Tutorial and Images - Debbie Page-Wood
Beauty Review posted this “Manicrush Monday” pic on Facebook asking someone to please show how it’s done, so here’s a marbling tutorial and I’ve done the steps for both types of polish (gel and traditional).
You’ll need the following:
- Nail polish remover
- lint-free wipes or cotton pads
- an orangewood cuticle stick or cuticle pusher
- 180-grit buffer or a buffing block (the ones with 4 different sides)
- a nail file
- base coat
- three contrasting nail polish colours of your choice
- top coat
- a mini striping brush (small paintbrush or clean eyeliner brush)
- cuticle oil and hand cream.
Start off by prepping your nails; remove any old polish, push back your cuticles, file your nails into the shape you want and then buff them lightly.
Cleanse your nails again with nail polish remover to remove any nail dust and natural oils that will have come to the surface of the nail. Apply a thin layer of base coat and cure it according to the instructions on your lamp (for gel) or wait for it to dry.
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Apply a thin coat of your chosen base colour, I’m using white but you can use any light colour and make sure to cap the free edge (paint along the very tip of your nails). Cure or wait for it to dry.
Apply a second, thin coat of your chosen base colour and while this is still wet (don’t cure or wait for it to dry), add a few dots of your contrasting colour, I’ve used lilac instead of peach. You can use any colour you like and this marbled effect works well with any colour combination, as long as you have light, medium and dark colours (or if you’re only using two, a light and a dark). You’ll want to add dots of your darker colour as well, before attempting to marble the polishes together, as traditional polish will start to dry, making the marbling difficult.
I have marbled the lilac colour first, just to try and show you what it looks like and how to do it using small figure 8 motions.
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For the best effect, don't marble the colour first. Place your coloured dots down first and then grab your mini striping brush, small paintbrush or clean eyeliner brush, dip the brush into your darkest nail polish colour to get a tiny bit on the brush (I’m using a dark charcoal grey) and paint thin, random squiggly lines across your nails. Then using small figure 8 motions, gently start to blend the three colours together, creating a marbled effect. You'll get a much smoother marble (it'll be a bit more blended and similar to the main pic above).
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You need to work quite quickly if you’re using traditional polish and with this technique, less is more. Meaning that the less you play with it, the better it will look. If you try to push it around too much, you may end up with a muddy coloured mess instead of a nice marble.
Once you’re happy with the effect, cure the polish or wait for it to dry. Apply your top coat and cure or wait for it to dry. Finish off your manicure by rubbing cuticle oil onto your nails, cuticles and skin around your nails. Cuticle oil applied daily will nourish your nails and help your polish to last longer by keeping it flexible. Apply hand cream and you’re done!
I'd love to see pics on the PhotoWall, if any of you ladies attempt try this at home.
Kind regards,
Debbie
Thank you so much Debbie - we can't wait for the next one ;)
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Such a neat effect and it looks so easy to do :D