With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, you may be planning ways to spoil your man. Amongst the gifts and treats for your significant other, it may be easy to forget about yourself. While you may be searching for the perfect dress to thrill your guy, you can’t forget about other important details. What’s he going to see when you hand him your thoughtful gifts? Your perfectly manicured nails, of course.
There is a reason that college kids have a reputation for being broke—it’s because it is true. Focusing on academics comes with a cost and there is less time to work. Manicures tend to be pricy and require free time that many don’t have. With nail art on the rise, it is almost impossible to ask a normal manicurist to replicate some of the newest trends. Looking for a cheaper way to impress everyone with your beautiful nails? I suggest taking a quick trip to your local craft store and get ready to get your nail art on.
Velvet nails are under appreciated when it comes to the nail art community. With some of the cheapest and quickest application processes, velvet nails provide a fun pop of color on any adventurous Fashionista. Flocking powder, found in any scrapbooking aisle of your local craft store, is an inexpensive way to have some fun with fuzzy textures. Costing about two dollars each for a bottle, it is less expensive than most nail art applications such as caviar beads or glitter.
I chose to create an ombré effect in preparation for Valentine’s Day during a study break. Follow these steps and you can recreate the same look for about ten dollars plus cost of nail polish, which either way, is way less than it would cost to have a manicure done, and more fun. For Valentine’s Day I recommend shades of purples and pinks, although the classic red is beyond fierce.
Here’s how to create the perfect Valentine’s Day mani:
1. Paint a base coat of varying shades of color. I chose purple to pink.
2. Add another coat of polish to only one nail.
3. Place the now wet nail in the matching flocking powder, gently rolling the nail side to side to create an even layer of powder on your nail’s surface.
4. Life the now covered nail out of the powder and blow off the extra flocking. Be careful!
5. Continue this process carefully with the rest of your nails.
6. Allow for 10 to 15 minutes of drying time.
7. Once dry, take a damp paintbrush and brush off the excess flocking that will surely stick to ones cuticles and surrounding skin.
Cost effective and playful, these flocking powder “velvet” nails are sure to impress any Fashionista and are a great conversation piece. Easy and time sensitive, flocking powder can become your best friend I can guarantee your man will surely love these as well!
Wishing all you ladies and gents out there a very lovely Valentine’s Day.
