Multi Coloured Dotty Mani (with a How To)

I had to nubbinise my nails yet again last week. They were splitting because I wasn't giving them time off at all and the base coat I was using was not so great. I've switched to BYS's base coat which is fantastic and surprisingly cheap at $5. BYS's polishes are generally great value. You can get all sorts of special effects like crackle, scented, colour change, holo glitters, neons, UV glows and jellies all for $5 each and their range of plain colours makes me vibrate with glee.

It's hard to do a mani that makes nubbins look good so I went with one of my favourite looks, POLKA DOTS. I have a serious affection for the spots. I prefer to make them myself rather than stamp because I just can't find a good white for stamping. I think I'm going to have to cave in and pay a small fortune for a genuine Konad stamping polishes in white, black, gold and silver.

A mani that takes this amount of time requires sound prep for longevity. There's nothing more annoying than taking an hour to pretty up your nails only to wake up the next day to chips or having it look a mess because of sloppy edges. Good prep really only takes a couple of minutes plus drying time.

Nail Prep 101 (The less mess method)

1. Rub all around your nails with cuticle oil or petroleum jelly. This step makes polish overspill really easy to clean off.
2. Swab each nail with nail polish remover. I prefer acetone free for this step. Do not use one that claims to add oils or vitamins or any other extra fruit salad. The point of this step is to remove any surface oils and overspill from the goop you just wiped around your nails. Wait a couple of minutes after this step to make sure all of the remover has dried off your nails.
3. Apply Base coat and let it dry thoroughly. Properly dry base coat makes the coloured polish adhere to your nails a little better.

Dotty Mani Step by Step

1. Gather your tools. Bundle Monster Plate #14, assorted nail polishes in colours you adore, a dotting tool, your stamping tools, top coat, base coat and white stamping polish for the dots.
2. Paint each nail a different colour. Two coats as needed, letting it dry completely between coats.
3. Put a generous drop of white stamping polish on the corner of your stamping plate holder. Dip the dotting tool into the polish and put three dots at the base of the nail replenishing the paint between dots. Offset the second row between the first and the third row between the second. Let the dots dry before doing the dots on the other hand. I always do my dominant hand first. I smudge less nails that way.
4. Rose print nail- follow your normal stamping procedure using the rose stamp. Stamp in random places all over your chosen rose nail. Let dry then do the other hand.
5. Rose with leaves- Thumb. Still using the rose stamp place a rose a little off centre on your thumb nail. Put a dollop of green polish on your plate holder dip the dotting tool in, dot your nail then drag slightly to create a leaf shape. Place the leaves around the rose. Let dry before doing the other hand.
6. Two colour cup cake. Using the cup cake stamp on BM#14 plate put a small dollop of brownish polish on the bottom of the cup cake and a dollop of your chosen frosting colour on the top. When dragging the scraper across the design be very careful to go horizontally across the cup cake so as not to mix the colours. Stamp in the usual way.
7. When everything is dry apply top coat, clean up your edges by wiping off the petroleum jelly and admire your handiwork.

To keep the mani looking fresh apply a thin layer of top coat once a day. This should get you almost a week out of your MANI. Don't forget to wrap the nail each time. Wrapping is when you drag the brush across the top of the nail while trying not to paint the top of your finger. It's the key to stopping chipping.