If you've banned yourself from going anywhere near the shops for the next six months after the annual summer sales, but are still wondering how on earth to not spend more money on the upkeep of your nails during summer by paying the exorbitant rates you do along the Côte d'Azur to get them done in style, the FR2DAY style gurus have come up with the following ideas for DIY nails.

Nail Marbling
Be warned, this one does need bucket loads of patience and then some! You probably need quite a few trial runs before you get them quite right, but they're fun, original and you can be assured that no one else will be sporting the exact same design as you. It also consumes a lot of polish so make sure you choose your nail polish colours carefully and steer clear of pricier brands.

Begin by filling a bowl with room temperature water (or keep the water out for an hour or two). The marbling process will ruin the bowl, so you'll have to pick one especially for the purpose. A little tip would be to unscrew the tops off the bottles and keep them ready for the dropping process (once the polish drops into the water, you have to work quickly to prevent the polish drying up too quickly).

Choose a colour and then hold the wand quite low over the water until the polish drops into the water. Pick another colour and repeat the process over the same circle of polish that should already be now spreading across the surface of the water. Keep alternating colours.

Using a toothpick, and with a very light hand divide the design in two. Make as many lines as you like on the surface. When you're done, dip your nail in the design, and use the toothpick to "pick up" the nail polish around your nail. Repeat the steps for all for your nails and et voila!

Crackle Nails
The easiest of the looks, the crackled nail effect can be created by first applying a base coat colour of your choice. Remember to let it dry completely before you apply a coat of the special crackle nail polish on top. Seconds later, watch the coat begin to crack in front of your eyes, allowing the base coat colour beneath to show through. Nail art without the hassle and price tag that usually go with it - absolute genius!

OPI does a a great crackle polish which is longer lasting but a little pricey at almost 15 euros a bottle, but for a cheaper alternative that does the same job, opt for the high street brand DeBBY, which has a whole range of different crackle colours to choose from. Both brands are available at all Galeries Lafayettes and most of the larger Monoprix supermarkets.

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