ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

DIY Nail Art Designs: What's Your Favorite Decal?

Updated on July 25, 2014
Source

An Astounding Variety

Nail art fanatics the world over are purchasing decals to use in their DIY nail art designs. If you're new to the idea nail art, you may wonder what decals are and how they are used, so let's explore some of the common types of decals and how to apply them.


Nail Stickers

Nail stickers are exactly as their names suggest. These are ordinary flat stickers that are usually self adhesive. They can be applied to the nail once a base coat of varnish has been applied, or can even be used on the natural nail itself. These stickers usually come in a variety of designs and colors and can add a unique touch to your manicure. There is something for everyone in most of the modern nail art sticker ranges. Some of these nail art stickers will have glitter details, and some include some very intricate designs that cannot be accomplished using hand painting or even stamping techniques.

3D Nail Art Decals

These decals can be considered the Rolls Royce of the nail-sticker world. These stickers are usually raised, and that's why they are often referred to as '3D' decals. If you're new to the use of nail art stickers, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer variety of designs available. Some 3D decals include rhinestones, or other metalic details to add that extra bit of 'glam' to your DIY nail art designs, while others are glow in the dark or holographic. Luckily these decals are just as easy to use as ordinary nail stickers, but they add an extra dimension to any nail art design you do at home. All that is needed to apply these decals is to remove them from the transparent backing and to press them onto the nail. They are also self adhesive, and offer mess and fuss-free application.

Water Transfer Stickers

These stickers work slightly differently to other self-adhesive decals, and may involve a bit more effort to apply. These nail art stickers also come in a sheet form, with a special backing. To remove the stickers, you would need to soak it in water so that it's released from the backing. The sticker itself is really thin, even more so than traditional stickers or decals, so a light touch and precision application is necessary.

Nail Polish Strips, Foils, and Tips

Nail art stickers and foils are all the rage now, and may cover either the entire nail or the nail tip. This is one of the easiest and quickest way to decorate your entire nail without the use of nail polishes or small decals, stickers and the like.

Nail polish strips cover the entire nail and are self adhesive, so they are easy to apply. They are usually chip resistant as well. Users have mentioned that certain brands of nail polish strips even smell like nail polish, and the variety of designs is growing with each passing day. Many mainstream nail product manufacturers now offer these stickers, and they are relatively easy to find in drugstores, supermarkets or online.

Nail foils also cover the entire nail, but the real difference between these and the stickers is that these are usually metallic in appearance. It's a really fast and effective way to get metallic nails without the use of nail polish.

Nail tips cover just the tip of the nail and give the appearance of really intricate and perfect French tips. If you lack the steady hand or patience, then this is a must-have nail art item. The stickers are chip resistant and are said to last quite long, so you should be able to get considerable wear out of a set of these.

An Easy DIY Nail Art Product

It's clear that these decals, stickers, and foils make it easy to have salon-gorgeous nails any day of the week. If you're just getting started with nail art and do not want to invest the time to learn various painting techniques and the like, then these ready-to-use products may be just the thing. It's instant, easy, and absolutely gorgeous.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)