Minnie Mouse Nails

My nails are kind of my thing. I'd been getting them done professionally since I'm 14 years old up until about 2 years ago when I was introduced to Kiss Everlasting French Nails. These babies are amazing and last as long as professional tips/wraps. These are *not* your Mama's press-on nails! Always favoring the old classic french manicure and tired of spending so much time and money in the nail parlor, these have been my go-to nails...they're inexpensive, I can do them at home sitting on the couch anytime I please, I can fix them myself if I suffer a dreaded break, and they always look flawless. [Click here for a great review/tutorial I found on YouTube.]

So when it came to my next visit to the World, I wanted to do something special with my nails, and what better inspiration than my girl Minnie! Even still, I was determined to stay out of the salon since 1) I had an exact vision of how I wanted them to come out and 2) I wanted to be able to repair them myself should a nail get chipped on the trip. So I took to Pinterest for some inspiration and here’s what I wound up with…

Materials I used:

Kiss Everlasting French Nails in Real Short Length (Style 54248/EFS01 – Clear Pink color)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kiss-Ever-Square-Nail-Kit-Real-Short/14664868

Any red polish...I used Pure Ice Nail Polish in color “Hit the Floor” – a perfect sparkly red!

http://www.walmart.com/ip/36407065?www=true&productRedirect=true

Any white nail polish

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kiss-Nail-Artist-Paint-and-Stencil-Kit-33-pc/14648462

A thick, shiny clear top coat
http://wwwndc.walmart.com/ip/Sally-Hansen-Nail-Polish-Top-Coat-0.45-fl-oz/35715965

French tip polish guide/stickers

http://www.walmart.com/ip/12018617?www=true&productRedirect=true

Mickey Mouse Nail Decals from Etsy seller PolkaDotGiftShoppe:  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124781806/mickey-mouse-decals-for-your-nails?ref=shop_home_feat_2

A toothpick or a pointy stick (cuticle stick comes with nail kit)

The advantage of using the Kiss nails is that you can decorate them all with your dominant hand and from any angle, and you can do the different steps in stages so you can ensure they are completely dry.

Here's what I did: after picking out the size nails I needed (marked with size numbers) plus a few extras in back-up sizes, I taped all of them with the French sticker guides. I probably could have painted the red on freehand, just using the already affixed white line as a guide, but I wanted to make it easier for myself.Using the guides, you can set the red line to be as thick as you'd like. Then I painted on all the red (at least 3 coats), removed the stickers, and let them dry completely overnight.

The next day, I painted on the white dots on the red line. I used the the pointy end of the cuticle stick that comes with the Kiss nail kit, but a toothpick will do just fine. I poured a little white polish on to a paper plate to use as a painter's palette. Dot gently and sporadically.  I recommend that you decorate the "back-up" nails first, or even practice on some extra nails in the pack that you can't use so you can get a feel for the process. Continue with all the nails and allow to dry overnight. 

Finally, when all is dry, add the Mickey Mouse nail decals. Originally, I purchased the nail art kit with the black, white and silver polish because I was going to paint on the Mickeys myself. In the end, all of my Mickeys were off looking, so these stickers were perfect and I was easily able to achieve the design I was looking for. After putting on the stickers (I chose to do them on every nail), I sealed it all with a nice thick topcoat, and let it dry overnight. 

I applied the nails according to the directions the day before I left for WDW and packed up the back-up nails and the bottle of topcoat and a tube of glue in a travel soap case. Ultimately, I ended up replacing one nail at the end of my vacation because of one too many soaks in the hot tub!

I loved this manicure and got so many compliments on them! They were a lot of fun to do!