manicure pics...

I'm obsessed with seeing those...If any ladies in here want to show off their manicures please post pics!! I would love to see them.

I am the nail ladies' worst nightmare because I keep my nails cut nearly to the quick... since I play piano and guitar I can't ever have them long. I love getting them painted and having the little flower with a jewel put on, though! Right now they're just blank.

I miss doing my nails sometimes. I used to do some cool stuff. But now I'd rather spend my "free" time doing other things.

I can't be bothered to spend money getting them done professionally, although my nails really could use it. I do my nails as best as I can though with my own tools.

When I am not water marbling them, I usually do french manicures. Here is my latest job. Its not as tidy as it usually is because I did it just before bed when I was tired.

Mine are about the same length, only painted completely pink using Revlon's Posh Pink colour

Originally Posted by LuvMyParker

I can't be bothered to spend money getting them done professionally, although my nails really could use it. I do my nails as best as I can though with my own tools.

When I am not water marbling them, I usually do french manicures. Here is my latest job. Its not as tidy as it usually is because I did it just before bed when I was tired.

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Originally Posted by orangeishcat

I am the nail ladies' worst nightmare because I keep my nails cut nearly to the quick... since I play piano and guitar I can't ever have them long.

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Violinist here! Same for me.

When I was in high school, girls in my class got kicked out of orchestra for getting fake nails around school dances. It's impossible to play with long nails!

Originally Posted by LuvMyParker

I can't be bothered to spend money getting them done professionally, although my nails really could use it. I do my nails as best as I can though with my own tools.

When I am not water marbling them, I usually do french manicures. Here is my latest job. Its not as tidy as it usually is because I did it just before bed when I was tired.

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That looks awesome!! What is water marbling???

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Mine are about the same length, only painted completely pink using Revlon's Posh Pink colour

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Interesting color, I love that name and it looks very pretty.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...arbling&page=4

Had to search to find it, but I remembered a nail thread not long ago.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

Interesting color, I love that name and it looks very pretty.

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The colour in the picture is the exact colour of the polish.

I only use Revlon nail polish because I find that it has super staying power. I use their fast drying base coat, followed by 2 coats of their polish and 1 coat of their top coat. The polish lasts a week or more without wearing off or chipping. In fact I tend to have to remove it after about 10 days because of nail growth and gaps between the polish and cuticle.

I got a manicure yesterday, but I'm too lazy to take a picture

I used to bite my nails when I was young so now I keep them nice. Usually I match my polish to whatever outfit I'm wearing. My friend has amazing nails - they look fake because they are so long and perfect. Her granddaughter is in the nail business and hand paints beautiful designs on her nails. She has promised me a "do" from her granddaughter next time I visit her. I'll take pictures to show you all - you'll be amazed.

I have a mild obsession with nail polishes. I wish I was artistic enough to do anything special other than paint my nails. But, I currently have 80 nail polish bottles, and my collection is growing and growing...
Recently I started to blog about nail stuff too...

But here are some of the colors I've taken pics of






























Do you think I'm crazy yet

I LOOOOOVE that shimmery pale blue near the bottom! That's soooooo pretty!

You got some really pretty shades there, you should check out some water marbling tutorials on youtube and give it a try. I bet you'd come out with some nice combinations.

I don't have many colors that I like to wear alone. Since I bought them for marbling...but I did just get a new one from someone, I will have to try it out. You've inspired me to go back to basic painting.

Edit: How do you get it so smooth? I ALWAYS get bubbles when I paint my nails. I don't shake the bottles either.

I used to have a lot of problems with bubbles in my nail polishes. I started using really thin coats. I use two or three real thin coats and let each coat dry completely before putting the next coat on. It takes a lot longer but I get a nice smooth finish when I paint my nails this way.

right now my nails are a champagne color that I put on quickly this morning to cover them up for an interview. But I plan on redoing them very soon.

A few tips on water marbling:
LOTS of scotch tape!
Dont worry about nail polish remover for any excess on your hands, just wait until in the shower the next morning and it will come off easily.
I use regular tap water, a toothpick, and a straw cut into thirds.
Cheaper nail polishes tend to work better
NEVER use quick dry polishes for it!

I never had issues with bubbles, I just suck at applying nail polish, it always comes out uneven or I paint my cuticles ...

So, I tried water marbling!! It was hard, I did not expect it to be this hard after watching a video and thinking how easy it looked.
It seemed to me that the color comes off very sheer, I would have preferred a more opaque color. I noticed that the darker colors did not work too well, and all I really wanted was a dark manicure, but oh well..
I guess i need to give it another try!

Jordi, what's the straw for??
Denice, I dunno, I've never had issues with bubbles

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I never had issues with bubbles, I just suck at applying nail polish, it always comes out uneven or I paint my cuticles ...

So, I tried water marbling!! It was hard, I did not expect it to be this hard after watching a video and thinking how easy it looked.
It seemed to me that the color comes off very sheer, I would have preferred a more opaque color. I noticed that the darker colors did not work too well, and all I really wanted was a dark manicure, but oh well..
I guess i need to give it another try!

Jordi, what's the straw for??
Denice, I dunno, I've never had issues with bubbles

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What types of polish did you use? And did you use a base color?
I use the straw instead of the orange stick to clear off the excess polish on the water before removing my fingers.

also here are some of my nail marble designs:

Most recent for 4th of July

turquoise brown and white

Blue, bright green, and white before I cleaned them up.
Some other recent faves: (I take a lot of pics of my nails LOL!)

My dayglow pink toenails. I LOVE this color!

Lime green and shatter

Pink with shatter tips

Black and Traffic Stopper Copper top coat

My santa suit Christmas nails (and my lovely christmas present )

If you find the colors are too thin, with the marbling, keep adding the drops until the "bullseye" is really thick. I tend to do 4-5 (sometimes more) drops of each color.
Sally Hansen polishes seem to work the best. I use the Xtreme Wear line. They have awesome colors.
I've become pretty much a pro at the marbling now, so if you get stuck or have questions, let me know! And yes, what capt_jordi said...scotch tape will be your saving grace. lol. I do tend to clean around my nails when I am done. I use a q-tip or a very thin paintbrush to clean up.

Edit: I was given some sparkly nail polish. It seemed a bit over the top to do my nails completely in it...so I tried this and I love it!

Originally Posted by LuvMyParker

If you find the colors are too thin, with the marbling, keep adding the drops until the "bullseye" is really thick. I tend to do 4-5 (sometimes more) drops of each color.
Sally Hansen polishes seem to work the best. I use the Xtreme Wear line. They have awesome colors.
I've become pretty much a pro at the marbling now, so if you get stuck or have questions, let me know! And yes, what capt_jordi said...scotch tape will be your saving grace. lol. I do tend to clean around my nails when I am done. I use a q-tip or a very thin paintbrush to clean up.

Edit: I was given some sparkly nail polish. It seemed a bit over the top to do my nails completely in it...so I tried this and I love it!

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OMG That is too pretty!! I never would have thought to do this, but then again I don't think I could get it so precise even if I tried...
Your nails look like they are professionally done, it's really amazing you can do such complicated things yourself!!

I did a second try at water marbling, and it was much better, I am not sure what I was doing wrong last time. It must have been the polish I was using. The only issue I have now is that after I dip my finger in the water, and I take it out, some of the nail polish from around the design gets picked up and ruins my design :/ I am not sure if that makes any sense, but my guess is that I should probably use something bigger than a tooth pick to pick up the residual nail polish design that's on top of the water...
I will try again some time soon, it seems like so much work though that I can only do one step at a time..

In the meantime I wanted something on my nails other than just one color polish, and I've been inspired by the color blocking trend that's been big lately so I did a color blocking type nail ..I don't have a steady hand so it's not perfect, but here's what it came out like