What do I need to start doing nail art?

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sambrini

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Hi there, I'm actually writing this for my girlfriend because she's really interested in learning how to do some nail art, (you know like the little 3d flowers or even just the plain 2d flower drawings) however although i've found some websites showing step-by-step on doing various designs I have no idea of what I should get her, do you get nail varnish in different colours? do I get powder? brushes? pens?

Honestly I have NO IDEA what i'm looking for, i'm more of an I.T man myself :green:

If anyone could link me to a good starter kit + any good training dvds that'd be brilliant! I know she'd be really happy she had everything she needed to start first thing chistmas morning!

Thanks in advance
 
is she already qualified in nails cos if not the best thing you could get her would be a course i nail tech some even cover nail art on them. hth
 
aawww its really sweet that your looking for her ! aaawww!
but it really would help if she is a nail teach there are home learn courses for basic nail art around and next month (i think) there will be some more advanced ones but with out having an understanding of the workings of an acrylic system 3d will be very hard to learn ,
this said normal nail art such as hand painted , flicks dots ect can be grate fun and can be learnet along side natral nail care such as manicures,
 
I don't in anyway recommend this companie for there gel or acrylic classes because I find them quite out dated and other things!

! but there manicure / pedicure and nail art are quite good ,and your girlfriend will get a qualification with them as well as support over the phone . its a nice starting point into the world of nails.
i also think on Tuesday this week they are having some kind of 30% off EVERYTHING day this includes the courses,
http://www.essentialnails.com/pages/default.aspx

the only reason I'm suggesting them is i personally think it is a better option than just getting her a kit /book/DVD that she may not be ready for , 3d flowers and the like do take time to learn so one of these clases would be better than free falling,
sometimes its best to start at the ....start lol
 
Hey again, wow I guess me being a bloke I thought that this nail art bussiness didn't look too difficult if you've got a steady hand.......after just having a quick look at the above website course videos I can see how wrong I was! ummmmmmm okay well I think i'll have to look into one of the course's mentioned. My only concern is my girlfriend is rather shy and I think she just wanted to try a few ameteur designs out to see if it'd be something she'd like to follow up on, at least I can tell her all the useful information you gals have told me, Thankyou very much to all of you!

p.s Incase your wandering why i'm writing this at 4.20am, I'm trying to recover some 2,000 photo's/video (of when me and my partner first met, holidays, my partners pregnancy, and the birth of our 5month old baby boy) that have completly misappeared from my HDD........she's not gunna be a happy bunny in the morning...

Thanks again for the info
 
Hey Sam, hope you found your files :)

I can personally say that the Essential Nail courses that you have looked at are fab :) I have done the nail art course and your girlfriend doesn't need any skills in nail enhancement application to do that one. She would get all the things she needs for the designs in the course, the trainer hand with the full course, the DVD an d book to go with it showing the designs step by step, all her course materials and test papers etc to fill in and sen off with her completed designs and amazing telephone support too :)

She could even start the course Christmas morning as it is totally complete :D

Why not ring Essential Nails up and have a chat with them too - the girls are lovely and will be able to help you no end. They are not pushy and as there is no time limit as such to finish the course, your girlfriend could really take her time with it while she decides if nails are her thing ( least if it is you can get her another course when her birthday comes lol )

the new courses they are releasing are really more aimed at enhancements I think ( from what I have read ) but you could give your girlfriend all the info on them too - the lady who tutors the new courses is a multi award winning nail artist and her passion is sure to kick fire any nail art fan :D

Good luck xx
 
why thankyou brittone06 thats great to know, what course do you think I should get her? seeing as she likes the arty side of things, obviously without skipping the essentails

Thanks
 
£2XX for a nail art course ???? My lord what on earth do they teach you to do on this course ?
 
£2XX for a nail art course ???? My lord what on earth do they teach you to do on this course ?

It does seem like alot but there aren't really any other options, unless you wanna teach her? hahaha
 
lol ,,,,,, i think nail art is a personal thing really and i think if you gather all the bits n bobs you need you can pretty much learn as you go.

There are much cheaper alternatives whereby you can do a day nail art course at local academys. The online tutorials are great to follow or you could just buy a dvd/book to follow.

I stuggled with nail art as its not something i really like doing.....so i grabbed all the kit and practiced and practiced until i was somewhere near.

The clients are happy so i guess its not that bad lol

I think that cost is far too high for nail art x but each to their own, essential nails have great reviews and many nail techs have used them with great results x
 
You can buy striper nail polish which has a really thin brush, design for doing flicks etc.

LA Colors is a brand I own and I have 5 colours and they are helpful for doing the basic stuff.

Migi nail art pens are also worth looking at, because they have both the brush and a pen type end for dotting and drawing.

Is she looking to do this on herself or use it as a service to others?
 
Heck, if she is already a "artsy" type, just go to a Hobby/Craft store! A good selection of brushes (natural bristle) #2-4 Flat, shader, filbert, #0-2 Detail, Striper, Fan and a Dotting tool (could be called Marblizer, embossing tool) and a good selection of basic colors of water based acrylic craft paint and she will be set for all the basics in hand painting. You might want to pick up a booklet or two on the "one-stroke technique" or "Tole painting" that will give the basic strokes too. Once she gets the hang of these things, the whole world will open up for her and she will begin looking at everything like "Can I get that on a nail?" LOL!
Have fun!
 
If you go EN hun, just the nail art course. Yes, you probably could buy all the bits from a craft shop/Boots etc but owning the stuff and knowing the best way to use it to get the nicest and most striking designs are 2 different things IMO. This way, she gains a recognised qualification at the end of it - something to hang proudly on the wall regardless of whether she takes her nail interests further :)
 
Heck, if she is already a "artsy" type, just go to a Hobby/Craft store! A good selection of brushes (natural bristle) #2-4 Flat, shader, filbert, #0-2 Detail, Striper, Fan and a Dotting tool (could be called Marblizer, embossing tool) and a good selection of basic colors of water based acrylic craft paint and she will be set for all the basics in hand painting. You might want to pick up a booklet or two on the "one-stroke technique" or "Tole painting" that will give the basic strokes too. Once she gets the hang of these things, the whole world will open up for her and she will begin looking at everything like "Can I get that on a nail?" LOL!
Have fun!
ofcorse anyone can go ahed and buy from the art shop (i do for the most part)
but this way there is desighn ideas , suport over the phone, everything needed is in the box, the hand trainer will help to as its a pain trying to do new ideas on your self, and a quallification at the end to go with it all!

like i said its all 30% off tomoro,

and if she dose mani/pedi first she could have stunning nails to put the art on ;)
 
We have a fabulous range at reasonable prices, i recomend to start just the basic, stickers, gems, stencils and paints and a good brush set.

She will be happy this christmas thats for sure x
 

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