We were asked to create a set of five nails inspired by a cover of any past issue of Nails Magazine. I chose the 1988 February issue. I went through the entire collection twice and saw a cover with masks on it. I'm all about things speaking to me and when I saw the same thing that interested me, twice, I knew this was it. The odd, green ombre background and the drama masks with that old school polish color...yeah, this was me. I looked up the meaning behind the masks and where they originated. That lead me to looking up Greek and venetian colors and patterns. The movement of the patterns and the richness of the colors inspired my background. I wanted to include the green ombre and it went well with the gold. I also didn't want to make either the gold or green the center of attention, so I did a monochromatic design so it could just be an afterthought. Greeks were known for the architecture and quality materials such as marble, so I included that as well to finish my design.
Step-by-Step Nail Art Tutorial
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This is the base polish. I started with a white Caption Polish. I also used a gel base coat, cured it, and mixed different gold pigments with a makeup brush on the pinky and thumb.
2
I used my thumb (for real) for the ombre effect using standard polish. Then i took and bit of gel top coat and dipped my gel brush in it and picked up some dark green pigment by CND Additives and blended it down to finish the green ombre nail. For the design, I used a lime green acrylic paint and a 10/0 short liner brush. I usually dilute my paints with water from a spray bottle for better consistency.
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Here's a close up of the design.
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I didn't want the masks to be plain and flat, so I did a marble pattern on the base of the nail. I used a white Caption polish for my first coat. I did this first to allow time to dry. I put one coat of Young Nails Sheer White gel polish on top, and before I cured it, I used my 10/0 short liner brush and randomly mixed Akzentz Wisp, grey gel polish in the sheer white. After the grey, I used Akzentz gel play black to make the marble effect. The way to get this done, is to not put much on it. You basically have to have so very little, that you can barely see it. Then drag it through in one direction carelessly until you reach the desired effect.
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Here's a close up of the nail.
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The drama masks were painted on top of the marble using Akzentz Gel Play in black and Light Elegance gel paint in red. I used the cover of the magazine as my guide, but ultimately, they became my own. I used the same, 10/0 short liner brush for the detailing.
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The pattern on the gold nail is reminiscent of gold rope. I put random circular patterns in for fun. I used a gold acrylic paint for this and my 10/0 short liner, but I did not dilute this paint because it's a metallic color and water turns it a funny color.
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Here's a close up of the nail.
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