Minx Nails

For about a year now, I’ve been having minx nails done on my toes (I hate feet, even my own, so have them manicured all year round too, not just in summer).  I don’t know if you’ve seen Minx, Katy Perry, Beyonce and a whole host of pop stars seem to favour them at the mo.  They can be patterned, pictures (Katy likes having piccies of her hubby on her fingers) or metallic or a combination.  They are stickers that are shaped to fit the nail, heated up with a heat lamp or a hairdryer and stuck onto the nail.  My favs are the leopard print ones that you can get in different colours.  Minx are fabulous because they come in a massive range of different patterns and colours, they don’t chip and they last until you peel them off.

Just a tiny selection of the designs available!

Anyway, I was having them done every 5/6 weeks at a local salon at a cost of £28 a pop.  The last time I had them done ‘professionally’ I thought, “I can do that better than her ... it can’t be that bloody hard ... it’s not brain surgery”.  After all, I don’t have ‘professional’ manicures cos I’ve never found anyone who can to a manicure as neatly as I can!  So, I thought, “Where could I get the stickers from?”  eBay’s always good for stuff like that, so I hopped on and low and behold, found loads and loads and loads of em ranging in price from £5-£12.

Now, bearing in mind that you can probably easily get at least 3 sets of toe nails done from one strip of stickers ... the savings are HUGE ... You do the maths!  So I thought I’d order one strip (of a design I’d not had before, a lovely abalone shell design) and thought I’d give it a go. 

It was easy peasy and a complete bargain for the princely sum of about £3!!

So, how do you do it?

1.   Choose your design (obviously!)

2.   Make sure your nails are trimmed, filed and clean – no grease and no varnish

3.   Peel off a sticker that roughly matches the size of the toe nail you want to start with (I recommend the big toe first as it isn’t as fiddly)

4.   Place it lightly on the nail and score around it with a hoof stick so you get the outline of the nail shape

5.   Peel off the sticker and trim it to size ... DON’T TRIM THE TOP ... just trim the bottom and sides

6.   Warm the sticker (for about 10 seconds) with a hairdryer set on medium

7.   Place the sticker on the nail, making sure that the bottom and sides are stuck down and then pull the top and trim it to size - use the hoof stick to makes sure that the sticker is well and truly stuck down!

8.   Then file any little bits at the top of the nail that are too small to cut. 


 

9.   Repeat with each of the other nails  ... Finally, hold the hairdryer over the toes for another 10 seconds or so and rub each nail to make sure it adhered properly and VOILA fantastic set of Minx at a fraction of the salon price!

It didn’t even take any practise ... it was so easy!  If you’re unsure of any of the steps I’ve done here, there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube!

If you want to remove them, use the hairdryer to heat them up slightly, then peel them off with tweezers. Word of warning though, I wouldn’t put them on my finger nails.  For one, when you peel them off, it can be a little harsh on the nail ... fine for toes, but I wouldn’t want to subject my finger nails to that stress ... plus they wouldn’t last as long on finger nails, as they’re in and out of water and subject to more stress than your toes are.

Next will be my holiday toes ... I always do the Gold Cheetah design for hols and every single time get lots and lots of compliments.  In fact, last time I was away, I caught a women taking a photo of my toes (yes, honestly) when she thought I wasn't looking, to show her daughter ... some people are weird!

So, go for it ladies ... it’s the Party Season after all, it won’t cost a lot and you’ll feel fab!

Until next time, lovely people, be fabulous!

Lots of Love

Jx