Friday 27 January 2012

NOTD;; My First Water Marble Nails!! ♥♥

Okay, so getting water marbling down path took longer than expected. After TWO DAYS of practicing and refining my technique, I have water marbling down in a manner that I feel is presentable enough to show you guys. It's my first time though, so they're not perfect =P Check em out!


I experienced a few issues along the path to making my water marbling look good enough that I don't cringe every time someone asks to see them. 

If you want to watch my video tutorial on this nail look, click >>>HERE<<< to check that out! Otherwise, click on to read all about it! :D

For those of you who don't know, water marbling is a technique that involves dripping nail polish into a glass of water, swirling it with a toothpick to create a texture resembling marble, and dipping your nail into the polish/water to transfer the pattern. Really fun, really tricky!

Here's the product breakdown...

- Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in Clear (base)
- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in White On (colour base)
- ELF Polish in Dark Navy
-Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Polish in Blue Me Away
-Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Polish in Bubblegum Pink
-Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti Chip Top Coat

So over the two days that it took for me to figure this out, I learned a lot. It all started with trying different ways to tape up the finger around the nail.  Once that was down path, I set to figuring out the perfect water temperature... which proved tricky. It wasn't until I took the words "room temperature water" extremely seriously. I set out a dish of water and left it to relax for around an hour.

So finally my polish drops were spreading on the water nicely and weren't drying up before I could take a toothpick to it. Then began the process of marbling the polish on the water, which took some definite finessing before I got it down. It's really easy to practice this step, if you don't like it you can just let it dry on the water and collect it with the toothpick.


So after it's all said and done, once you successfully figure out how to get your nail in and out of the water and take off the tape without disfiguring your work, it's all worth it to know you can do it. I still have some work to do perfecting this style, but it's good to know that hard work pays off!

One main thing that bugs me is the white base... if your tape isn't perfect then it has a tendancy to peek out the sides. I'm thinking that could be avoided by using a nude colour, or even, considering my colour choices, a light blue.




So my tips and tricks for this manicure...
1. Be sure your water is clean, room temperature. I seriously left my water out on the table for a solid hour.


2. Try not to use quick drying nail polishes, like Rimmel 60 seconds and SH Insta-Dri. They dry just as fast on top of your water. 


3. Use a base coat that's white or the lightest colour of your design. It helps to reinforce the colours and gives the marble a good base to stick to.


4. Drip with both hands... it's faster! :D


This just goes to show you folks, if you work hard at something you love, when you achieve your goal it will always feel amazing, no matter what your love may be.

I recorded a little tutorial on this nail, hopefully when I get it up it explains the process in a manner that doesn't leave your head spinning!

Until then!
Much love,
Dylan ♥♥