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Thursday, 9 August 2012

Tutorial - Toothbrush Nails and American Independence

Hi Goddesses



It's a little embarrassing, but I have been promising you this post for 2 months lol.  As the title suggests, I was playing around with a toothbrush, and ended up with something pretty cool, so this is your step by step to how to do cool things to your nails with a toothbrush AND how to end up with that Stars mani.



Your first step is to paint your nails white and top coat it to seal it.  You then want to take a red - odds on I used SH Right Said Red - and you're going to drop a small to medium sized blob of it at the base of your nail. Tip - because of the white, the red may turn pinkish, like mine did, so choose wisely!




Then, making vertical strokes only, and only in one direction, use the toothbrush to brush the polish all around your nail.  Ideally, you should end up with something messy looking, imperfect, and rough.



At this point, it's up to you what you do next.  Because I was creating an Independence Day mani, I then added a layer of blue, in exactly the same way - blob at the base of the nail and then drag it down.




And this is what I ended up with - and I did not like.  The blue was too dark and overpowering, and it was hard to see the red. So, what do you do ?   Easy - acid wash it down :)


Acid Wash is the name for when you apply acetone to a layer of polish to remove parts of it or lighten it.  You make random brush strokes, and if you've used layers of colours, you get a cool effect.  




And this was the result - suddenly the red peeks through again, and you also get glimpses of the white.  It's become multi-tonal, and I LOVE the brush-strokiness of it.



And then the stamping began - white Konad polish and BM06.   Personally, I always love stamping more when it's on a textured base, and despite this having a lot of layers, it's still ridiculously easy to do.

Enjoy xx :)