I've been eying up the water marbling technique on fingernails for quite some time now! Like a lot of nail designs, I thought... hmmm, only in the salon am I going to get this look... WRONG!!! You can actually do it at home, using inexpensive nail polishes... look at that, saving money!! Boy, I'm getting good at this, I really think I should get a reward from my man for this, believe me, it's been hard!!!
When your marbleizing your nails, keep in mind that it will turn out different with each colour combination. Try it with different colours to see which look works the best for you! It's weird the difference in the swirls with the colour combos! You would be surprised!!
Just an FYI: This is going to take awhile. Because the nail polish dries rather quickly and you have to work pretty quick, you can only do one or two fingers at a time after you are done the base coats.
What you need:
Base Coat
White nail polish (or whatever colour you want underneath)
2 colors of your choice
Clear Top Coat
Tape
Cup full of room temperature water
Toothpick or woodstick
Q-tips or Cotton Swabs
Nail Polish Remover
What you do:
First you are going to apply your base coat. Apply a thin layer of your favourite base coat. Once your base coat is dry, apply two coats of your white (or whatever colour you want underneath) polish. Apply one coat, allow to dry, then apply another. The colors you choose to do the design with, will appear more vibrant by adding the two coats of white. I saw white because I like to do mine with white underneath, I haven't done it with any other colours yet, although I have seen lots of other nails with different vibrant colours! Ahhh can't wait to try different colours!!
Tape off the perimeter of your nails so that the polish wont seep onto your skin. If you want you can do one nail at a time, it's easier that way. Tape a nail, do the design, and then proceed to do the rest of your nails. It's hard to work with a bunch of taped up fingers, trust me!
Fill up a plastic cup or container with water that is room temperature. Open 2 nail polishes (or more, depending how many colours you want in your swirls, I recommend starting with less colours to get used to it). Grab your toothpick or wood stick and get it ready.
Start with one color and drop a drop of polish into the cup, dabbing the brush on the top of the water so a blob of polish spreads out really thin. It will look very sheer. Quickly take the next colour of polish and drop that into the center of the color you just dropped. Keep going back and forth between colours (or with different colours) until it looks like rings.
Remember: You MUST work quickly for this to work! The nail polish has to be wet for this to work. You might have to try it a few times before you get it right and figure out just how quickly you have to move. I quit the first time... I got discouraged big time... but the second time I picked it up I did it just fine! So if I can do it, you can do it!
Once you have the desired amount of polish take your toothpick and swirl it in the polish rings to create a cool design. Take your taped finger and quickly lay your finger down on the part of the design you like and then dip it in the water so that your whole nail is submerged.
While your nail is still in the water, take your toothpick and carefully clean the water by swirling the toothpick in it collecting all the extra polish. Pull out your nail and remove the tape. Clean up the edges of your fingers with a q-tip or cotton swab. Allow your nail to dry for at least 4 minutes and then apply a top coat. Once done repeat on the rest of your nails. You obviously will find the best technique that works for you.
Like I said before... it does take patience (I'm surprised I can even sit through this... but my nails are one thing that I do have the patience for) and you might not get it on your first or second try... keep at it, you will. I promise!!! And the time it takes to do your nails is definitely worth the compliments you will get!
xOx - L
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