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I enjoy the occasional trip to the nail salon to get my nails professionally done. However, there are two factors that prevent me from wanting to visit a salon more than just a few special occasions.
The first is time. Time is already stressed enough. As a Mom, that also homeschools, the only time I get any time to myself is at night after the children have gone to bed which isn’t when the nail salon is open.
The other factor of why I don’t visit a nail salon very often is because of money. Regular visits to a nail salon can add up quickly and put a strain on your wallet.
I’m a huge fan of DIY projects and firmly believe that one can teach themselves how to do anything they put their mind to. So today I am going to share with you how I get the look of an acrylic nail manicure at home without a trip to the salon using products that you can easily find in most drugstores.
How To Create an Acrylic Nail Manicure at Home
- Kiss 100 Full Cover Nails – Short Square
- Kiss Powerflex Max Speed Nail Glue
- Wet N Wild 1 Step Wonder Gel nail color- 728A Lavender Out Loud
- Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat
- Fine Craft Glitter– Hard Candy Poppin Pigments in City Chic
First, start by prepping your nails. Remove any old polish. Make sure your hands and nails are thoroughly washed and dried completely. Push back your cuticles and trim nail length so that they are all even.
After nails are prepped for a fresh manicure it’s time to pick out our nails. I found the Kiss 100 Full-Cover Nail kit at my local CVS pharmacy. CVS is one of my favorite places to purchase beauty products. The Beauty Club is great as it gives you $5 Extra Care Bucks back for every $50 spent. That’s a new nail color!
The 100 full-cover nails come in various sizes. Go through each sized nail and match to each of your natural nails. If need be trim or shape with a nail file until you get your desired look. Lay each chosen artificial nail in order on the table in front of you as this will make the process of glueing the artificial nails to your real nails a lot easier later.
Once all of your artificial nails have been chosen it is time to glue the nails to your natural nail. The nail glue that was in my Kiss 100 Full Cover Nails kit was dried up when I purchased it so I purchased some additional nail glue also by Kiss. I glued each artificial nail to my natural nail using the Kiss Powerflex Max Speed Nail Glue by first applying the glue to my natural nail and then applying the artificial nail. I started with the pinky of my left hand and applied each artificial nail and pressing into place for at least 1 minute before moving on to the same finger on the opposite hand. Repeat these steps alternating hands until all of your nails have been applied.
Does nail glue work?
I was impressed with the staying power of the Nail Glue. There were no problem with nails popping off using this glue even after doing dishes, cooking, typing, and showering. I think the key is to make sure you press the artificial nail onto your natural nail and hold it for at least one minute to allow the glue to set properly before moving on.
After applying the artificial nails it is now time to determine what type of manicure you want for that week. I’m love with Lavender and Lilac colors recently. So, I wanted a manicure and pedicure this week that would reflect that. I opted to paint my “new” nails with Wet N Wild 1 Step Wonder Gel in 728A Lavender Out Loud. Wet N Wild’s 1 Step Wonder Gel Nail colors are great. They have great lasting power and one can easily find a favorite color with the available color selection. I applied two coats of the Wet N Wild 1 Step Wonder Gel to each nail and allowed to dry completely between coats. Then, I added shine to get that acrylic look to my new nails. I used the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat to seal in the color and add shine to my manicure.
Applying Glitter to Your Accent Nail
Of course, like most of my manicures I opted for an accent nail. I had these poppin pigments from Hard Candy in my makeup drawer that I wanted to use up. The Poppin Pigments are essentially just very fine craft glitter. If you are unable to find the Hard Candy version just use any fine craft glitter from the craft store.
To apply the glitter to my accent nail, I first applied one coat of my nail color. After that dried, I then applied one coat of the clear top coat. While the top coat is wet, dip the nail into the glitter, making sure to coat the nail. Use your finger on the opposite hand to push the glitter down onto the nail as evenly as possible. Allow the top coat and glitter layer to dry completely before sealing with another coat of the clear top coat.
The best part about this acrylic nail manicure at home is the lasting power. This manicure can last up to a week* and the use of the artificial nails helps to keep that manicure chip resistant longer. I am already 4 days into my manicure and I haven’t seen a chip in the color or a nail pop off yet. It makes me so happy to see how this week’s manicure has turned out. I love the way that my nails look and I love knowing that I was able to create this look on my own. In the time it took me to watch a movie on a Saturday night I had a beautiful manicure and pedicure that is a fraction of what it would have cost had I gone to a salon.
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