Acrylics at home

this one on the bottom is when I got them done at a salon

Recently, the trend of acrylics has been all the rage. Or maybe it has always been popular and I am just now jumping on that band wagon. There's something about over the top, glittery, flashy, "ghetto fab" nails that just get me every time. For me, the longer and the flashier the better. But, the price tag of getting acrylics can tend to rack up. Especially when you have millions of bottles of nail polish sitting in a drawer unused. Using up hoarded nail polish is eco-friendly right? A couple months ago I spotted an at home Acrylic kit by KISS. At $9 I thought it was not bank breaking to give a try. It came with two sets of tips, glue, a brush, acrylic powder, and acrylic liquid. Essentially all you do is glue on your tips, trim them down to your liking, mix together the acrylic liquid with the powder, then mold it on your nails. Sounds easy right? It's not. Two bottles of acrylic liquid, a new kit, and another brush later I finally got the hang of it. It's tricky because it's difficult to get your acrylic "paste" smooth and achieve that nice, even texture to paint over your nails with. Overall, for me it's worth saving some money and trying to figure it out. 

Pros-

-Saving money! Not a whole lot, but a fairly significant amount

- Customizable. You can shape or paint your nails whatever color your heart desires

Cons-

- If your not crafty, you may not achieve the look desired

- No matter how close you get, you may never achieve the "exact" salon look. However, you'll get pretty close

- It's extremely time consuming

The Numbers (AKA the money)- 

At Home:

-KISS acrylic set: $9 provides everything you'd need. Walmart

-A set of fake tips: $1-2 for when you use up the fake tips that come in the set. Sally's Beauty Supply

- Nail polish: $1-15 you can use any nail polishes with acrylics. Anywhere

- Top coat (Seche Vite): $8. Pretty much anywhere

In case you don't want to buy the set, and want to buy things separately 

- Acrylic liquid: $5-8: Sally's

- Acrylic powder: $6-15: Sally's

- Brush: $4- 11: Sally's

- A set of fake tips: $1-2 Sally's

- Nail glue: $1 Anywhere

In the salon:

- Full acrylic set: $20-40 plus 20% tip

Like I said, to me it's worth it when I have the time. But for special occasions I will still be going to a salon. Xxx Girl with the Pink Bow