Ombre Nail Art

Aren't these so fun?  Here's what you'll need:

Not pictured: Black nail polish, toothpicks and paper

First paint on the base coat you want.  I like light colors for the base.  I used a layer of white, and then lavender.

Use Vaseline to protect your skin from getting nail polish on it.  But take care not to get Vaseline on the painted nail.

Next, get a cup of water (at room temperature), and drop in one drop of nail polish (I like to use a darker color for this part).

 The drop will spread, as pictured below.  Dip your nail (one at a time) straight into the area of the color that you want on the nail.  I focus on getting a more concentrated amount of color on the tip of the nail, and having the color fade towards the bottom (it does take practice, you WILL NOT get it right the first time).  This creates the ombre effect.  While your nail is still in the water, use a toothpick to remove the remaining film that is floating on the surface of the water.  Then take out your finger.

Here's what your hand will look like after they have all been dipped.  Remove the colored Vaseline using a paper as a rag (because it's lint free).

After getting everything cleaned up, here's what it looked like.

I wanted more contrast, so I went over them again, using the same technique, but this time I used a drop of black.  This gave me just the look I was going for.  Finish with a top coat of clear.

I sure wish I could preserve these bad boys.  With all the painting projects I want to do, these won't last long.

I'm not going to lie. This whole process can be tricky.  Don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time.  Practice practice practice.  It's a good idea to have some help from a friend too, an extra hand can go a long way.

There are so many possibilities with this technique!  There are so many combinations I want to try out.  Here is the "water-marbled" version.  I learned by watching some great tutorials on you tube (there are a lot out there).

These were my "cruise nails" from a couple years ago.  Sigh...  I miss summer.

Here is a pink marbled nail, perfect for Valentine's Day!

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