10 Must-Have Products for DIY Nail Art at Home

There’s a reason that spas offer extras like hand massages and paraffin wax treatments with your manicure. An easy hand mask treatment, like this one, offers the same soothing and moisturizing effect at home.

The Product: Skin Republic Hand Repair

The sweet blend of almond oil, argan oil and rose hip oil in this paraben-free treatment works to moisturize your cuticles and nailbeds, helping them look and feel their best. Applying a specialized product like this weekly is crucial if you have dry, cracked cuticles.

The Product: Nails Inc. Superfood Nail and Cuticle Repair Oil

Instead of a cheap, disposable nail file, why not consider upgrading to this diamond-faced tool by famous New York City-manicurist Jin Soon? Used and cleaned properly, this gentle-on-your-nails file will last for years.

The Product: Jin Soon Diamond Nail File

Because so many nail art designs leave part of your nail uncovered, hence the so-called negative space in designs, it’s important to apply a base coat that makes your nail plate look healthy and smooth. This polish from Essie helps even out discolouration and ridges.

The Product: Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat

A quick way to add shine and interest to a basic manicure, striping tape is easy to use and almost foolproof. Just apply on nails and finish with a top coat!

The Product: China Glaze Nail Art Striping Tape

Like using painter’s tape for your walls, use this medical-grade makeup tape to create clean lines or block off certain areas of the nail that you don’t want painted. It’s super easy to remove, too.

The Product: Sephora Collection Line Up Makeup Tape

If you’re going to try for special effects like ombré nails or cross-hatch patterns, you’ll want to get a tiny nail art brush to apply the polish. The brush’s angled design and pointed tip will offer you more a more precise application.

The Product: Berkeley Nail Art Brush

There are a lot of nail art pens in the market that create different strokes and effects. This very affordable tool from The Body Shop is great for creating dots and other small designs.

The Product: The Body Shop Nail Art Pen

These simple wooden sticks, which you’ve probably seen used at salons, are helpful to have around when you need to remove small amounts of nail polish, or create sharp lines or angles in your design.

The Product: Sophi Nail Polish Remover Sticks

There’s nothing more frustrating than accidently smudging, chipping or denting your nail polish while waiting for it to dry, or even a few days later. This Instant Smudge Fix helps even out semi-wet or completely dry polish, and can repair minor imperfections quickly.

The Product: Londontown Instant Smudge Fix