A is for Anchors

Forgetting fall all together, I want to think about warm weather, and what puts in the mindset of warmer weather than...anchors!

Here's a quick nail tutorial for anchors (which have nothing to do with fall).

What you will need:


(From left to right: blue & white nail polish, chains, rhinestones (of any color), and jewel picker)
Video tutorial

Step 1: Prep your nail, make sure it's clean and clear with no sticky residue or dirt. Use nail remover to ensure cleanness.

Step 2: Start with your base! Paint all of your nail blue (or any color- red is good alternative). If you want the reverse effect, not shown in the video you can paint one hand blue and the other two and alternate stripe color- as seen in step 3.

Step 3: Begin painting on white stripes, just 3 stripes only (or however many your nail can hold). One near the top and the last near the bottom-leaving about 1/2 inches of space in between. (Like the example).

Step 4: Add a thick top/clear coat! This will not only make your nails look shinier and flashier but also allows an easier solution for the rhinestones to stick onto.

Step 5: Next stick on the rhinestones (large). You can use any colors but it you will would like to achieve the marine effect that we're going for I would use red, blue (lighter hues), or white.

Step 6: While the top coat is still wet, wrap the chain around the rhinestones. This gives them that marine-gritty effect we've been trying to achieve.

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Step 7: For alternating fingers we want to achieve a plain yet simple beach-y look. We're going repeat steps 1-4, afterwords, we're going to add rhinestones instead of on each other side like step 5 were going to add them onto the side of our nail.

Step 8: Instead of adding more jewels and wrapping another chain, we're going to leave it as is, but feel free to continue with the video's instructions.

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Step 9: Now placing your nail upside down, repeat steps 1-4 once again and make a small circle near the bottom (really the top) of the nail. Make sure you cut your chains accordingly.

- Next, make a line going up, but at a slant.

- Following after, make a 'C' facing upwards or on it's side.

- Then, near the circle cut a small piece of chain and lay it across the line, carefully.

- Lastly, add rhinestone (3) onto the side of the nail near the top, under the anchor or 'C'.

Step 10: Add a top coat and you're done!

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What the heck is Japanese nail art?

Japanese nail art can essentially be summed up into one word- dramatic! The more dramatic the nail is the more vibrant and pretty is it compared to usual, plain and boring french manicure which is can be seen on any ID wearing student of your local high school.
But you're probably asking you're yourself what is Japanese nail art?

The first question can be answered simply with this:

Behold, the very essence of nail art, even though this is isn't as elaborate as one would think, this is a low-key/grade example of Japanese nail art.

And what is this wonderful creation?

- It started back probably in the early 90's when Japanese nail art began to take form in Japan, with it's main endorsements coming from celebrities (such as Koda Kumi and Ayumi Hamasaki- who are two popular 'nail queens' and musicians). Nail art has become a huge trend in Japan with over 2,000 shops specializing in this trade. There are about 40 nail shops nationwide that know how to do this type of nail work (most shops reside in California- where it is increasingly popular there).
This is a trend that is still growing strong.

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