If you’re like me, fitting in a weekly or even bi-weekly manicure into your busy schedule and very tight budget is practically impossible. Added on top of that, your dexterity may not be up to surgeon-like stillness (you still can’t draw within the lines). Even with those nifty “nail art” pens, I fail hard at making anything other than a blob. Here are some great nail trends that I promise you can do and even better, you can do in your dorm room! I’ve ordered them by degree of difficulty, so may the odds be ever in your favor.
1. Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips: I have to say I was skeptical of these at first. My ego scoffed at their adorable designs and pushed them aside; this was a mistake. These are Sally Hansen’s gift to women who need or want a quick color on their nails. You go to the store, you pick out a color or pattern (love letter is my fave), you pick the best fit shape for your nail, and you literally peel them off and put them on your nails. DONE. If you want them to last for a while, you definitely want to put a topcoat on them. Now, the next time that cute boy asks you to his date party last minute you’re all set for nails!
2. REVLON THING: I saw this today in CVS while perusing the make-up section for products I don’t need (anybody else LOVE to do this?) and found this contraption by Revlon. The basic idea is that you paint your nails with one or two coats of the one color and then paint a coat of the sparkles on top. This effect can also be achieved if you have a sparkly nail polish in your dorm, but if you’re tight on space this doodad fits perfectly in your make-up holder! It comes in a variety of colors and sparkles so you can even mix and match them once you have a few.
3. Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish: This stuff actually boggles my mind. So here’s what happens: you paint your nails (and struggle hard core if you’re me) and then you wave the magnet attached to the bottle over your nails and the NAIL POLISH CHANGES. It makes patterns and shifts around until you’ve found the effect you like best! How cool is that, right? And all you had to do was paint your nails!
4. Tape Trick: My personal favorite. I discovered this cool trick last spring and successfully performed it for a formal event (it was a big moment). I blew my mom’s mind with this one. The trick is to paint your nails one coat of your base color and then once that has dried completely, cut pieces of tape in your desired shape. Tap the tape on your hands a few times since you don’t want it to be so sticky it rips off your base coat. Place the tape in your desired design and then paint over the tape. Once the second color coat has started to dry, but not completely, very slowly and carefully tear the tape off of your nails. If you fudge a few your first time, that’s ok! It takes a little practice to know exactly when you have to take off the tape. You can also use those little three hole punch savers for a different shape effect!
5. Ombre Nails: This trick gets a little more advanced depending on how you do it. If you happen to have four or five polishes in one color but different shades, you can do ombre nails across your hand. If you have three and you want to boast your awesome skills (*cough, SHOW OFF, cough*) then all you need is a sponge and your three colors. If it’s a big sponge, cut off one little square for this. Paint the three colors in the order you want them on a paper plate and dip the sponge. If you want a more solid look, try painting a base coat with one of the colors first, or just use the sponge. Add more or less depending on how heavy you want the color to be.
6. Make your own nail polish: You read that right! You advanced chicas that are sick of your polishes and sick of buying more; fret no more! Do you have one super cool eye shadow that you just never wear but always want to? Maybe electric blue? Perfect. Take that eye shadow, smash it up (sorry), and create a loose powder from it. Take a bottle of clear nail polish and add the powder to the bottle and SHAZAM. A brand new nail polish color for your painting pleasure.
Next time you feel the need to perk up your look or need a great way to procrastinate (oh no, my nails are wet I can’t write that essay….) come back to this list to try something new from the comfort of your dorm room!