The Nail Bitch: nailart tutorial

Letters on nails can be achieved with three ways: Free hand, stamping, and with the newspaper technique. The last technique is by far the easiest, although it has its limitations, as the colour of the letters is fixed, and it can only be used on light-coloured nails

What you need

A light polish (in this case I use Moyou London's White Knight)
A newspaper (the worst quality the better. If it leaves smudges on your hands when you hold it, it's excellent. No glossy "magazine" paper)
Scissors
A shot glass
Rubbing alcohol
A top coat. (Use the one you would use for stamping, so it doesn't mess the letters. Here I use Moyou London's Topcoat)

A fun idea is to have newspapers with different kinds of alphabet. I have an English, a Greek, an Arabian and a Russian newspaper. A fun souvenir to bring from your travels, but you can also buy some from the airport.

My newspapers

You start by cutting little pieces of the newspaper. Make sure the pieces contain letters and keep in mind the alignment of the fonts. Remember that the letters will print mirror-wise.
Prep and paint your nails in a light colour.

When you're sure your nails are absolutely dry, fill the shot-glass with alcohol, place the nail inside and count to ten. There are two schools of thought (how scholarly!) on whether one should apply top coat before, to make sure the nail is dry. I find that it prints better if there is no top coat. However, if your base is an intricate design you spend a lot of time doing, go ahead and protect it with a top coat. You can also use acetone instead of alcohol, but you risk destroying the base colour.

With the nail still wet from the alcohol, press the newspaper on and count to three. Make sure you keep the alignment of the letters in mind and press firmly all over the nail.

When removing the newspaper, be careful, as some paper may still be on the nail. Inspect your result. If you're not fully satisfied, you have a thin margin of time to remove the letters with alcohol and start over, Worst case you have to redo the base.

Seal with top coat and you're good to go!

Letters on nails can be achieved with three ways: Free hand, stamping, and with the newspaper technique. The last technique is b...

The Newspaper Technique

The Newspaper Technique