Since moving away from Queensland, my nails just haven't been the same. My new salon in Sydney charges a fortune for any art (even if I provide the materials) or coloured acrylic. Consequently, I've had to resort to maintaining a simple French manicure style. I have changed the nail shape - from a big chunky square edge to a more refined point/oval - but the essence of my daggers remains!
I've been in search of a way to use my large collection of nail lacquers and art materials to brighten up my precious talons. After discovering the water marbling technique via various nail blogs and YouTube videos, I decided to give it a shot for myself. I had seen several examples with similar colours and shades with a melding effect but I wanted something more bold and bright.
First attempt: Groovy Swirls
OPI The "It" Colour (yellow)
OPI A Roll In The Hague (orange)
OPI Purple With A Purpose (purple)
Second attempt: Pelagic Patterns
China Glaze Four Leaf Clover
OPI Teal The Cows Come Home
China Glaze White on White
I thought the blue green hues would add a nice blended effect. Using white in a marble can be quite hit and miss - dark colours (such as black) can bleed in to the white and create a grey tone, or, the white can be so thin and translucent you simply lose the effect altogether. Again, the white French tip is visible with this combination which detracts from the effect. Oh, and it's been commented that these colours make it look like I've smooshed toothpaste on my nails!Third attempt: Pink Candy
OPI Cha-Ching Cherry
OPI Ate Berries In The Canaries
China Glaze White on White
I really am a girly girl when it comes to pinks lately. The slight variation in pink and red hues here blend very well, and the white adds that crisp pattern. You may notice too that my acrylic infils have been done entirely in CND's Warm Pink (Opaque). I figured there was no point paying that $10 extra per month for French tips when I'm only going to be covering over them. Plus, they look fine on their own without any other colour.HINTS AND TIPS:
- always use filtered water in your marbling, just to ensure it's as clean as possible
- vaseline around the finger seems to be the most effective way of preventing all the excess lacquer from sticking to the skin. Also, a very thin layer is sufficient (as opposed to the massive slick I applied when first testing out the method).
- don't topcoat the nail too soon after marble application - it will cause the lacquers to melt and bleed
- metallic lacquers do work but not as well as a solid colour. I'm yet to try any glitter lacquers but I can't see they would work well at all
