this is not a nail polish blog: water-marbling edition..

well guys, i have officially taken my nail polish crush to a new level.  i learned about this technique called water marbling from pinterest and i have to say, when i saw how this is done my eyes widened and my jaw literally dropped.  how did i not know about this?  does everyone already know about this?  AM I THE LAST TO KNOW?


*please ignore that spot that i didn't clean up yet near my thumb cuticle.  it's really bothering me that i took a picture before i cleaned that up and i probably wont be able to sleep tonight because it's in the picture. 

i was going to take pictures of the step by step method but i needed two hands for that and i was nervous i was going to get nail polish on my camera or drop it in the water so i only have pictures of the first and last steps.



everything you need:
a cup you don't care about- filled with room temperature, filtered (or not) water, colorful (or not) nail polish, scotch tape, a stick (i used the opposite end of a paint brush or you can use a q-tip..anything you don't mind getting covered in nail polish), nail polish remover for clean-up and touch-up.

it's really best to just watch a you-tube tutorial but i will write down the steps anyway..

step one: use the scotch tape to tape around your fingernail so the nail polish doesn't get on your skin.  get it as close to your cuticle and the sides of your fingers because the better job you do of taping, the less clean-up you will have to do.

step two: while holding the nail polish brush very close to the water, drip one drop of your first color into the water (if you drop from too hight up it will fall into the water and not spread across the top like you want it to).  continue dropping one drop of each color into the center of the last drop.  it should spread out and create a "bullseye" shape.  put as little or as many colors as you want.

step three:  when you are happy with the colors dropped into the water, hover your nail over the water where you want the design to transfer onto your nail and push it down and hold it submerged in the water.  with your other hand use the stick to "grab" the excess polish out of the water.  it sticks to the stick and pulls out quite easily.  the reason you do this is so when you pull your nail out of the water, you don't get any of the excess polish on your new design because it will mess it up and you will be pissed.  PISSED.

step four:  pull your finger out of the water and carefully take the tape off from around your finger.  wait for the polish to dry and paint a top coat/no chip coat.

step five:  use a q-tip dipped in water to clean up and messes around your cuticles or the sides of your fingers.  but, like i said, if you do a good job taping, there should be no mess really.

the end. 
i had to endure a bit of trial and error with this method but after a few tries, i think i am practically a pro.   there are an infinite amount of designs you can do with this method by dragging the stick (or a thin needle) through the bullseye which is evident by the number of videos about them on youtube.
here are a couple that might help you..




to me, all that craze swirling is tacky, and to be really honest, what i have on my nails right now it bordering on tacky too.  but i am going to ignore all of that and rock the shit out of these nails because i think doing your nails in water is genius and amazing and i cannot believe that it comes out so cool! 
if you decide to do your nails too, send me a link to a picture of them in the comments!  i want to see what you come up with!
xo
em

UPDATE: apparently if you use vaseline around your fingers it is easier than tape.  haven't tried it though.