Forget what Pinterest and YouTube tutorials tried to convince you because, for many of us, doing nail-art at home is fucking hard. Personally, I can barely swipe on a singular shade of polish without getting it all over my cuticles, let alone free-hand any sort of nail-art design. And that's a big bummer when you get a big a kick out of having elaborate nails like I do. Don't get me wrong, I love a trip to the nail salon as much as the next person, but even one monthly manicure with the added cost of nail art can wreak havoc on my budget.
Buying nail-art tools to use at home never seemed viable, either. I always figured there was no use investing in dotting tools and all those brushes if I didn't have the skill level to use them successfully at home. So, at a nail-art impasse, I starting experimenting with simple looks that I could pull off with random stuff lying around my house. Beauty communities on the Internet have nail design using just about everything you can think of: floss, mascara wands, tape, plastic bags... the list goes on. If you've tried some of these so-called hacks, I don't even have to tell you that plenty of them are either hard to use or just a flat-out scam.
Still, there are a few key items that can get the job done without depleting my energy or paycheck. Even Gina Edwards and Miss Pop, both long-time nail artists whose work you've definitely seen in magazines and on runways, let their professional tools rest sometimes in favor of a DIY hack. In fact, Miss Pop even used a paper towel to create a textured look during the most recent Milan Fashion Week.
That said, whether you're learning the nail-art ropes or are a seasoned expert, you can reach for one of these common and affordable items for your next at-home manicure.