Sunday, July 15, 2012

Waterless Flames Tutorial

Welcome new followers I am so glad you decided to follow me.  In looking at my numbers I have over 1000 views which I just think it awesome.

Tonight I am still in love with the mani I did a few days ago which I showed in my last post Fun in the Sun which was a neon water marble that was black light friendly so I am having a hard time taking it off.  I did this mani to match the outfit I wore to a black light charity event and it looked like I had little lights on the tips of my fingers.  I just love it.  So because I am not done wearing it yet it kinda leaves me postless at the moment.

A few weeks ago I did a waterless marble for the Neverland Nails Summer Fun Challenge Grill Masters which to me looks like flames.  I love this look and in doing that mani I took pictures to do a tutorial on it. Until now I just haven't had the time.  So I am going to use "wanting to keep this awesome neon mani around" for a few more days as an excuse to show you how I did these flames.


I have watched several video tutorials on how to do several different ideas that I see and think "I would love to try that but I just can't figure out how they do it." and I have noticed everyone does something that is completely their own and some things work for some and other things work for others that don't work for me. So this is just how I do this and I love the way it turns out.  I hope this helps you achieve this look. :)

Here I am using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Red Carpet and China Glaze Smoke and Ash.  I started with a base coat because this red polish stains like crazy. After the base coat I add a thick coat of Red Carpet. When I say thick, I mean thick enough  to draw in it and not mess up the smooth surface of the polish.

 The second step is to add a thick tip of the Smoke and ash.  Again you want to add a thick enough coat that when you draw your flames the polish fills in your lines.  Your polish will be so thick and even be pooling on the edges of your nails.  This is ok and we will fix this in a moment.
Next, you are going to draw your flames.  I use a toothpick.  I have seen others use a small dotting tool, small paint brush and even a sewing needle.  I like the tooth pick.  Personal preference I guess, feel free to use what you want .  Start in the Black and make a wavy line with the tooth pick pulling the black up into the red.  You have to do this quickly and I recommend doing this one nail at a time. Make a few lines and then if there are spots that need a little tweeking you can fix them by pulling the red down a little into the black.

You then want to get rid of some of that pooling polish on the edges.  If you don't the paint will stay wet forever and when you think it is dry and go to tie those shoes that is when you get your smudge. That just drives me crazy. So here you are going to take your first finger on the non painted hand.  GENTLY!! touch the paint with your finger and pull it away dragging the excess paint with it and just wipe it off on a paper towel.  Do this on both sides and the tip. This will pull all that excess polish away and give you mani that will dry relatively quick.
I had to use an example from a different finger. :) The little daughter was helping take pictures and not all of them turned out.  This gets MESSY! but don't worry we are gonna clean that up too. After you get all of those digits done and you have put a nice clear coat.  I like Seche Vite.  Dries fast and with it being thick coat of polish that quick dry helps. Pour a little bit of acetone into a little dish (or the cap) and a stiff brush for clean up.  Dip the brush in the acetone and clean up any polish that has found its way on to your skin. With the Red that I chose it makes clean up HARD.  That Red paint never wants to come off.  Even if you don't get all of the paint off it is fine.  The rest will come off as you wash your hands.
 So there you have it.. How I do flames.  I recommend if you try this to use the lighter color as your base.  Example: If you wanted to do Black and Hot Pink.  If you use the Black as your base the pink will not show up very well. If you use the pink as your base the black will show up wonderfully. Like this :)

 I hope you try this... and if you do please share a picture on MY FACEBOOK PAGE I would love to see your interpretation.
As always THANKS for reading.
Amy <3

5 comments:

  1. This is such a fun design. I love using more than two colors and somewhat similar shades - it gives it a bit of a different look, but cool all the same.

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    1. I would say that this technique is still one of my favorites. It makes for a great look on the toes too. :0)

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  2. I will def have to try this:) i wanna do it in Neon:)

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    1. That would be cute!! I did swirls with Neon Yellow Purple and Black for my friend. It turned out great. I've noticed the neon polish (at least the brands I have)dry super fast so you have to move quick.

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