It can be hard to keep your nails looking fresh and trendy, as some of the newest styles seem crazy complicated. If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend the majority of your magazine-leafing time thinking who on earth has the time to do that?!. So, for those of you who want to keep bang-on-trend, but don’t have the time for ridiculously fiddly nail art, here are a selection of the hottest nail trends that can be achieved with minimal effort on your part. What more could you want?
Dotty
Dotty nails look tricky and fiddly, but there are a couple of ways to achieve this super-snazzy look with minimal effort. Either just use a sharpie for those beautiful little dots, or if the colours don’t work for you, try dipping the end of a bobby pin in your nail varnish of choice. That way, you’ll have uniform, easily-applied dots. Go dotty for dots!
Simple stripe
It’s all about the stripes in nail art this season, and there are so many ways to pull off this look. All you need to use is some masking tape. Literally, that’s it. Try diagonal stripes or, for a more minimalist look, try a simple vertical stripe to one side of the nail.
Word art
This is absolutely one of the coolest nail art ideas I’ve ever seen. As an avid book-lover, I can’t wait to try this one myself! All you need are some small pieces of cut-up newspaper, some alcohol (vodka or gin work fine) and your base nail colour. It goes without saying that lighter colours work best here, as they’ll make the words show up most. Once your base colour is completely dry, just soak your newspaper pieces in the alcohol and apply to the nail. Hold them in place for a good minute, and when you peel the paper away the ink will have transferred to your nail. Awesome!
Mix it up
Something as simple as choosing a different colour for each nail can really freshen up your nail art look. This season, since
It’s spring, it’s all about the pastels, so choose a few nice shades and get painting. Can’t get much easier than that.
Fishnet nails
Fishnet nails look super-cool, and you can really have some fun with them. All you need is your nail polish (at least two colours) and a piece of fishnet – this can be taken from any old pair of fishnet tights you might have lying around. Once your base colour is totally dry, just lay the fishnet over the nail and apply the second colour. It generally works best if you dab at the nail rather than using strokes as you usually would, to make sure that the fishnet doesn’t move too much. Pull away the fishnet and you’re left with this amazing effect. Btw, it works with lace, too!
So get creative this spring with your nails. Even if you’ve never ventured into nail art before, give these five tried and tested methods a go and you’ll be on your way to salon-beautiful, creative and fun, fresh nails.