DIY tribal nails

Manicures are so pampering, but it's hard to squeeze time and money out for such luxury regularly. The more intricate your nail designs, the more expensive it'll be - so why not do up your own? The best part is that it's so simple, and you won't even need to limit your choices to a commercial design book ♥

Black and mint nail polish - no frills $3 each

Gold OPI - Free from a local fashion event

Hair pin - from home

Nail art dotter - $1 (picked up from a local art store) 

                         (Optional, I didn't use this)

For this design, it's really a simple tri-step process. Base mint coat, with a middle strip of gold and then the intricate details with the black nail polish in the middle. (With drying time in between coats as per a normal manicure) What I would like to share would be how to do up the details with easily available tools you have at home! For me, I work best with the tips of a hair pin. With a steady hand and patience, you can come up with a lot of designs ♥ The back of the hairpin is good for wavy designs, while the front tip is good for dotting - you can adjust the size of the dots by the application pressure. It's not the best tool around, but it's so inexpensive and you can experiment around without a cent! If you mess up, you can purchase one of those nail markers, which can last for pretty long. Other alternatives include a nail art dotter from a local art store or nail shops, or using a traditional pencil with a pushpin stuck onto the back eraser portion.

I have heard a lot of raving about using Scotch magic tape to do up clean neat lines (good for stripes) on nail designs so maybe I'll try that next time, ciao!