An Islanders Beauty: Nail Transfers

Nail Transfers

Regular visitors to my blog will know that I love my nail brands and everything to do with them; I never wear false nails as I feel they can cause a lot of damage to your natural nail for a short term gain so I tend to avoid at all costs. Having natural nails doesn’t mean that you have to have boring nails either I love changing my nails regularly from neutrals to bright and darks; never be afraid of trying new colours or unusual colours as it is so easily removed you don’t have to worry if you don’t like it. This post is all about nail transfers and how to do it with lots of pictures to help you along the way.

Firstly you need to have painted your nails, I chose Essie Urban Jungle (review here) as it works as a great neutral to show off the floral nail transfers at their best.

Step One – Prep work

Make sure you have everything you need ready to go and within grabbing reach as the whole process happens really quick.

You will need

Transfer Pack (I picked mine up from eBay for pence)
Scissors
Tweezers
A bowl of water
Top coat
Tissue (you may not need this)

Step 2 – Choosing your transfers

In a pack of Nail Transfers you will have multiple images around a similar theme for you to choose between. Mine are all floral so I chose a larger double rose and a smaller individual rose to create a full nail look. Once you have chosen your transfers simply cut around that design; it doesn’t need to be neat or precise as the backing comes away.

Step 3 – Removing the backing

Using your tweezers carefully hold your transfer in water (warm water if it’s in the winter) for 10-15 seconds until you can slip the transfer away from the backing. I check every few seconds by removing from the water and gently dragging the design off the backing. Be careful with this step as if the transfer folds in on itself you can’t save it and will need to go back to step 2.

Step 3 – Positioning

I do this step very quickly as to reduce the chance of the transfer folding in on itself, once your backing is removed and you are left with the clear backed design move straight on to your nail; you should be able to move the design around due to the water from removing the backing I try to slide across my nail rather than lifting once again to reduce the risk of damaging the transfer. Once you have positioned your transfer either carry on to step 4 or as I did repeat with the second transfer.

Step 4 – Sealing the Image

This is the most important step as if you do not apply your top coat the transfer will just slip off. If you still have any moisture from the transfer left from removing the backing use some tissue to carefully dab away the liquid. Carefully apply your top coat try not to move the transfers around as you will really struggle to reposition them after this point.

In this particular set I only used the transfers on my ring fingers and simply added a singular crystal on all my other nails; making my roses more prominent and special. This look reminds me of an English summer with full roses everywhere, it would make a great wedding look but I like mine for an every day look.