Cool nails aren’t only for special occasions! Here are some awesome ideas for painting your nails that only take about ten minutes! Don’t spend money getting your nails done; do your own nails fast and easy with these tips! There is also a piece written by pro nail designer and seventh grader, Shelly Etienne.

1. Nude tips:
   1. Paint your nails nude and instead of using white for your tips, use a bold color like purple or blue.
2. Taupe is in!
   1. Beige and grey are hot colors when used together!
   2. To get this style, go out and buy a nail color with “taupe” in the color title.
3. Accent nails:
   1. Paint all of your nails one color except for 1 on each hand (make sure it is the same finger).
   2. Then paint the last nail a different color.
   3. Use sparkle nail polish to really make an impression!
4. Tie-dye nails:
   1. Drop a few different colors on your nails and then mix them together with a toothpick.
5. Be creative!
   1. Try to mix colors; make your own designs and be free!

Feature on Shelly Etienne:

I think it’s really fun painting my nails. I like putting designs on them, and I like how much concentration is needed to do so. But I can’t do it all without the help of my dotting tools, stripers and various paint brushes. Dotting tools come in many different sizes, and they make it a lot easier to make little dots on your nails. Striper nail polish is just like normal nail polish. The only difference is that the brush is very fine, thus making it easier to make both thin and thick lines. If you can’t find any stripers, it’s good to have a few fine tipped paintbrushes handy. Depending on the size of the brush, they’re sometimes even better to use than stripers! Just make sure you clean them off with an acetone based nail polish remover afterwards. These all help me with my designs. At first it’s a bit hard to get designs to look the way you want them to, but with a bit of practice, it becomes second nature.

Tip: When you paint your less dominant hand, try keeping the hand holding the brush still and moving the other hand instead.

Tip: If you end up getting nail polish on your hands, use a Q-tip dipped in some nail polish remover to fix it.

Tip: If more than half of your nail gets smudged, redo the entire nail.

Tip: If you notice that your nail polish is staining your nails, try using a base coat.

Tip: Be patient!