DIY: The Beauty Department show us how to deck out our claws for Autumn

Oh thebeautydepartment.com, I heart you ever so much. Not only do you provide me with awesome beauty tips, tools and prod ideas, but you're the spawn of a very addictive reality TV show that will forever remind me of my (trash-tastic) youth (The Hills, I'm talking to YOU). In fact, I heart you so much that I want to showcase this unarguably chic gold leaf manicure DIY that is perfecto for Autumn, and reflective of all things pretty and shiny (which just happen to be my two most favourite things).

GET THE LOOK

YOU'LL NEED: Turquoise nail polish, gold leafing sheets (available at your local art supply stores), clear top coat, nail file, q-tip (regular or pointed).

STEPS:

1. Use Bloom Sass & Bide Neon Nail Varnish to paint each nail.
2. Gold leaf sheets  are VERY delicate so make sure your hands are clean + dry before handling. They tear so easily! Use scissors to cut small triangle shapes that will fit the corners of your nails. You want to cover about 1/3 of your nail, so make your triangles about that size.
3. Wet a q-tip and use that to pick up your gold triangle. Don’t try to pick them up with your fingers– you’ll crumble them and that’s a bummer!
4. Lay the gold leaf triangle on the corner of the nail. You want to work quickly so the leafing sticks to the polish. The polish should be dry but still slightly tacky. If it’s too dry, put a very thin layer of clear top coat down before laying the leaf on the nail.
5. Smooth over the gold leaf with a clean dry q-tip to remove wrinkles/bubbles. If you mess up and chip off a piece of gold, it’s totally fine! Gold leafing is so thin that you can just lay another piece over the messed up part and it blends right in.
6. Use a nail file to gently file off the excess just like you would with nail stickers!
7. Finish with a Poshe' Super Fast Drying Top Coat to lock the gold leafing down!

SHOP IT

1. Bloom Sass & Bide Neon Nail Varnish, $19.95, bloomcosmetics.com , 2. Poshe' Super Fast Drying Top Coat, $14.95, adorebeauty.com.au

How-to courtesy of thebeautydepartment.com

By Kristina Ioannou