Tips and Tricks:
1. Use room temperature filtered water. This helps with the polish not drying out while you w.m. Too cold(water)- fast dry..... too hot (water)- fast dry
2. I use tape around my nails to help with clean up, some people use glue but I find this too long of a process and messy. Speaking of tape- I tape around the top of my finger and across the bottom of my nail by the cuticle. When cutting the tape away I cut the back(bottom side of my finger) and pull the tape off around my nail.
3. Try a drop of nail polish remover in the water (I use pure acetone), I know y'all are like "WHAT" but it helps with the spreading of the polish. Drop the remover in and mix up the water.
4. NOT ALL POLISH IS CREATED EQUAL! What I mean is that start off with cream polishes (cheap ones!) Don't try to use shimmers, mattes, holos, glitters, or anything other than cream polish to start. This way you can practice and get the hang of how to w.m. After you get the hang of it try other polishes some are really awesome to w.m. with.
5. When first making your bulls-eye make sure the polish reaches all the way to the edge of the cup/votive, this helps by not dragging all your polish to one side.
6. Wipe your toothpick off after each drag through the w.m. You can see this in the video below.
7. Make sure there isn't a breeze, polish dries quickly sometimes, you don't want to help it along!
8. Sometimes you get those bubbles, well sometimes they are just there but if you go straight into the water (not holding your nail at an angle, that helps) and not going to fast into the water (slow but not slug speed and steady).
9. Try different polish! Some polishes don't like each other and won't w.m. well together so sometimes you have to try 3 whites to get the one that will w.m. with what you got going on.
10. When dragging and making your design don't waste time! Polish waits for no one and will dry whether you like it or not.
11. Have a paper towel under your cup/votive. W.M. is messy business, this helps with water and wiping off the toothpick.
12. A bit of cuticle oil on the toothpick will help with gliding through polish.
13. Practice with the colors you want to use before starting, to make sure they spread together properly and make the design you want.
14. Use a base color like white or something that will help give the w.m. a good foundation.
15. When you have pulled your finished w.m. out of the water and see the awesomeness take the tape off and then take another toothpick around the cuticle too help with clean up around the cuticle.
16. Clean up with non acetone, it usually won't make the polish run and make a bigger mess. It means a little more work but no running!
17. I did address bubbles up at the top, here is another thing I do sometimes. When I pull out my finished w.m. and see bubbles I take a pin and pop them and then take a toothpick and apply a drop of polish that is missing. Sometimes it is in the middle of two colors and you can't make it perfect but this will help if you can't stand those pesky bubbles.
18. Make sure you have everything you need before you start. Cup/ votive, paper towel, toothpick, orange stick to clean up with, polish (open tops for quick use), room temp. water, polish remover, tape or glue, scissors, a few extra toothpicks (for clean up around cuticle and bubbles), a piece of paper to stick the used tape to after you cut it off, TIME: make sure you have the time to do all your nails!
19. Making sure the polish is new and not old- this helps with spreading. Old polish can get nasty and new polish is smooth and easy to use.
20. Did you know that you can add dots on top of your w.m. YES! This will add a extra color or a little punch to your mani. Sometime you can rid yourself of those bubbles adding dots will cover them up.
21. Did you know you can move the cup/votive to get the w.m. the way you want! YES! Just use a gentle hand when turning the cup as to not mess up your finished w.m.
Okay now that you have some of our Tips and Tricks, here is an easy flower w.m. design video (this was the first design I learned how to do). For this w.m. I used Zoya Belinda, Thandie, Faby Black is Black, and China Glaze Fairy Dust(as a top coat). Good Luck and have fun water marbling!
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| Finished look with China Glaze Fairy Dust as a top coat. |
We really hope this helps y'all! Just remember that you need to practice at water marbling to get the hang of doing it. Leave us any comments about what you have tried and know works or a question cause you might still need some help.
Happy Water Marbling Everyone!
Love,
~Anne and Pat~
