Wednesday, June 3, 2015

The Easiest Nail Art Ever: Sharpie Marbled Gel Nails

Sharpie watercolored gel nail art by @chalkboardnails

If you recently found yourself wondering, "Gee, what has Sarah been wearing on her nails for the past two weeks?" then you're in luck! I have been wearing this Sharpie marbled gel manicure into the ground.

Sean was even like, "Whoa, those are really grown out. When are you gonna change that?" When I finally took them off on Monday, I sent a snap to my sister and she replied "FINALLY!"

So yeah, I got the point, people. It was time for them to go.

Sharpie watercolored gel nail art by @chalkboardnails

Sharpie marbles are ALL the rage right now. Everyone at my nail school was crazy for them! I've seen a bunch of tutorials for this look, but the one that I used was by Celina Ryden.

Honestly, these were SO easy you guys. You should go check out the tutorial, but here's the basic gist:
  1. Perform a gel polish manicure like you normally would, including prep, base coat, and color coat. Stop before you apply top gel.
  2. Use alcohol and a lint free wipe to remove the tacky layer from your color gel. Celina's instructions recommend a buffed nail, but I found that to be enough.
  3. Working one color at a time, doodle small marks on your nails with a Sharpie.
  4. Dab a small brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol on top of your doodles to spread out the ink.
  5. Repeat with as many colors as you want!
  6. Finish with top gel, cure, and remove the tacky layer.
One tricky thing that I ran into was that, sometimes, the Sharpie/alcohol mix would run into my cuticles before it could evaporate, leaving them blue and icky. I ended up fixing that problem by ignoring it until the end (after curing the top gel), and then cleansing the tacky layer with acetone. It removed the Sharpie residue from my cuticles completely without damaging the cured gel. Of course, this method will only work with gels.

Sharpie watercolored gel nail art by @chalkboardnails

I used Presto SC-32 as my base color, which is basically my favorite gel ever, as it looks just like OPI My Vampire is Buff. I was also a bad girl and combined it with my Gelish Foundation and Top It Off, because I like the system so much. They lasted me a good 2 weeks (plus an extra 2 days, at that)!

Sharpie watercolored gel nail art by @chalkboardnails

Have you given into the Sharpie trend yet?
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31 comments

  1. That's literally such a pretty colour that it ended up with! I used to do a similar pattern but i'd get a small triangle make up sponge and then put on different colours and pat them on around the nail, it looked similar to this but this technique looks so much better! Think i'll have to try it!!
    katiemelissa-x.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Thanks! I used a dark blue, lime green, and yellow sharpies. Your technique sounds lovely, too!

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  3. Wow! I was looking for some different gel designs, thank for sharing. Also, you should check out TMart for gel polishes, it's a China company that has a US warehouse, I bought a 36 piece gel set in pots, the gel is so deliciously thick I had to make a video https://youtu.be/2Qn9rT-_SeM

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  4. It's just 'Wooowww'...<3 Love it. <3

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  5. I love the color combination and the design is beautiful.

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  6. I love this look, something I have to try if I ever expand my teeny tiny gel polish collection!

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  7. Katy “KatiamNail” MuzzletteJune 5, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    Beautiful nail art!!! Have you maked a video?

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  8. I really love this colour combo!! And it sounds like it's relatively easy to do :D Amazing job as always!!!

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  9. Oh I love it. Wish it could be done on normal polish though.

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  10. Would this only work with gels, or could it be done with regular nail polish?

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  11. This nail art is so beautiful! The colors that you used are perfect for spring and summer :)

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  12. I haven't tried it with regular polish, but I'd wager that it'd work. Just make sure your regular polish base is completely dry before working with the sharpies.

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  13. Great tip, I'll check it out!

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  14. I don't know that it couldn't be - just that the cleanup tip wouldn't work with regular polish. If you try it, I'd just make sure your regular polish base is completely dry before working with the sharpies.

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  15. I linked to a tutorial video within the post.

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  16. It may work with regular polish too, I haven't tried it!

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  17. Love this! The colors wash together so nicely!

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  18. I was looking for articles on ideas on designing nails at home Dubai and I came across yours inspiring read. Great post!

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