A Comparison of Nail Art Pens

Last year, nail art took off in a big way. Since then, many brands have jumped on the bandwagon and released their own products to help create pretty designs for your nails at home.

Of course you can but sets of nail art brushes, and dotting tools etc but what I like to use most are nail art pens. I particularly like those which include a striper and a fine nib, but that in no way means that all are the same. So today I thought I'd compare the various ones I've tried and offer my opinion on them.

First up, and the first ones I got (in black, white, silver and silver glitter), are the Orly Instant Artist colours. Not quite nail art pens, the applicator is a striper, and is easy to use for precise striping. Because the length of the striper is quite long; I find these best to use for small details and dots too. I like the formula of these best too, the consistency is not too thick and colour pay-off is good in one coat (wouldn't expect any less really, Orly are one of my favourite nail polish brands). The other thing I love about these is the range of colours available! You can buy these online for about £5 each, or there are 'starter kits' available with basic colours.

Next are Model's Own Nail Art Pens, originally a collaboration with Wah Nails (follow them on Instagram for great design inspiration!) and the recent pastel colours are a collaboration with Artstix. These have a striper and a fine nib. I would say these are the best for versatility, as you can use these to create very detailed designs. Having said that, I'm not so keen on the striper in these, sometimes the line created is too thick for my liking, or not opaque enough. These are more widely available, they can be found in most Boots stores or if you're looking online you can buy sets of 5 for £20 on the Models Own website.

Finally we have the Kelly Brook Nail Art Duo, which I picked up in New Look the other weekend for £2.99. I'd been visiting my friend and promised to paint her nails for her birthday, only to forget to pack any of my nail art pens. Oops. So I got this last minute, and while it did the job, I can't say I'd recommend it at all. The pen itself is similar to the Models Own ones, but formula of the polish itself is so thick it's hard to work with. It does come with gems to create some 3D nail art; the clear ones look quite tacky on but the blue ones are okay. If you are looking at purchasing some nail art pens, I would say skip these and pay a little extra for decent quality.

So that's all the nail art pens I've tried so far. I'm pretty intrigued by the Barry M Nail Art Pens, as they seem to have a felt tip style applicator.

What nail art pens have you tried?

xxx