Water decals are probably one of the easiest ways to get a cute design without needing to be extra creative. For those that have never applied water decals here is a quick tutorial on how to apply them and a couple little things you may not find on the directions.
Materials
Base and top coat
Polish
Water Decals
Scissors
Tweezers
Cup or small bowl of water
After applying your base coat, apply your color polish and let dry. For this tutorial I used Nabi's Plum Wine, a very pretty bright metallic pink. The polish doesn't need to be completely dry (cured) but you do need to be able to touch it without leaving an impression.
Determine where you are going to apply your decal and cut the decal out to fit that area of the nail. I have very short nails and the way I want to apply the decal means that I have to cut part of the design off. If you are using a full nail decal just trim it to the size of your nail. If you are using a small accent decal just trim the extra paper to make it easier to work with.
Remove the plastic covering. Dip the decal in room temperature water (cold water does not work as well, room temperature or slightly warmer is better) for about 10 ‐20 seconds. I use a pair of tweezers to hold the decal because I found it a little easier plus it allowed me to submerge the decal without getting it stuck to my fingers.
Dip your finger in the water as well.
With your finger and decal moist lay the decal face down on the nail. Press slightly and slide the backing off the nail and decal. I found it was better to slide the backing then it was to lift it. If you lift the backing and the decal is not quit stuck it will peal the decal up. Sliding it just seemed to work better.
If you failed to trim your decal properly and it hangs off the nail use a pair of scissors or nail clippers to trim the edges.
Apply a top coat to seal the decal. This will help it stay on longer and keep it from pealing up.
Water decals are pretty easy to apply the only real problem that I had was get the placement exactly where I wanted it (in fact, on my left hand I placed the decal to close to the cuticle and on my right hand I placed it too far from the cuticle). There are so many different water decals out there and they are fairly inexpensive. I purchased these water decals I used in this tutorial from bornprettystore.com, these are item #6197 - T302 pattern. They have water decals starting at $0.88 and they have a massive selection. You can also find water decals in drugstores and department stores too.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on apply water decals. I'd love to see some of your water decal manis. See you next time.
Your Fellow Plebe,
