31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 20: Water Marbled

This is a technique I wanted to do for years. I thought there was some magic involved when I saw them doing it in the nail salons. Like, maybe they put something in the water.

Fast forward about 12 years, and I find a few YouTube tutorials that set my wheels in motion. I was excited about this challenge, and what caused me the most anxiety was picking out colors. I wanted something fun.

I went into Duane Reade on Thursday to fill a prescription. I passed by the Sally Hansen rack and saw 74% off stickers. Hello! I picked up Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Frutti Petutie and Good to Grape for $2.29 each. I paired it with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and Purple bolt, as well as Essie in Blanc. These are polishes that I already owned.

So, I taped around all my nails to make the process easier to clean up. I applied base coat, and two coats of Essie Blanc. After that was dry, I added drops to a cup of water, swirled with a toothpick, and dipped my finger. I removed the excess polish floating on top of the water while my finger was still submerged. Otherwise, there would be another design layer on top, and that could be either good or very bad. I was able to marble 2 fingers at a time, so that made the process quicker than I expected.

I carefully removed the tape from around my fingers. Then, I finished with Seche Vite top coat. I used a pointy cotton swab and nail polish remover to take off any excess polish that didn't cling to the tape. I love this design.