Saturday, October 12, 2013

Tutorial: Spider Webs and Mummies - Gel Nail Art & Sharpies!

Ok, so I just posted the photos of my spider web and mummy nails, and now, here's a video to show you how I did it.  It's a little long, but hopefully not too boring! 


All you need to do this type of nail art is a Sharpie marker! Of course, with gels you will already have the other required item handy--91% isopropyl alcohol, that is.  If you make a mistake, Sharpie erases easily with the isopropyl alcohol.  This is a concept that has been really popular for easy DIY nails with regular nail polish, but there's no reason you couldn't use the same method for gel polishes, too.

If you're a newbie like me, I suggest trying out the designs on your "old" nails first, before you soak off your old gel manicure.  You can keep erasing with the isopropyl alcohol and retrying until you find a technique that works, and then you can finally draw on the manicure you want to keep for the next two weeks.  Remember, you don't have to get too detailed either, since most people will only see your nails from at least 2 feet away!

The only potential problem with Sharpie for nail art is that it can bleed when you apply a top coat--perhaps you saw a little bit of smearing on some of my nails.  To combat this, make sure you wait a little for the marker to set in, apply your top coat liberally, and use a light hand--pushing down on the brush too much was the biggest problem for me.  But since gels self-level before they're cured, I found that I could gently coerce the smeared area back a little with my brush, without ruining my nails. 

All that information and more is in the video, so feel free to watch!

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