What Are Nail Art Stickers?
In addition to manicure, pedicure, bringing bling look to your nails, has become an enormous fashion industry today. Now nail art stickers is a new trend and it is popular worldwide. Everyone is looking for new stickers so that they can use it with their nail art.
So what are nail art stickers? Nail art stickers are stickers that you can add to your nails to enhance your nail art. These are cheap but beautiful and it is available worldwide. There are various kinds of stickers in the market you can choose your style depending upon the outfit that you are going to wear.
Little Bit About Nail Art
Nails have been taken care of during various early civilizations. Cleaning, clipping, and shaping. Dyeing of nails by males and females indicated certain celebrations and occasions. Growing your nails was once a fashion. Nail polish got invented only in 1907. Then onward, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds.
During more than a century, various types and forms of nail polish and shades got introduced. Gloss, matte, metallic, transparent, and translucent varieties have a wide range of color shades available in the market today.
Quality of these polish and shades improved over the years, and by 2012, nail art form first surfaced. Very soon, this movement has taken the fashion market by storm.
Nail Art Stickers
Nail art ideas are innumerable, from simple design transfer to polka and checkered look, to bling rhinestone 3D sparkle. Some of these are pretty meticulous and very expensive.
Hence, alongside the nail-art trends, nail art stickers got invented. They come in various forms – nail wraps, decals, nail art transfers, or just nail art stickers. They are easy to use, and your nail gets beautified in a flash!
Difference Between Nail Wraps And Nail Stickers
Nail wraps cover the entire nail and do not require any base polish or coat. However, nail stickers require a base shade, and also a topcoat. Only the design film or decal gets transferred to your nail.
Steps Required For Nail Sticker Application
Let’s look at some process that needs to get followed for nail sticker applications.
Your nails must be dry and clean. The nail polish applied as a base coat should be devoid of moisture. If you are using gel, or shellac polish, ensure that they get cured with a UV lamp before you decide to fix the nail stickers.
Do not handle the stickers with your hand, since this will hamper the adhesiveness. Always use a pair of tweezers to lift the identified nail sticker from its backing sheet.
Place the sticker gently on your nail with your tweezer, and let go only when you are happy with the placement. Gently press down the sticker with a silicon pointer, starting from the center and moving on all sides. No air bubbles should be there underneath the film surface.
Depending upon the area of application of sticker, trim the sides to follow the shape of your nail. If you place the sticker towards the bottom of your nail, the curve of the nail bed must get clipped. Do this trimming, while holding the decal with your tweezers. Use a sharp pair of scissors or cuticle nippers.
Always apply a two-layer of transparent topcoat on the entire nail, along with the sticker. This is very important to protect your nail-art from getting damaged. If you are using gel topcoat, cure the same with an LED lamp.
If the nail sticker does not require a base color, then apply a transparent base coat. Always apply a coat of polish and then affix the sticker. Since nail and the skin around it secrete body oil, this inhibits the sticker from getting fixed well, if done directly.
Let’s look at some nail art sticker options. Some of these stickers give you an excellent solution, which even best of nail salons and spas, would find difficult to create.
All these, at fractional cost! Nail art with stickers can get done on your own. In case you are not confident using the non-dominant hand, you may need to get external assistance to complete your assignment. The application of these stickers may be different from each other.
Plain Stickers With Adhesive
These are the most common and are available in multiple options. You have motifs, flowers, dolphins, flags, and lots of other designs. You need just to remove the stickers from its gummed backing using tweezers and place them on the pre-determined place on your nail.
Depending upon the sticker design, your base polish color and type must get decided. Use a silicone stick to fix the sticker to the nail evenly, and apply a topcoat to safeguard the manicure.
3D Nail Stickers
You get multiple sets of designs and are similar to the above stickers. You can pick up the chosen design using your tweezers and place them on your nail for completing the nail art process.
Floral designs are some unique 3D options available in these types of stickers.
Fimo Nail Stickers
Made from polymer clay, these type of nail stickers comes in sticks or pre-cut shapes. You need to clip them to the sizes required for your nail-art. You can store the cut designs in wheel-shaped see-through containers. Pick up the required piece and attach them to your nail surface with the help of nail glue.
If you have used gel-based polish, you can press these cute designs to your nail surface and then cure using a UV lamp. Apply a layer or two of topcoat to protect your design.
Lace Nail Stickers
Lace nail art stickers are similar to the earlier type. Clip the portion required for your nail art, remove from the gummed backing paper, and place it on your nail using tweezers. You can use more than one design on your nail, depending upon your perceived outcome.
Acrylic Stickers
Very similar to fimo and metallic nail art stickers. These types of stickers get made from acrylic and come in various cute shapes. You can attach them to your nail using the same process as others of the same type. You also store them in transparent wheel containers, so that you can pick up those which will add value to your manicure.
3D Silica Gel Stickers
Made from silica, these types of 3D gel stickers are soft and spongy. They get fixed to your nails using clear polish or nail glue. Topcoat cover and curing is essential to save lock your nail art, and protect them from damage for a few weeks.
Metal Art Stickers
These stickers get made from metals, and you can store them in wheel containers. You can stick them to your nail surface with glue, and the process is similar to Fimo nail stickers.
Gel-Filled Full Stickers
These are similar to above full stickers, except that there is a layer of gel, giving you a protruded look between two films. Some delightful motifs and designs look good in these types of stickers. They get stuck to your nails, similar to full stickers.
Full Nail Stickers
These nail stickers cover your nails entirely. You will not require base colored polish; you would need a natural bottom coat so that these stickers evenly stick to your nail surface. Before removing from its backing, ensure that you cut the sticker design as per your nail shape.
Remove the film off the gummed surface with another tweezer. Place the sticker delicately on your nail surface. Align properly before you press from the center to the sides, using a silicon stick. Ensure no air bubbles are there under the sticker. Complete the manicure with a layer of topcoat to fix the sticker well to your nails.
French Tip Stickers
French tip guides and stickers get meant to beautify your nail tips with different shades or designs. Both these are stickers with glue on the underside.
Various types of French tip stickers gets attached to the tip of your nails, which complements the rest of your nail shades. The guide stickers help you to polish the exposed nail tip before you peel away the guide.
Full Nail Art Polish Stickers
These full nail stickers come in various shades and hues of nail polishes. You also have gradient designs on these stickers. They can be peeled and glued to your fingernail.
Modern Ultra-Thin Stickers
This thin-film, gummed stickers are easy to use. The sleek designs can either get placed on top of pastel-shaded nail polish or nude.
Shiny Nail Art Stickers
Glitter polish paint designs get found in these stickers and can be peeled and stuck like the other stickers.
Water Transfer Nail Stickers
Wet these stickers in water with a tweezer. Place them on your polished nail upside down. Lightly press the design area onto the nail surface for the transfer to take place. Slide away the backing film, and then complete the protective covering process.
Decals
These thin film of polish with the required design can either be made by you or available off the shelf. Place them over polished gel nail, or gel topcoat to cure. A final coat will help you to protect the design.
Types Of Nail Polish
In order to apply nail art stickers correctly you need to know few things about nail art and nail polish. Without this the application of nail art stickers won’t be complete.
Lets look at the different kinds of polish, and their application in the nail portfolio. Cleaning around the nail, edges, and cuticles, buffing the rim of nails, moisturizing the nails, fingers, and hand, are the essential requirement in the manicuring process. Some types of nail polishes are as follows:
Base-Coat
This got used as the first cover to your nails. These are mostly transparent or opaque skin color. The coat provides hardness to the nails, covers the ridges, and provides a perfect base for further coatings.
Top-Coat
After each step in your nail art process, you need to protect the layer below through this topcoat layer. This polish is generally transparent so that the below layers are visible. This coat is finally used on the very top after your entire manicuring process gets completed.
Gel Polish
You apply gel polish for its luster and sheen. They also last longer, compared to regular polish, without peeling and chipping. They get used just as you do with traditional polish and have to get cured with UV or LED lamp.
Matte Polish
This polish type will give your nails a dull look compared to the shiny brilliance of others. This gets typically used in combination with bright polishes, in nail-art, and other manicuring activities.
Nail Care Kit
As a keen enthusiast of nail art activities, you will need to keep the following in your manicure kit. They come in handy during your nail art process, and during the period, your nails require some respite.
Matte Topcoat
This gives your nail art a very modern look. The non-glossy, fresh outlook, brings out the essence of the detailed artwork.
Nail Polish Correcting Pen
The correcting pen has a fine tip, which helps clean around the edges of your nail, and adjoining skin. When you have completed your nail art activity, this pen gets dipped in acetone, and precise cleaning gets undertaken.
Glitter Nail Polish Remover
If you are used to glittering nail polish, you need to invest in remover pads. These help in the complete removal of glitter remnants from the ridges and edges of your nail before you embark with your new nail art activity.
Nail Repair Formula
Constantly your nails are getting bombarded with polish coatings, gel and glitter shades, UV lamp curing, and glue to fix the attachments. Acetone is getting used profusely to remove all these layers and stains. The nail cover and the surrounding skin gets de-hydrated, and there are constant wear and tear.
During the break, when you are not planning to apply anything to your nails, it is prudent to treat them with repair formulas. This helps rejuvenate your nails, bring back moisture, and add life to your precious nails.
Transfer Foils
Apply a coat of base polish, and cover with a layer of topcoat. Press designed foil paper against the area where you wish to transfer the design. Quickly remove the thin film, so that the design gets affixed to your polished nail, giving you a fresh look.
Nail Pen
This helps in making small and large dot designs on your nail. It is an excellent tool for those touch-ups before you cover your design with a transparent topcoat and cure it.
Stripper Brush
The thin pointed brush helps you with making lines and for various touch-ups during your nail-art process. Clean the brush properly with acetone after every use, so that you get to deliver perfect lines, all the time.
Glitter
Always keep some containers of loose glitter, during your manicuring process. After applying your base coat, before the same dries, sprinkle some glitter to the nail surface. When the base coat dries along with the glitter, apply a topcoat layer to seal the design. You could also use the glitter fragments to the tips of all your nails for a unique look.
Studs
You can store some stones, flat-based crystals, rhinestones, dome-shaped pearls, and other metal fragments, to give your nails a 3D look.
Nail Stickers And Wraps
If you wish to find an easy way out of your nail-art activity, keep some pre-designed nail stickers and wraps in the kit. You need just to remove the thin film, to get the design, attached to the nail surface.
UV Or LED Lamp
Most gel polishes require an LED lamp to get cured or harden. It’s an excellent investment to keep a quality lamp for use.
Must-Have Shades
You must always keep in your nail kit, good quality nail polishes of the following colors: black, white, pink, and red. These get used in some form or other in your nail-art designs.
Nude Polish
Must have polish in your manicure kit. Very useful to apply during your formal professional activities. Also, make your nails look longer, since the polish blends with your skin color.
Metallic Polish
Gold, rose gold, silver, purple, and blue are some metallic polishes that go well with most dresses. If you do not have time to get a nail-art done, just applying one of these polishes adds glam to your overall look.
Pastel Polish
These light and airy shades are similar to nude polish. Just a hint of color gives you an aristocratic look, with the right type of other accessories.
Glitter Polish
This is the easiest to apply and at the same time, gives you a complete look. Apply the polish across all your nails, or just to the nail tips, for an ombre look.
Jewel Tone Polish
If you wish to match your jewelry with the nail polish, keep some shades of this polish handy in your kit.
Vibrant Shades
Make your nail-art standout and use vibrant colors like teal, fuchsia, pink, yellow, and orange.
Conclusion
Nail art stickers are a quick-fix solution to a problematic manicure and nail-art process. You can implement the process quite easily on your own, in the comfort of your home. Innumerable types and designs are available for you to choose from. You can either chose full nail stickers or placed them over your polished nails.
The design outcome depends upon the choice of your nail stickers and the application process. Always apply a base coating on your nail to protect their surface. This creates an even base for the decal to get fixed.
Once you have completed your required design, cover the entire design using a topcoat polish, and dry thoroughly. Shape and remove all sticker coating around your nail tip and at the edges. Use acetone to remove the sticker, along with the polish surfaces. If you have used nail glue, soak the decal with nail polish remover, using a swab.