NAILS | Back to School Nail Art #ManiMonday

Last week's ManiMonday was seriously science-y and although I've maybe done one or two back to school themed nails before, this will be my first time doing them while NOT a student anymore! I was in university for two separate degrees from 2001-2011 and by the end of it I was done. I was exhausted from going to school full-time and working 40 hours a week and my then-boyfriend and I had decided that getting engaged was only going to happen once I graduated so I REALLY  wanted to be finished!

The Sally Hansen x Crayola collaboration has been one of my favourites to date and all I want to do is keep these polishes out forever because not only is the packing incredibly cute, the formulas are fantastic! Almost every single shade is a one-coater! This collection has reminded me of why Sally Hansen polishes were the first polishes I ever purchased because for the price, you get consistently good formulas and brushes that make nail polishing easy, fun and approachable. 

Multi-design nails can appear to be a lot of work because of the sheer number of nail polish bottles you have out, but in reality you're only using them once or twice or for little accents like stripes. Today's design is a mixture of inspiration from different nail artists with notable kudos to Fairly Charming.

I think the easiest way to do this is to list in point form how each nail was done and what was used. All polishes used are from the new Sally Hansen x Crayola Collection unless otherwise stated.

Apple Nail:

• Apply 2 coats of White*.
• Using Wild Strawberry*, draw two curved lines towards the centre of your nail, almost like a heart, to make your apple. Fill in the middle with remaining red polish.
• Draw a brown stem with acrylic paint or brown polish using a fine nail art brush. 
• Draw a tiny leaf with green acrylic paint or green polish. I am using Granny Smith Apple*.
• Seal in with top coat!

Chalkboard Nail:

• Apply 2 coats of Granny Smith Apple* and wait to dry. I don't think this green is quite dark enough for what I remember chalkboards to look like, but this was the closest I had without going into forest green.
• Use white acrylic paint to draw whatever you would like on your chalkboard! You can use white polish, but I guarantee you that it will be harder to write with.
• Seal in your design with a MATTE top coat to mimic a real chalkboard! 

Lined Paper Nail:

• Apply 2 coats of White*.
• Create your lines by using a striping brush to draw thin lines using Cerulean*.
• Using your striping brush, draw a red line to create your margin using Wild Strawberry* or red acrylic paint.
• Using black acrylic paint, draw letters, equations or whatever you loved in school on your "paper"!
• Seal in your design with top coat.

Pencil Nail:

• Apply 2 coats of Dandelion*.
• Draw small orange lines using Sunset Orange*.
• Use a silver polish, like Sally Hansen XTremeWear in Celeb City, to create your metal bit by applying polish on half of your nail.
• Use Carnation Pink* to create your eraser by applying polish to the tip of the nail.
• Seal in your design with top coat.

And there you have it! A cute nail design to get you through the first few weeks of school! A part of me misses the innocence and bright-eyed wonderment you feel in those first 4 years of university so enjoy it while you can because adulting is a whole other ballgame!

The Sally Hansen x Crayola Collection is available at drugstores now.