6 tips to improve your nail art skills

You all keep asking me for THE secret to nail art... That is the hardest question I get, you know! But, I've typed out some tips for you to play around with, at your own pace. It's all the things I did to get here, so click to see more!

Make time for your nail art! You need plenty of time to lay down a base color, let that dry properly, and still have time left to paint, or stamp, or whatever you're planning to do. Make sure the cat is fed, the dog has been walked and the kids are sleeping over at a friend's house. If you have a hard time getting a couple of hours straight all to yourself, then do what I used to do: break it up into pieces. Do the base color today, paint the background tomorrow, and take another day to paint the rest!

With time I also mean: don't expect masterful skills in just a short time. A lot of the nail art game is, and you'll hate me for this... practice, practice, practice! There's no quick fix for learning 'the' secret to nail art. There is no secret. You just have to DO and you'll pick it up along the way, you'll see yourself get better as you go!

Don't compare yourself to others. They are not you. They might have more time, or a background in art, or have had more practice. Looking at others to see what they do well and how you'd like your art to look is great! But don't put yourself down because their nail art might look 'better' because there's no such thing. Just different! And we're all our own worst critics!

Perfection is not what we're going for here. Okay maybe it is, but keep both feet on the ground, be realistic and expect less than perfection. First of all, there's no such thing. You'll zoom in on your photo and it will look like a 2 year old painted it, because really, your eyes can't see that tiny. It's literally the size of a fingernail. If it looks good from a distance, roll with it! Look at this cabin, you probably thought it looked pretty good, right? Then you look up close and the windows are just all kinds of messed up, and there's some gunk on the porch right in front of the right window where my brush apparently slipped and I just never noticed XD I wouldn't want to live there!

Secondly, do you really want it to be perfect? That would mean your journey is over and come ooooon, getting there is all the fun! I had a teacher who said that if he ever designed the perfect logo, he'd quit and open up a bicyle repair shop. Because what would be the fun then?

Let go of rules! Do whatever you want to regardless of practicality or public opinion. Maybe if you want to actually wear your art for a few days, don't do the crazy things I do. Make sure you won't hurt yourself while wearing it. But heck, some of the craziest ideas in the (nail) world have led to advancement! And if you enjoy it, then forget about the rest of the world and GO FOR IT!

Trends are fun but also optional. If something doesn't feel like your 'thing', then maybe it isn't. Water marbling: not my thing, I need to feel more in control :-p Trying new things is great but we can't like everything. Most of all, be yourself!

Try everything! The thing I hear most is that freehand is SO hard. It's really not. All you need is a brush and some polish or acrylic paint! None of that needs to be expensive, and it'll last you a lifetime. Ohhh and freehand is soooo addictive, think about being able to paint anything you can come up with! And then people notice your nails and you get to tell them you painted it yourself!!

If you've already found your love for freehand nail art, then take it a step further. Try designs that are above your skill level. You'll see that you can do a lot more than you think! And if it fails, whatever. Not everything turns out perfect. But if you succeed, it'll add a boatload of confidence to your nail game!

All in all, the motto is: practice. I know it sucks but it's the best way! If you keep striving to be better, without noticing, you will get better :)