Today's letter is "D", and I chose another DIY nail art technique to share. DIY may be stretching it as far as the ABC Challenge guidelines go, but I couldn't resist sharing this technique with you. It's one of my favorite techniques so far.
I'm sure you've all seen the new OPI Liquid Sand polishes from the Mariah Carey Collection. I even have one that I need to share with you. If you're like me, you love the look, but your budget won't allow you to go out and buy all of them, and you may wish they came in more colors. I was blog surfing the other day, and came across this tutorial from The Daily Varnish. It did not take long for me to run out to Michael's and grab some supplies.
All you need for this look is nail polish, Matte Top Coat, and Embossing Powder. I picked up a few different colors of embossing powder for $3 each at Michael's, and they had a bunch on sale for $1.99 as well. I chose a blue embossing powder with silver holo for this manicure (although the matte top coat kills the holo!), and I love the result! I'm actually still wearing this! Let's take a peek at the mani...be sure to click to read more to find out how you can get this look!
This is Recollections Embossing Powder in Blue Blaze over 2 coats of Salon Perfect Berry Blue, topped with Warpaint Beauty Matte Top Coat:
I love love love this look!! I really dig the liquid sand polishes, but I wanted more color choices. On top of that, when I went to pick some up, the colors I did want were sold out. This is a great way to get the liquid sand look for cheap!
How I did it:
I'll be posting a full tutorial on this look (along with the DIY black spotted tutorial) within the next week. Until then, here's a quick rundown of how I got this look.
1. Polish as usual. Start with your base coat, then polish, top coat, and clean up. I use a quick dry topcoat so that my polish dries faster, since you'll be using a matte top coat to finish.
2. After your basic mani is finished, apply a thin coat of your colored polish to the nail. I can't emphasize thin enough - if you go too thick, the entire layer will spread and create a thick, oddly shaped mess. Clean up isn't an option with this kind of mani, since the color in the powder will run all over your cuticles, and it's a pain to get off! Work on one nail at a time.
3. While your polish is still wet, take the Embossing Powder and either dip your finger into the container (easiest, with less mess), or sprinkle the powder in an even layer over your nail (if you choose this method, lay a piece of aluminum foil under your hand - you can pour the powder back into the container when you're finished.). Once your entire nail is covered with the powder, press the powder into the polish gently. Make sure you do this to the entire nail. Be careful not to press too hard, or your powder and polish will come sliding off.
4. Repeat on all 10 nails.
5. Once everything is reasonably dry, use either a fan brush or a fluffy powder brush to brush away the excess embossing powder.
6. Apply Matte Top Coat (this is what gives it the liquid sand finish) and allow to dry. Wash your hands and voila! Finished! I will mention that the embossing powder sticks to everything! You can see some of it on my hands in the photos!
Once everything is completely dry, you can wash your hands, oil, lotion, etc as usual. My matte top coat is wonderful and returns to a matte finish after oiling and washing, but if you have a finicky matte, it may take a good 20 minutes to return to the matte finish.
Sounds like a lot of steps, but it's really fast and easy. Not to mention cheap!
What do you think of the DIY Liquid Sand Mani? Will you be trying this?
Be sure to check out all the lovey ladies and their awesome "D" Manicures!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber
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