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Marbling


Marbling is an art technique that can be used to create a variety of different looks, many times imitating the look of marble, stones, smoke, etc.
What is Marbling?
Marbling is when a combination of colours is randomly mixed on the nail.
How do you create marbling?
Using nail polish:
- Dry marbling
- Choose the colours, and have the bottles unscrewed
- Apply the first colour to one nail only, quite thickly and in a random shape
- While the first colour is still very wet, apply the second colour to merge and slightly mix with the first
- Continue with any other colours until the nail is covered
- Give the nails plenty of time to dry as the coating will be thicker than usual
- Clean away any polish that touches the skin using a small brush dipped in remover
- Water marbling
- Take a bowl and fill it with lukewarm water.
- Add one drop of colour to the middle of the bowl, and allow it to spread. Add a drop of another colour, in the middle, and again allow it to spread. Repeat with as many colours and as many times as you want. Ideally, stick to 3-4 colours, so it doesn’t get “muddy”.
- Take a skewer or toothpick and swirl up the colours in the water. (make sure not to over-mix).
- Apply base colour on your nail or just dip down your nude nails in the marble water.
- Take your fingers off the water and remove excess paint.
- Finish off with a top coat.
Using UV gel polish:
There are two usual methods for this technique:
- Technique 1
- Follow the same instructions as for the nail polish above. Choose colours that have a good level of pigment so only one layer is needed. If the coating is thicker than usual, double cure the nails to ensure a proper cure. It is usually worth ‘flash curing’ for 5-10 seconds to make sure the colours stay in place before fully curing all nails.
- Technique 2
- Using a UV gel polish palette, mix the chosen colours together until an approximate design of the marbling is achieved. Take a brush (a flat, square brush works well) and pick up the colours from the palette and apply them to the nail in a swirling motion. Add more until the nail is covered. Flash cure then properly cure all nails.
Using L&P:
- There are many coloured powders available and these are ideal for marbling.
- You can create your own by mixing up to 30% of pigments or glitters into the powder.
- Have all your chosen colours ready to use.
- Pick up a bead and apply it randomly to the nail adding more colours until the nail, or part of the nail is covered.
- You need to work quickly.
- Coloured powders often need to be used slightly wetter than usual but always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not use too wet as this will result in an undercured coating.