Leaf Spring Nails

Back in March I posted on Pinterest a picture of my leaf spring nails, it got repined quite a bit so I decided to make a how-to on it. By now I’m sure more and more people are familiar with Konad‘s system. I for one, could not believe how fast I could get my nails looking like I just came from the salon. I used to decorate my nails by hand with a brush and paint, but since I discovered Konad that’s a thing of past. I’ve introduced it to a few friends including Megan, you can see her nail experiments here. Everyone I show this to ends up buying their own, it’s honestly really awesome!

You can really create anything you want, it’s fast and affordable. You can get a couple of plates and a stamping kit for the price of a manicure and they last the same amount of time. Over time, I’ve collected quite a few plates myself and they give me tons of possibilities (it’s quite addictive, especially if you like doing your nails). You can also stamp with any polish that’s thick and opaque, but if you’ve never used the system before I’d recommend buying one of their special stamping polishes. They have a thicker consistency and dry immediately.

For this look I used three different colours (and just so happened kinds) of polish. A dark green from China Glaze, a turquoise from Sally Hansen, and a mint green from Forever 21. I personally hate the Forever 21 brand, would never buy it again as it’s really thin and you need quite a few coats to get it opaque but it did the trick for this. You will also need plate m78 and a clear top coat. This pattern also works well with this because it’s made up of 3 rows. If you don’t have these brands or colours you can use anything you have, you can get creative with this and use any 3 shades you want. It’s also important to note that you do not need to be an expert for this. The beauty of using a pattern over top is that it hides any imperfections. If you don’t have a steady hand this look is perfect for you, you will see in the pictures below that the polish application is far from perfect.

Step one
Apply the lightest green shade, I applied two coats. Make sure that the first and second coat are completely dry before moving on with the other colours. This will prevent bubbles. I read somewhere that you know the polish is dry when you can no longer smell it.

Step two
Apply the medium green shade. Apply it about two thirds down your nail. Again, it doesn’t need to be perfect but do make sure that all your nails have roughly the same amount of the light green showing. Sally Hansen dries really fast, usually by the time I’m done the other hand the first is already “dry”.

Step three
Apply the darkest shade. I find that for the last colour it’s easier to apply it horizontally because there’s less area to cover, but see what works best for you. It’s very important that you now let your nails dry completely or you will smudge them when you apply the pattern.

Step four
Now this is the fun part. Once your nails are dry get a paper towel, a cotton ball and some nail polish remover. You need to be really fast doing this, it does take some practice and trial and error but don’t give up!

1. Get your plate, your scraper and your stamper close to you.
2. Apply the polish to a third of the design. Some people cover the whole thing but this is totally unnecessary and wasteful.
3. Quickly drag the scraper across the design, you will find that the excess will drag across covering the whole thing.
4. Now, quickly grab the stamper and press it. If you didn’t do it fast enough you’ll find that the stamper didn’t pick up the whole design. Some times you can’t really tell but if a chunk is missing you may want to repeat the last few steps.
5. Position your nail and guesstimate where it starts and finishes. I find it easier to stamp when your nails are facing you.
6. Press and roll once and in one direction.

If you did it correctly you’ll find the design transferred on to your nail. If you didn’t shake you’ll also find it’s nice and crisp. Don’t worry about the excess around your nail, you can clean this up later. Carefully peel off any extra polish hanging off your nail, you’ll see the pattern is completely dry to the touch. If you are cleaning up around the nail, do so now, then apply a coat of clear polish for some shine and protection.

And you’re done!