I can't believe it's already July, I feel like summer just began and that it's flown by me at the same time. But with the new month brings us 4th of July and a ton of nail art celebrating the holiday. I wanted to do something unique this year but was stumped when it came to ideas. Then one night while I was trying and failing to fall asleep an idea came to me. Fluid nail art is very popular these days and while I love the look I had a feeling a few people would be taking that route, so I went for an old-school technique using rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. The first time I tried this technique was over 3 years ago and I figured it was time to revisit it again.
This is a very messy technique much like watermarbling so it's important to protect your skin to limit clean up. Usually, I'd use liquid latex for this but I wanted to give the latex free nail protectors from Beauty Big Bang a try.
These nail tapes are a bit more awkward to apply than liquid latex but I was pleased with how snuggly they fit around my nails.
I did use a little silicone tool to press down the edges around my nails to make sure they were firmly in place and that no polish would seep underneath. You could probably skip this step if you want to as they seemed snug and tight on their own.
As you can see they worked out really well. My only complaint would be that they didn't cover farther up my finger but that's more personal preference than a problem with the product. If you'd like to order a set for yourself be sure to use code LUSTROUS for 10 % off your order.
As I mentioned above I used rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to create this look. My base color is Sinful colors Whiteboard from the School Goals collection released the the fall of 2011. To get the layered effect I used one color at a time from darkest to lightest. The Blue is Sinful Colors Endless Blue from the 2013 Buff to Bright collection. Ruby Ruby was released in 2011 as part of the go plaid collection and was the perfect shade of red. Another layer of Whiteboard gave a lighter feel to the manicure and I topped it off with a glossy top coat.
Now my original idea had the cells being much larger and the final result is a bit more muddled than I wanted but I love the finished results. It's a greater marble effect than intended but it works.
I thought it might be fun to take a look back at some previous 4th of July looks I've created over the years. It's a fun way to see how I've progressed with my nail art and who knows it might inspire someone. So here they are from oldest to newest.
I hope you enjoyed that stroll down memory lane as much as I did. I'll admit there were a few cringe-worthy manicures in there, but we all start somewhere right. Now just in case, I haven't given you enough manicures to look at it's time for the link up. Check out the fine work of some fellow bloggers below. And feel free to add your own link if you'd like. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
