I had to run to the store today while my boyfriend was sleeping (we works nights) so I had a little time to poke around in the makeup section.  I feel like my nails are getting to a length where it would be fun to try decals of some sort, but I was expecting lots of little strips and hearts.  Then I saw this!  These appeal to the geek in me so much, I just had to try them.  Also, the name Heart 2 Art is perfect for this blog.  This pack is called Comic Nation.  Lots of onomatopoeia going on here.  I will say that you absolutely MUST have a bright white nail polish for this.  They are transparent gels just exactly like the tattoos you used to get from a coin machine as a kid.  Since I’ve got a colorful lineup of clothes for work this week, I went with the design at the bottom.  It reminds me more of a ransom note than a comic book, but I felt like it would be the most forgiving of screw-ups.

So the first thing I did was get my shapes cut out, because I’m super impatient and didn’t think I could wait for the white polish to dry to start fitting these to my nails.  I have about 4-5 mm of white showing at the end of each nail, but because my nails are positioned so far back, they are just barely getting to the end of my finger, and as you can see from my cutouts, the nail itself is still very small.  This has been the product of a full month of growth.  I did one hand at a time, which worked out, because I used the paper backing as guides for the nails on the other hand (and the second set actually turned out better).  After your nails are dry and your cutouts are ready, have a small dish of water on-hand.  Peel the plastic off the cutout, hold the cutout gently from the sides so that the nail tip points toward your working hand (decal side down).  Dip quickly in the water then apply to the corresponding nail.  I start at the base, press on, and work the edges down.  At this point, the paper should slide free on its own.  You can cut these larger and file down excess later, so if there’s some overlap, just continue with the other nails.  When they’re done, clear the excess and apply a clear coat to seal it down.

This is my first attempt at decals and I didn’t quite have them all centered, but I think they still turned out okay.  Forgive my ragged cuticles.  I’m trying to remind myself to moisturize often, but it’s just never been a part of my life before.  I would say that these are very easy to use, there’s only a small learning curve involved in getting them centered.  They stick very quickly.  Would I recommend this product? Absolutely!  Would I use it again? I’ve got enough here to do 13 full sets and 2 mix-n-match, so I’m probably good for a while, but I will use this again.