Flash Tattoos were the breakout beauty trend of festival season [1], with everyone from you and your friends to Beyoncé [2] rocking these eye-catching pieces of metallic body art. But unlike fringe vests and flower crowns, Flash Tattoos aren't just a passing festival fad. We've started wearing ours year-round as the perfect way to dress up our nails with popping nail art. Keep reading to see how they can, um, flash up your basic manicure.
The Products
Base Coat: Butter London Horse Power [3] ($19)
Base Color: Ciaté Can't It Be Kinky from the Haute House Collection [4] ($25)
Topcoat: Essie Good to Go [5] ($9)
Nail Art: I used a variety of Flash Tattoo [6] ($22-$30 per set) scraps to make accents on my nails.
Step One
Your nails need to be dry before you apply your Flash Tattoos, so I started with my base coat and two coats of black polish. Once your nails are dry, cut out the pieces you want to feature on your nails. Peel off the plastic layer, and press the tattoo in place. Once it's in place, use a damp towel to transfer the tattoo to your nail.
Step Two
Peel away the paper, and your tattoo will be firmly adhered to your polished nail.
Step Three
Cut out a variety of patterns, and repeat the previous steps. You'll be left a fun mélange of designs on your nails . . . and probably remnants on your skin, too.
Step Four
In order to clean up the pieces on your skin, you'll need a tool, like the cleanup brush in the Butter London Backstage Basics Nail Art Kit [7] ($18), and some nail polish remover. Simply dab the brush into the remover, and wipe away the excess tattoos.
The Final Look
Seal in the Flash Tattoos with a generous layer of topcoat. Who knew nail art could be this easy and have such a bold impact? Done and done!