8 years ago I set up my business, Nails by Jenna J. Today I’d like to share a couple of ways you can get those toes looking tip-top with some simple nail art tuition to make your pedicure perfectly unique.
What you need : I recommend Peacci Creative Kit Available @https://peacci.com Contains. Nail file, Base Coat, Coloured varnish, Top coat and Cuticle oil. Use PEACCIOKZ1EZBY for a 10% discount.
Nail Prep:
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Shape free edge, then lightly buff shine from your natural nail.
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Wipe nail with varnish remover to cleanse.
Polish:
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Apply base coat then two coats of your chosen polish.
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Add your art.
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Apply top coat.
Jenna’s top tip: Allow two minutes to dry between coats.
The Fun Stuff:
Nail art doesn’t have to be intricate to be pretty - most people add art to the big toe as it’s the biggest area and stands out the most. You can simply make it a different colour or add glitter.
To apply glitter, you can do it one of two ways:
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Apply a glitter polish in place of your chosen colour, which can be a similar colour or one that complements it.
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Apply loose glitter. First apply two coats of your chosen colour, while the varnish is still wet sprinkle the nail with glitter. Wait two minutes to dry, then apply the top coat to seal.
Jenna’s top tip: Put something like an envelope under the toe to collect loose glitter - that way, you can pour it back into the pot.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also add lines to create a rainbow effect, dots or lines of different colour on one toe for a two-tone effect.
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Apply base coat, then two coats of white or chosen colour. On a piece of kitchen foil, place a blob of each chosen colour for your rainbow. Use a fine brush to paint lines across the nail in the chosen direction. Wait two minutes to dry, then apply a clear top coat to seal allow to dry completely (this is where your Filli flip flops come in handy).
Jenna’s top tip: Don’t make the lines too thick. No brush? Use an old make-up brush trimmed of some bristles to make it as fine as possible
Two-tone effect
Apply base coat, then paint half the nail one colour, repeat twice. Once dry apply the other colour on the other half.
You can even make a beautiful pattern with dots:
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Apply base coat, then two coats of your chosen polish. On kitchen foil, add blobs of colour to use. Use a dotting tool, dip the end in the varnish then lightly touch the nail. You can choose to dot them randomly, in a line, circle, whichever way your imagination takes you!
Jenna’s top tip: No dotting tool? Use a cocktail stick instead, just cut off the end to make it blunt.
Last but not least, why not add some bling?
You can add rhinestones to dry polish with a small amount of glue. On wet polish, using tweezers pick up your rhinestone and drop lightly into place, lightly press into wet polish being careful not to smudge. Allow to dry for two minutes and finish with two coats of clear top coat.
I hope you enjoyed your toe tutorial - everyone deserves fabulous feet!
Jenna James