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Friday, June 17, 2011

Mermaid Tail Nail Art & How To

I've kept you guys waiting long enough!  Thanks for being patient. :)

I'm starting to feel a lot better, and I'm itching to start swatching and creating cool nail art for you guys.  Unfortunately, that'll have to wait a little longer, because yesterday I wanted to test out my silver shatter (I haven't been able to use it yet! >.<) on my sister's nail and the smell sent me reeling.  So still too early for that.  But here's something I did before I got sick. :)


Mermaid scales!  But first, let me do a quick review of Orly Shine.  Shine is your basic white-silver foil.  It's a little sheer, so I'm wearing 3-4 coats here.  And I actually got to do a wear test with this one for a whole week.  After about a week, I only had tip wear, and this was without top coat.  But I also haven't done much this week, so that's something to consider.

All the silver made me think of scales, so I decided to do a mermaid tail on the accent finger.  I actually did this like I did my mosaic nails, only with a scale print this time.  But after I was done, I realized there's really no point in going through all that trouble.  Here's a simpler way!


How to get this look:
  1. I suggest you pick out several blues and teals.  Use one for your base color.  
  2. If you want to make it fade from silver to blue like I did, sponge on silver near the cuticle.  
  3. Then dab various blues and teals using your polish brushes to make a dappled pattern on your nail.
  4. After I had my blues down, I sponged on Zoya Faye to add some purple and gold, as well as China Glaze Strawberry Fields for some pink.  I also dabbed on flakies and blue glitter to various parts of the nail (not the whole nail.)  
  5. Be sure to let your colors dry, then using a thin brush and white polish, draw on the scales by making half circles.  Try to keep your lines thin.  Thicker lines will make your scales look thicker.
  6. Let the design dry, then finish with 1-2 coats of top coat.  I used 2 coats of Seche Vite.
I think this would be a easier method, since I used all blues, the end result didn't really show I did each scale individually.  You can do the scales individually, but then I suggest using different colors. :)








What do you think?  This look also reminds me of Rainbow Fish.  Did anyone else read this when they were little?  She has these sparkly scales, and I used touch all of them. :P  Maybe I'll do this scale mani again using different colored scales like Rainbow Fish's next time. ^^


Let me know what you think in the comments!  And tell me if you've read this book! :P


Liz

18 comments:

  1. I am in love with this! I wish my nails were as long as yours because it would look sooo much cooler! Thanks for the how-to also!

    Ooooh, I think a Rainbow Fish inspired design would be sooo cool, using a silver holo for the super shiny scales!

    I read Rainbow Fish!! and I think I had a stuffed animal version of her too! :)

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  2. OMG! The "fish" nail is completely amazing!!! Did you use any flakies in the mix?
    I'm totally in love.

    About the book, I've read only one..something about Monster's cave:)

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  3. My class loves Rainbow Fish...we had Rainbow Fish sticker charts last term.
    I'm glad you're feeling better, keep taking it easy.

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  4. Wow, it's stunning! It's a really cool effect!! Lovely =D
    Haven't heard about that book, not sure er have it here.. But the fish looks cute! haha

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  5. Absolutely love this. Perfect mermaid colors and design. I think I have to try it! =]

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  6. @Fiona: No problem! :) And I was thinking about a Rainbow Fish mani with holo too for her sparkly scales. :) Something like GOSH would be great. Wish I had it! :P

    @thenailaholic: Thanks! :)

    @Hlopushka: Yep I used Nfu Oh #53 and Sinful Colors Green Ocean. But I didn't use too much of the flakies in Green Ocean because I don't like them. The bigger ones are too thick.

    @Ame: Thanks! And oh Rainbow Fish sticker charts sound cute. :)

    @Swååfie: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. :)

    @GothamPolish: Thanks! ^^

    @Victoria: You should! Let me know if you do! I'd love to see it. :)

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  7. The mani is gorgeous but I seriously got a blast from the past when I saw Rainbow Fish!

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  8. Oh my, i am in love with the mermaid tail!!

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  9. That is so beautiful! With all the different blues/holo/glitter in it. And yes, I've read the rainbow fish a looong time ago, don't remember what it was about though. Probably because I was so distracted by the pictures haha. Wasn't it about the fish sharing its beauty by giving holo scales to others? *Googles*

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  10. @Jane: Haha actually I don't remember what it was about either. But I googled it and...Rainbow Fish is a guy! For some reason I thought it was a girl? I think this just proves I only stared at the pictures. :P

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  11. so cute! I was going to comment how it reminded me of the rainbow fish! hahaha

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  12. Okay, I'm definitely bookmarking this post! And perhaps steal your idea... and do my own version of it... and post it on my blog ;) ... with proper aknowledgment of course! :) <3 Awesome job!

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  13. This is really awesome! I've gotta try this out one day (: I remember my kindergarten teacher reading this to us, but I have no idea what it was about! I liked the one about the caterpillar that kept eating and eating until it became a beautiful butterfly though! I think it's by the same author...? Hahaha

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