I thought as I was painting the braids on my nails that I might not have used shades of green with enough contrast; but, I actually love the way this turned out and these polishes really ended up looking great together, leaving a nice subtle braid look!
I'm teaming up again with Jayne from Cosmetic Proof and Trysh from Prairie Beauty Love - we have been picking themes together and each sharing our interpretations, so make sure you check out their take on "braided nails".
For this Manicure I used:
-Essie Gel Couture polish in Sage You Love Me (lightest green)
-Ciate polish in Apple & Custard (medium green)
-NCLA polish in Santa Monica Shore Thing (teal green)
I also used Formula X nail cleanser and base coat and Essie Gel Couture Top Coat!
The steps I followed for the Manicure are:
1. Nail Cleanser and Base Coat
2. I painted my nails with 1 coat of base polish (I used the lightest shade)
3. Let the base polish dry for a few minutes
4. Taking the 2nd polish shade, I wiped off the brush to make sure it had enough for 1 stroke of polish; but, you don't want it glooping or blobbing on the nail!
5. Then, take the polish and starting in a top corner near the cuticle, paint the brush in a diagonal stroke to the other edge of the nail.
6. Let this dry for a minute or two
7. Take the 3rd shade and complete step 4 & 5 from the opposite side of the nail
8. Then do this with the base polish and continue with the 3 polishes like a braid, allowing a minute or two in between braid strokes.
9. Once you reached the bottom of the nail, allow the nails to dry well (this will take some time as there is quite a few layers!)
10. Finish with a topcoat!
This was a little time consuming to do; but, not difficult! And, the greens aren't polish shades aren't something that I normally go for!
I'm super happy with how these turned out! Happy nail braiding!
YOU FREE HANDED THIS??? THAT IS WILD! Holy crap!!!!
ReplyDeleteI did!! Thanks! Somehow I managed to keep the lines pretty straight which doesn't happen all the time!
DeleteI love your braids, you did awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chantal!
DeleteI am so happy that all three of us have been doing it for three week straight! It's good motivation, right? Honestly, between free handing the braid and taping, I think it takes a solid 1-2 hours because positioning the tape and trimming was just as finicky. I love that you went with green because I don't think you do a lot of green? Either way, I love it!
ReplyDeleteI know - I love the collabs! I have kept up with nail art which really hasn't happened in a while and I love doing it! Great motivation!
DeleteAnd I never reach for green - I went back and forth between these 3 and pinks and told myself I had to do a different colour scheme!