So today's look is actually one that I did while we were on holiday in Texas, and there's a really good reason for it - I can't watermarble in England! I'm not sure if it's a temperature thing, or just that I have a hard time finding distilled water, or what the deal is, but I have tried it a fair few times with lots of different polishes and water types and temperatures, and it just never works out. SO... when I saw that the Llama Nails Technique this week was water marbling, I knew I was going to have to do some serious forward planning. These are also the last pictures of my long square nails before ThatDay(tm), so this post is a bit bittersweet for me on that note anyway, but just look how pretty!
I also managed to not get any bottle shots, because as I said we were on vacation and I didn't have my lightbox with me, so I apologize if these pics look dramatically different than my usual ones. I started with a base of Sinful Colors Dream On on all my nails, and then did a three-color marble, using Sinful Colors Let's Talk and Endless Blue and China Glaze Up All Night.
The water marble is pretty self-explanatory, so I don't really feel like I need to go over that much. I wasn't trying for any real design other than a basic petal pattern, and I did two dips - one for my index, middle, and ring fingers, and one dip for my thumb and pinky.
I loved the way the cremes and the shimmers played together in the marble, but I wasn't satisfied with the overall look (plus I wanted to play with the new crystals I'd just picked up that day), so I added the varying sizes of iridescent rhinestones on the thumb and ring finger.
Everything is sealed in under a good generous coat of SV, which sadly only protected those rhinestones for about 2 days before they started falling off. C'est la vie.
And since I don't have any macro shots for ya, I thought the next best thing was this side-by-side that captured the way these iridescent stones flashed in the light!
So, can we all just take a minute to say a final goodbye to my long squares? It's not that I don't like the almonds, but I was just so proud of myself for making it through a whole 2 week vacation with them intact, only to lose one literally 3 miles from home. It's kind of like the bottle of honey mead that I oh-so-carefully brought from England to Texas intact, and then lost the entire thing by banging it on the counter and smashing it when Mom and I were about to drink it. These things keep me up at night. Sorry. </rant>
In any event, I hope you guys enjoyed this look, and be sure to check out the other water marbles from the Llama ladies below. Have a great week, and I'll see ya soon!
Wow. You seriously have some marbling skills!
ReplyDeleteWell thanks. I am nowhere near the level of some of the Youtubers out there, but I was quite pleased with how this one turned out.
DeleteGorgeous! I hate doing watermarbles! They never work out for me and it takes so long! But these are just fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest drawback is the mess involved! And yeah, it takes forever because of all the prep work that goes into it, but sometimes the result is worth it!
DeleteI just cannot get the hang of water marbling so I'm "well jel" - these are fab!
ReplyDeleteDon't be jelly! Let's just agree to be in a mutual admiration society instead. :) And we can invite others!
DeleteOk one: those pictures look AWESOME, even without your normal light box, and two: LOVE LOVE LOVE these!
ReplyDeleteSorry the crystals didn't last as long.....this may help in the future, it work's for me every time: get a quick dry top coat and put 2-3 coats (making sure it's dry) over the crystals when it's done to really seal it in. I've literally had nails full of crystals last 1 week+ doing it that way. It works!
What did you use to set them into the nails with? A clear polish?
Thank you! As for the crystals, I set them as normal - pressed into a fresh coat of SV, then another thick coat of SV over top. I dunno - we were on vacation so when I was doing dishes at mom's house I didn't have gloves, and I know we were both really fidgety at night (as you do when you aren't sleeping in your own bed). I expected the big ones to pop off first but strangely it was the smaller ones that did. I wonder if it's because the smaller ones were set into the SV last, and therefore didn't get good enough purchase because the SV was drying? I probably should have given it another coat of SV but TBH I wasn't really that bothered at the time. I had other things on the brain :)
DeleteWater marbling never seems to work out, so I'm always jealous when I see such beautiful examples. I think it's the colors you choose that really make me love this <3 I love the almost smoke-like swirl you managed on your pointer finger
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It's definitely one of those things that takes lots and lots of practice, and I can say that because I'm still a rookie myself. Color choice definitely plays a part, as I've seen some beautifully executed water marbles that get lost because the colors are kind of gross together, so thank you for that compliment for sure. Beyond that, it's really just trial and error!
DeleteI absolutely love this!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I wish I was lucky like you enough to have tap water that works for water marbling! I'd do this technique a lot more often!
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