The Gadgets Page

I saw this ad for Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens.

Nail polish pens have been around since the Eighties, but they have never caught on. They still sell the kind of nail polish pens that they made back then. They’re called Color Quick Nail Pens. They have a broader tip than the Nail Art Pens. My biggest problem was getting the polish to come out smoothly so that I wouldn’t get streak marks on my nail. Maybe Sally Hansen has solved that problem, but I just don’t think so.

I think the Nail Art Pens are flawed because it’s just REALLY hard to draw something on your own nails. Even this photo from the actual advertisement shows how awkward they would be to use on yourself.

See how you would have to hold the pen just to put something on your nails? I just can’t see these Nail Art Pens working very easily.

The best bet for interesting nail art are the Konad Stamping Nail Art sets. I have a nearly complete set and I just LOVE them. Instead of a stencil that is easy to screw up, these sets have metal plates.

I paint the design with whatever fingernail polish I want. Then, I use the scraper to scrape off any excess polish. I take the rubber stamper and lift the polish off the metal plate by pressing the stamper on it. Then I transfer the polish to the nail with the stamper. The toughest part is applying the clear nail polish over the top to set the image. Unless I’m careful, the image will smear. Here’s a video showing you how to use them:

I did a lacy pattern on my nails by using white and stamping several times with the same image.

It took me less than a minute to do each nail and it looks VERY professional. If you are tempted to do nail art, I’d skip the Sally Hansen pens and just buy all the metal image plates from Konad.

Update 07-01-12: It has been over three years since I bought the Konad set and I still love it. I just did a patriotic fingernail design and I have a tutorial on how to do it on my personal blog:

• Pick Me! Patriotic Fingernails

I can’t believe how well the plates have lasted these last three years and they work as well now as they did then. I’ve been REALLY happy with them!