Splashy Nails

First, a disclaimer: I am an art lover, so there will probably be a lot of art/craft attempts posted. Nail polish designs occasionally fall into the artsy category for me. Then sometimes they fall into the completely, ridiculously crazy who-the-heck-can-do-these?!! category. These nails are not those, because 1) I didn't have time, and 2) I am not (currently) that crazy.

So, my first attempt at a Pinterest pin, will be the Splashy Nails, or as BeautyLish.com calls them, Splatter Nails. I think that the original nails are from BeautyLish, buuuuuut the link that I followed was broken so I had to search for the right nail design...and I got distracted....so I think this was the right one. 

Original Pin

A'right, so I started out by putting down my base coat, of Sally Hansen's clear Green Tea and Bamboo Strengthener nail polish.

Seriously, this stuff is amaaaaazing! It has definitely helped make my nails stronger and less breakable. I now feel like I've got some pretty sweet talons. :) I have learned, through experience, that using a base coat to protect your nail is the smartest way to go about painting nails. 

Once the base coat dried (which I hear is an important step), I put down a coat of white polish. I have recently fallen in love with Sinful Colors Professional. It's really smooth to put on, which is key for me, because I don't have the nail painting skills to try and fight with thick gloopy fingernail polish without getting it everywhere. Also, it's only something like $2 for professional quality nail polish. (Yahoo, fiscal responsibility!)

Right Hand

Left Hand

I am left hand dominant, so my right hand turns out really spectacular (for me) and confuses everyone. My left hand, on the other hand usually turns out to be quite pathetic. As you can see. I've heard that you can put tape around the nails, or Vaseline and it will make everything much cleaner. It'd probably be smart to implement that sometime... I put on a layer of clear after doing that, 'cause I've found it makes doing designs on the nails easier. 

I let all the white dry. I suggest letting it completely dry. I am an impatient person, so that is very difficult for me to follow, but I used my willpower and did it this time...because this is One-Shot Dot and I would've had to post all the icky results if I had been impatient...

About four hours after I painted them, I decided they were dry enough for me to do the artsy bit. (No, I did not wait that whole time for them to dry. I went to a bonfire and had s'mores. Interesting fact: it is very difficult to differentiate between white nail polish and melted marshmallows.)

Now, the color splash is tricky. One of my friends tried it before I did and I saw all of the things that should not be done with this design. (I cannot emphasize let the white layer dry enough!) I pulled out four different colors - dark purple, teal, fuchsia, and hot pink.

My pretty maids, all in a row...

When I paint, I often start with the darkest colors first, so that's what I did here. I put a dot in the corner of my nail and used a toothpick to spread it out in little spikes. Using the clear top coat over the white helped out immensely. My friend did not use the top coast and ended up with a mess. It was icky.

I then did the same with the teal, fuchsia, and pink. (The fuchsia and pink do not look that close in real life! Stupid camera...) My right hand took me about 10 minutes. My left hand took me at least 25 minutes, because I was trying to be so careful and make it look as good as the right. I covered everything with one last layer of my clear polish to make everything shiny and pretty.

Right Hand (Like a Boss)

Left Hand (Ehhh...)

And there you have it! My first attempt of the Splashy Nails. They actually didn't turn out as disastrously as I was imagining in my head the whole time. Probably because it took me five hours to do. Granted, four of those were spent at a bonfire...but still, Patience is Key! Comparing this experience to previous ones where I attempt (and usually fail) to do something cool with my nails, I think if I approach the my fingernails like I would a canvas, and treat it like an art project, I do much better. 

'Til Next Time!