Another flocking nail art - LNTC

Hey y'all!

Wednesday brings another go-round for the Llama Nail Technique Challenge, and this week we're all flocked up - with flocked nails!  I chose to create a seasonally appropriate white and neon.

For this nail art, I three polishes and three flocking powders in corresponding colors.

L-R: Kiss Soft Blue, China Glaze White on White, Kiss Bikini Pink
Bottom Row: matching flocking powders

To start, I painted all of my nails with two coats of White on White, let it dry a bit, and then added a a line of alternating pink and blue across the tip of my ring finger to make the base of my accent nail (tip: this doesn't have to be precise because it will get covered with more polish and flocking powder, but to eliminate shadows, try to keep it as neat as possible).  When everything was dry, I applied a coat of SV to protect it.

I got out my trusty striping tape and proceeded to mark off the areas I wanted the flocking powder to sit.  For my accent nail, I just put a single strip of tape across the pink and blue line that I created.  Then I applied another coat of White on White, quickly removed the tape, and applied the flocking powder over the whole nail.  After giving it a couple of minutes to set, I pressed it in a bit with my fingertip and brushed off the excess.  Since the striping tape prevented wet polish from sticking over the patterned line, no flocking tape adhered there, so you can see the pattern I created underneath the flocking.

For my other nails, I used two pieces of striping tape to mark the edges of a line across the tip.  If you have a steady hand, you could freehand this with a striping brush, but I have a habit of drinking too much coffee before I do my nail art, so I didn't leave anything to chance.  On the exposed areas between the pieces of tape, I applied either the Bikini Pink or the Soft Blue polish, removed the tape, and immediately applied the corresponding color of flocking powder to the line. 

Flocking powder can be a lot of fun to play with, if you remember a few things beforehand:

• Always work over a small bowl or piece of paper large enough to catch the excess so you don't waste it.
• It's best to use a polish that matches the color of your flocking powder so that bald spots won't be as visible.  If you notice, I waited a little bit too long to apply the flocking powder to my pinky finger, so not as much of it adhered since the polish had already started drying.  Because I used a matching polish, it isn't as noticeable as it would have been had I been using white or clear polish to stick my flocking powder down.
• Work fast.  If you need an explanation, see above.  
• If you're only doing a small section of flocking powder, apply your topcoat BEFORE you flock.  Once the flocking powder is applied, any additional polish or topcoat will ruin the fluffy soft effect.  

I know the velvet nail thing is sort of past its prime, but I still think flocked nails can be relevant, especially in the spring and winter, when soft fuzzy things are in vogue.  If you decide to try out this look, be sure to share it with me, because I would love to see what you come up with!

Hope you're all having a great week.  For more flocked nail ideas, be sure to check out the other Technique Challenge looks below!

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