I’ll be honest, my makeup game is not great. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s okay, not great. What I’m saying is it serves its purpose. Unfortunately, I don’t have the patience, or the funds for a lot of makeup and neat little tools to improve it. My nail polish game, on the other hand (hah! get it?) well that’s a whole other story.
Since about 6th grade, I’ve loved nail polish. It was one of the few things my mom would buy for me. Lip gloss? Nah. Roll on body glitter? No, Jazmin. Eyeshadow? Don’t even think about it. But nail polish? Yes! She had fond memories of making her dad upset with the smell of nail polish remover and she thought it was only fair I get to do the same. She bought me my first nail art kit for my birthday. I loved it! I played around with it every so often, but I just didn’t have the patience for anything too intricate. I kept it up for about a year and then I stopped. When I was in high school my nail game fell. I was only painting them black. I’d dabble here and there over the summer, but not much. It wasn’t until maybe a couple of years ago that I really got back into nail polish and nail art. And I couldn’t pick a better time! Do a quick google search and you can find a plethora of nail blogs. Go to any pharmacy or 99 cent/dollar store and you can find bottles upon bottles of polish. Sure quality can be iffy, but I don’t feel bad paying $1 to try out a new color.
I’m a person who can get very indecisive about things. I like things when I like them until I don’t. This can often lead to freak outs about things. That’s why being able to paint and change my nails is great. I don’t have to commit to something forever, I can try out different trends, and I have such a busy schedule that taking some time out to just sit and paint my nails while I half-pay attention to Netflix is perfect. Besides, social media lets me share my ephemeral creations and in way lets them last forever, at least digitally.
One of my favorite trends right now is marble nails. I have done water marble but cleanup is a bitch. Even when I use white glue around my nails instead of scotch tape. That is just not for me. However, my savior came in the form of something I’m sure most, if not all, of you have in your kitchen: cling wrap (or saran wrap)! Trust me, it is awesome. Now after all that blabbing I’ll get to the steps.
1. Gather materials and make sure you use the bathroom
Getting materials ready. David Tutera optional.
Trust me this is pretty important, since your nails will be wet, it’s best that you have everything close by. Make sure you’ve got that episode of My Fair Wedding playing and get to work. Also, using the bathroom is vital. I can’t tell you the number of manicures that have been ruined by the sudden urge to pee. (Practical and hilarious. ~SMI) It’s frustrating. For this tutorial we use two different polish colors. You could use more, but I haven’t tried it, I might try that for a fall inspired manicure. It’s best if they’re contrasting so you can see the details better. Or not, I mean it’s your nails, I’m not going to tell you what to do with them, only how to do them.
2. Clean up the nails and prep them.
Cleaning up and prepping the nail.
You’ll notice that I use pure acetone here. You don’t have to. In fact, it’s not recommended that you do. It can be very drying. This is what I had on hand at the time. But I suggest you use regular nail polish remover. Your nails will thank you.
3. Apply a base coat.
Let’s bond baby!
Most people swear by base coats to make their manicures last longer. Sadly I have freak nails that peel after only a day no matter what base coat I use. But I still use it. It protects my nails. When you’re changing your nail polish as often as I do, it’s pretty important to try and keep them as healthy as possible. I use Orly in this tutorial. Your mileage may vary, so use whatever you want.
4. Apply that nail polish.
Gumdrop! How cute!
Super neat application! (Whatever, that’s what q-tips and nail polish remover are for.)
There’s not much more here. I mean, just apply that polish. I’m usually more careful, but man my cuticles always get in the way. That’s what q-tips are for anyway. Apply as many coats as you need for it to be opaque and let dry.
5. Apply that second color!
Thanks for this color Forever 21!
Aw yeah! Check out that streaky application. That’s where it’s at, bb!
Once the base color is dry, apply the second color. You only need one coat of this. Don’t worry if it’s streaky or sheer, we don’t want full coverage. Get ready for the next step. Quick!
6. Get your cling wrap and start dabbing.
Cling wrap, saran wrap, plastic wrap, same difference.
While your second color is still wet, start dabbing at each finger with the cling wrap. It’ll pick up a lot of color, so don’t panic. I did the first time, but it’s okay. Everything will be fine. We’re all in this together. Just keep moving onto the next nail. If you think you’ve picked up too much color paint the nail and dab again.
Awwww yeah! Check out those colors! Notice it’s all bumpy and such, don’t worry, we’ll fix it.
Admire your work and let dry. It doesn’t look like much because it’;ll be bumpy and raised.
7. Cover it with a clear coat.
I love this stuff.
We want your hardwork to last long enough for your co-workers to see and admire it, don’t we? Yea we do. That and we want a smooth finish. I hate bumpy nails. You don’t have to use a glossy coat. This particular manicure looks really good with a matte top coat as well. You can even ask Karishma if you don’t believe me.
8. Admire the hell out of your manicure.
Look at those colors in the sun! I love it! Not exactly autumnal but definitely pretty.
No seriously check it out. You did an awesome job! I’m proud of you. Now take some pictures and post that shit on social media so that others can admire it with you. Of course, don’t forget to clean up around the edges using your q-tips and nail polish remover and enjoy. Try it out with other color combinations and tell me how you like it.
I hope to show you how to do more neat manicures. I promise the next time I do this it won’t be so wordy, but I got excited.