So today I have a seriously easy water color design. It is so pretty on the nail and looks like it would be very tricky, but let me tell ya, this little lady is super simple.I've seen this done on the web a bunch of different ways, it is certainly not my creation. Have a peek and then I'll tell you how I did mine....
In real life, it was a little brighter but of course, the professional photographer in me was away on vacation. This pic below is a little more true to color, excuse the classifieds in the background.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
A medium sized paint brush
Pure Acetone
2-6 bottles of nail polish
A light colored polish for your base, I used white
Good quality topcoat
Sparkly Topcoat (Optional)
Ok, so first I just put on 2 coats of white polish (China Glaze White on White). You could use something other than white if you wanted to. I have used OPI Skull and Glossbones in the past....a light color is what you want. Tan, light gray, whatever floats your boat. So after you do 2 coats, put on a nice thick coat of your favorite topcoat. (Seche Vite works really well for this, I would highly suggest it). This is a very important step that you cannot skip. The thick topcoat is what keeps your base coat on and allows you to spread the polish without taking all of it off.
Pick out anywhere from 2 to 6 colors of polish. Technically you could use more but I usually stick with 5 or 6 tops. After that, it will start to get jumbled and take away from the simpleness of this design. For this I used Essie Play Date, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, Zoya Shelby, Essie Turquoise and Caicos, and Essie Lapiz of Luxury. Keep in mind that you are diluting the polishes with acetone so choose wisely. I used muted colors and a few bright ones for this and it worked well. Depends on the look you are going for. Just a little something to keep in mind.
Take your first polish and make a few smalls dots on the nail. I usually make 3, any shape is fine. When I first tried this I made them thick, but I have found that more isn't always better. Make sure you get most of the excess polish off of the brush before you dot.
This is the brush that I use....just to give you an idea. You can see the size in comparison to my somewhat painted and very bloated finger. Wow, check that monster out!
Dip your paint brush into the acetone and remove the excess. You want the brush wet but not dripping. I dip my brush and then blot it 3-4 times on a newspaper or paper towel.
Quickly spread out the dots that you made on your nail by using short quick motions. If you feel like the polish is starting to pull, get a little bit more acetone on the brush so you don't destroy your base coat. You can always add more dots if you feel the color isn't bright enough. It's pretty much fool proof. The only thing you really have to be careful of is destroying your base coat. Work with a light hand and move around constantly. Staying in one stop will remove all of your color and take off your base coat, leaving you with a bare spot on your nail. Been there done that). Once you're done you will get something that resembles this....
Continue this for all of your colors, allowing a minute or two between colors for the acetone and polish to dry a bit. If you find spots that are still white from your base coat simply put a little dot of polish (whichever color you prefer) and repeat the method. Make sure you don't forget about the edges of your nails. Take the design the whole way to the ends so you don't end up with a beautiful design in the middle and white edges (which I have done more than once).
You can leave the design like this which looks perfectly lovely, or you can do what I do and top it with a sparkly topcoat. I usually use Northern Lights or China Glaze Fairy Dust. For this one I used Fairy Dust. Top with a little Seche Vite or your favorite top coat and you are good to go. See?! How painless was that?
As I mentioned earlier there are a few different methods for doing this on the net, I certainly am not trying to take credit for thinking this up. I don't know who to give credit to for this little gem but if anyone else does, please let me know so I can give credit where it is due.
I'd love to see your different color combo's. Send me a pic on my facebook page if you decide to give this a try! Hope you guys enjoyed!!
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