First attempt at water-marbeling!

Actually, I should probably say my first "sucessful attempt at water marbeling. I spent most of yesterday about to pull my hair out, while drop after drop of polish sunk to the bottom of the glass, or refused to disperse at all. After much groaning and throwing of cotton balls and orange sticks, my husband came over to see what all of the fuss was about, and of course, each drop preformed perfectly under his skeptical gaze.

After doing some more research on the interwebs, I decided to invest in a 98-cent jug of distilled water from the local Kroger, and it made a world of difference. The laqure disperced evenely each time, and the film stuck together longer, making for a smoother application and quick clean-up.

The only downside for me is the inability to get a uniform look. Perhaps it's just a slight case of OCD, but having 2 "candy-striped" nails next to "swirly" nailes really upset me. I suppose I could fix this with practice over time, but at the moment it's just too time consuming and labor intensive to wipe it off and try again.

The most labor-intensive part was removing the polish from my fingers after each dip. It was simply hellish, and this was after applying petrolum jelly to each finger. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as noticeable if I were using pastels instead of navy blue and pink. After I cleaned the bulk of the polish off with cotton balls and Q-tips, I used the meganchair method to leave a nice, clean edge.

You may notice that I don't use the meganchair method to create her famout "gap" between the cutical and the polish. I am not a fan of the gap overall. In my opinion, it looks like an acrylic nail that needs filling. To that end, I almost always paint over the edges of the nail to be sure I cover 100% of the surface. Depending on time constraints, I either use meganchair to remove the excess with pure acetone and a sharp brush, or I simply peel the polish off my shin after taking a hot bath or shower. Both work equally well, but I honestly think the acetone is a little less damaging to my cuticals, considering that I am otherwise forcing enamle off my skin.

I used 1 coat of Sinful Colors "Cream Pink" as my base, then marbled with  Sally Hansen Salon "Navy Baby" and Wet and Wild "Gray's Anatomy" (aka: the knock-off of OPI's "Not Like The Movies" in their Katy Perry line). Finished with Sally Hansen Mega Shine.