Nail Marbling

So here it is!  I've been getting a lot of requests to post this tutorial and didn't want to until I thought it was perfect.

 

Now this does have a lot of trial and error, you may not get it right the 1st time and that's ok. Guess what, I didn't either. I had a lot of bubbles on my nails.

 

I practiced and took note of my mistakes and now I think anyone can do it.

 

 

Things you'll need:

-Distilled water (room temp)

-Nail polish (at least 3 colors)

-Toothpicks

-Q-tips

-Cotton Balls

-Nail polish remover

-Vaseline

-Solo cup, cut down

 

1) Get all supplies ready - Cut cup down towards the bottom and fill with water. We are cutting this down because we want a small area for the nail polish to spread out. Too large of an area will harden the nail polish faster and you'll just waste more.

 

2) Paint a base coat on your nails. Any color will do, but keep in mind it might peak thru the marbling.

 

3) Shake the nail polish really good and then line up the colors you want and loosen the lids.

 

4) Apply Vaseline to your fingers, down to your knuckle. Be careful not to get it to close to the nail. This will make the cleanup super easy. BUT if you don't have any or don't want to use Vaseline, just plan on using lots of cotton balls and polish remover. (Tape would also work)

 

5) Take your first polish and let a drop fall into the water. It will spread instantly, then repeat with the other colors. You can do this as many times are you want. I did B-P-G-B-P-G.

 

6) Take a toothpick and start somewhere within the circle NOT the outside. Make swirl marks back and forth to mix the colors.

 

7) Take your fingers or finger and put them into the water solution at an angle. Now its important to also remove them at an angle. Anytime I've done the angle technique I haven't had any problems with bubble effect.

 

8) Once removed take a Q-tip and do a quick clean up on your finger.

 

9) Take a toothpick and put it in the cup and swirl it around. It will pick up all the nail polish. Repeat after each nail.

 

10) After you've done all your nails, just do the clean up. 

 

 

Here's some additional notes:

 

If there's a nail polish buildup in the water, dip a Q-tip in some nail polish remover and place in the water and circle it around. It will soak up any left over polish.

 

If you use nail polish and it sinks to the bottom, shake it some more....a lot more.  If you try it again and it sinks, then it's no good. It might be because it's to old and has thickened.

 

You can save your old nail polish by using nail polish thinning solution. I like Beauty Secrets solution the best. Another trick I heard of but haven't tried yet, is adding a few drops of clear nail polish to your old polish. Instead of thickening the polish it actually thins it. Again I haven't tried it but I read somewhere that a manicurist recommends it to her clients.

 

My fave combo so far was a black base coat, with hot pink and neon green nail polish.

 

 

I hope this tutorial helps you out. If you have any questions send me a comment.