Dance Legend Binary Marina and Olga with Nicole Diary Water Decals

Hi Everyone!

What do you do when you want some quick nail art, but don't have time for stamping, vinyls, freehand, etc? I have recently developed a rather unhealthy obsession with water decals because of how easy and convenient they are. They are great for everyday wear, but they are also awesome for travel. Just toss a few designs into your luggage along with the nail polish and you can sport some nail art on your trip without the hassle of dragging a lot of supplies. All you need is water and a bit of acetone for cleanup.

Every once in a while, my mom request that when I come to visit, I give her a manicure. I used to lug all my stamping plates and polishes to give her a choice of design, but for the last few manis, we've switched to water decals and LOVE it! Not only is it so much quicker now, but it is easier for her to pick out designs and I know they'll turn out great. That being said, when a new company, Nicole Diary, offered me a few of their water decals to try out, I gladly agreed. I'm going to show you two of them today...

For this manicure I used Nicole Dairy 04 over Dance Legend Binary Marina (purple) and Olga (teal). The decals all have a clear backing and can be used over any polish so the possibilities are endless. Sorry about the glare of the lights on the decal sheet. :(

If you are unfamiliar with water decals, they are very simple to use.
1. You start out by painting the nails with your desired base color.
2. Cut out a piece of the decal large enough to fit the nail. I simply followed the lines in the pattern where it splits and didn't worry about cutting them to long since it is easy to clean with acetone later. 3. Peel the clear plastic from the top of the decal (don't forget this step or the decal will transfer to the plastic and be unusable...)
4. Drop the decal into a small bowl with water and let it soak for ~10 seconds or until you can easily slide it around on the what paper backing
5. Moisten your nail and gently slide the decal from the paper backing onto your nail. While everything is still wet, you can slide the decal around a bit on the nail to position it as you wish.
6. With a tissue, gently blot everything dry
7. Using a q-tip or clean up brush dipped in acetone, gently melt the excess decals around your nail.
8. Apply topcoat and don't forget to seal the tips for a long lasting manicure

Writing out the steps makes it seem worse than it is, but once you try it, you'll see how easy they are to use...

Here is what the full sheet of designs looks like. There is plenty for a full manicure or two if you use them only for accent nails as I did.

As I mentioned, you can use these decals over any base color as they are on a sheer backing. They are best over lighter to medium colors as obviously they would be difficult to see over dark colors. You can also easily wear them over white and get the look you see on the decal sheet itself...

Dance Legend Marina from the Binary collection is a medium dusty purple cream. It has a nice creamy formula which is fully opaque in two coats. I suggest a very thin first coat as the 2nd coat for me seemed to apply thicker. Swatches are with a top coat...

The binary lacquers are meant to be used with the Binary top coat which is similar in consistency to Seche Vite. It has quick dry time and a very glossy finish when dry. It can shrink the polish a bit if used over freshly applied lacquer. I found it best to stall a bit by doing my cleanup and giving the mani a few extra moments to dry before applying the top coat...

For the second manicure, I used the same polishes as above, Dance Legend Olga and an accent nail using Marina. The design for this manicure is Nicole Diary 05, a delicate floral pattern.

This design is also sheer and therefore can be used over any base shade...

Dance Legend Olga from the Binary collection is a beautiful dusty teal. Similar to Marina, it has a good two coat formula which was easy to apply. Swatches are with the Binary top coat...

I hope you enjoyed these manicures! I'd love to know what you think of them. Are you a fan of water decals as I am or do you consider it 'cheating' nail art?

You can find Nicole Diary on Instagram (@nicolediary2016).
They have stores on AliExpress and Amazon.com by searching 'Nicole Diary'. The coupon code Anu2016 will get you a small ($2-5 dollar value) gift with your purchase on either AliExpress or Amazon.

Dance Legend is available at dance-legend.com and various international re-sellers world wide.

Thanks for looking and have a lovely weekend!
Anutka :)

** Polishes and water decals were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **