8 Cool Decals For the Lazy Nail Artist
We will gladly lose ourselves in an Instagram stream of nail art upon nail art, gazing in admiration of intricate masterpieces on a canvas the size of a fingernail. Attempting to recreate such nail art on yourself can at times lead to frustration, tears, and some serious self-reflection. Is nail art just not for me? Am I doomed to be excluded from having really unique awesome nails because I can’t steady my hands enough to paint a tiny flower? If you cry similar tears over nail art, you’re the reason nail decals were invented.
Not one to stop at just nail art, DIY Nails Nailcals are like temporary tattoos for your nails—and skin. You can apply them on your nail, on your whole hand, it’s up to you. We love the cool effect of having tattoos on our nailbeds, sans scary needles.
(DIY Nails Eye Spy Nail Decal Set, $10, Nasty Gal)
We trust Essie as your nail color go-to so we really weren’t surprised when they released these really pretty and simply sophisticated nail appliqués. You don’t have to fiddle with rhinestones and tweezers, since this gem pattern is built into this dazzling set.
(Essie Sleek Stick Stickers in ‘Over the Moon’, $9.99, Target)
MORE: Nail Art For Lazy Girls
Texture, finish, and color—all in this really cool 3D nail sticker from Formula X. It gives a subtle but unexpected cool factor to black polish, the best of which gives you even straight lines and no headache of having to free-hand them.
(Formula X ASAP 3D Nail Appliqués, $3, Sephora)
Remember when the chrome metallic nail look was in? No polish that we know of is able to achieve that mirror finish, so nail stickers are the way to go. A little hard to find these days, this look (with silver, gold, or rose gold) is still such a cool minimalist nail look and we’d like to keep it around for just a bit longer. Now we can.
(Jamberry Metallic Chrome Silver Nail Wrap, $15, Jamberry)
Who doesn’t love options? We can take this look full nail, or just decorate the tip with Kiss’ Nail Dress. You can change your mind a couple times too, since you get a generous 40 strips in this pack.
(Kiss Nail Dress, Full & French in ‘Bustle’, $5.99, Drugstore.com)
These Nail Wraps from NCLA will come to the great relief of anyone who’s attempted the water-marbling nail DIY of Pinterest’s past. Not only do these look like the real thing, you can just slick them on and be done with the whole ordeal. NCLA also makes a white, pink and turquoise variation of this design, so you can rock marble nails all summer.
(NCLA Designer Nail Wraps in ‘Ashford Black’, $16, Shopncla.com)
Snake skin doesn’t have to be so aggressive, especially with this earthy color scheme and metallic finish that looks a bit more abstract than straight-up snake. We’re seriously digging this stylish reptilian pattern.
(OPI Pure Lacquer Nail Apps in ‘Reptile’, $7.00, Amazon)
Two words: Mermaid nails. Sally Hansen’s nail polish strips are some of the best you can find in a drugstore—there’s dozens of designs and they really last for nearly two weeks. But even if they were of regrettable quality, we’d still sport these scale pattern nails because as we just said: MERMAID NAILS.
(Sally Hansen Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips, $11.95, Amazon)
