Grunge Glam Studded Nail Tutorial

If you haven’t noticed by now, the ’90s are back in a big way. No matter what your age group was in the ’90s, chances are you have some fond and some terrifying memories of trends and fashion choices, etc., that have probably been popping up in stores lately. I’m a big fan of the updated grunge feel and since we named our new AILA polish “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (after the classic ’90s Nirvana song), we thought we’d think of a fun “grunge glam” nail look to go along with it!Supplies:
-AILA nail polish in Smells Like Teen Spirit
–clear top coat
-gold nail stud decorations (I used two shapes from this pack)
–wax picker pencil
–nail glue + a toothpick for application (optional but recommended for longer term wear)
Trim and shape your clean nails to your liking and add 2 coats of polish to each nail with dry time between each coat.

Get your wax pencil and lay out your studs near your nails for easy access. To adhere your studs, you can either do another coat of the grey polish or one coat of the clear top coat on one of your nails to create a sticky surface and then use the wax pencil to pick up the stud and place it on your wet nail in the desired location (if you do the grey polish route, just do one coat in the first step instead of two). I did a small square stud at the base of my nail near about 1/8″ from the cuticle and then a longer triangle stud above that. Try and get the stud as close to the location that you want as you can, but you can still do some adjustment once it’s down to straighten it a bit if needed.

For a longer-wear situation, instead of using the polish to adhere them, you can squirt a little nail glue onto a piece of paper and use a toothpick to dab a bit of glue where each stud will be located on your nail and then place the studs on the nail glue.
Work on one nail at a time so the polish or glue doesn’t dry before you get your studs on.
Add 1-2 layers of top coat with dry time in between and your nails are ready to go! There you have it! Of course, you can choose a different pattern based on what shape of studs you like the best, but I like how these shapes feel simple and yet a little glam at the same time too. All you need now is your Nirvana CD and one of these to tie around your overall jumpsuit and you’re ready to go! xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.