Watermarbling Take Two using Sinful Shine
Monday, August 04, 2014My first attempt at watermarbling happened shortly before I revived this blog. Last October I attempted a black and orange watermarble with disastrous results. I had polish everywhere, and the polish on my nails was hideous. I took it off within twenty minutes of completing it. I was terrified of watermarbling, and figured that I probably wouldn't attempt it again.
I forgot about the technique for a while until I kept seeing gorgeous watermarbles from Gio of In Jeeb We Trust. I asked her for any advice and tips she could think of.
Gio's Tips:
- Use room temperature water. It's best to leave it out overnight.
- Tape around the sides of your nails with scotch tape for easy clean up
- Use a small circumference cup like a shot glass
- If the polish doesn't spread out when you drop it into the water it won't work for marbling
- Don't have a fan running while you marble!
- Once you take your nail out of the water, make sure you blow on it hard. That will help deal with those pesky bubbles.
I took those tips and ended up with a pretty decent second watermarble. After running through six different colors of polish I finally found two that worked. I used Sinful Shine Skinny Dipping and Sinful Shine Steel Reserve.
- Always use a new toothpick to draw your design.
- Remove all of the excess polish in the container before you pull your nail out
- Pick a neutral base color
- If you want your marble to be more opaque, use more alternating drops of color
My big mistake was assuming that Model City Polish's Hanging On A Vine would work for a watermarble. I painted it as my base color only to discover that it wouldn't work for marbling. You can see areas where the green wasn't covered by the marble. I also had to learn to move the polish away from my finger before taking it out of the water. My index finger is a good example of that mistake.
Other than that I was pretty happy with my second attempt. Gio's tips definitely made a difference. At this point I just need to practice!
Other than that I was pretty happy with my second attempt. Gio's tips definitely made a difference. At this point I just need to practice!
9 comments
I love the tips here! I've had both success and failures. It's definitely true that not every polish works. I've had good luck with China Glaze myself.
ReplyDeleteI've only done two water marbles in my life, but they both went really well. I outlined my nails with lip balm before I started and that seemed to help clean up immensely. Also, once you dip your finger, if you blow on the remaining polish for a few seconds, and then swirl your toothpick around, it'll get all of the remaining polish out of the water. That really helps when you pull your nail out, to not get double-layered.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I have yet to attempt a water marble myself even though I keep telling myself I should, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was able to help some :) It really comes down to practice makes perfect, which can be so damn frustrating. I have to spend a week psyching myself up whenever I marble >"<
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth! I am probably going to try another one this week if the colors I picked out will work.
ReplyDeleteYou should! I bet you would come up with something really unique.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try that! I taped around the sides this last time, but I accidentally taped over some of my nail too.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try China Glaze. I really had no idea that using the right polish was such a big deal until I tried to use colors that didn't spread out well.
ReplyDeleteI think this looks lovely! I have to agree with @Gio (injeebwetrust) that practice really does help. I've also had really luck with my Zoya polishes (except for the purple cremes....)
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