Taking care of our hands and nails was and still is one of the most important ways for women to express their femininity, beauty, and grace. Thousands of years ago, in the ancient civilizations, women were painting their nails and hands with henna ink or with colorful flower sap.
In todays’ day and age, there are so many ways, products, and techniques to beautify our nails in order to achieve a well-groomed look that will make us feel confident and invincible.
Doing your manicure is such a fun way of enjoying your free time with friends or even by yourself at home or the salon. No matter what technique you prefer, this is the perfect excuse for pampering and relaxing.
There are so many ways you can choose to do your nails: from traditional to French, to gel nails, and even to more complicated techniques with different designs and shapes. One of the new, most popular ways to color your nails is by water marbling.
10 Best Nail Polishes for Water Marbling
If you’re tired of the traditional colors and techniques to do your nails, and you want to try something new, then it’s time to learn how to do your water marbling manicure as well as learn about the best nail polishes for water marbling out there.
BORN PRETTY Blossom Watercolor : Best for UV gel
It’s composed of harmless and high-quality ingredients that are very easy on your nails. More so, they help strengthen your nails with the basecoat incorporated. Besides, you can use it also under the UV lamp for false gel nails.
Pros and Cons
Makartt Blooming : Best for creating visual effects
You can even apply multiple layers to get an even more complicated design, and if you add some alcohol, the color will spread around creating a gorgeous cloud of ink effect.
Pros and Cons
NICOLE DIARY Blossom : Best for color brightness
It is versatile enough to be used both by professionals but also at home, so you can buy your favorite color at the salon and use it later.
Pros and Cons
KLEANCOLOR NEON COLORS : Best for bottle size/beginners
The bottles come in full size as opposed to other nail polishes for coloring techniques which gives you the freedom to use them as much as you want and in any combinations. This is a great set for beginners to experiment with because it’s versatile but also inexpensive.
Pros and Cons
Ofanyia Watercolor Marble Pattern : Best for fast drying
Not only that this product is super convenient to use but it has a very delicate smell and light texture so that you can play with shades and designs as much as you want. It’s suitable for gel nails, false nails, as well as your natural ones.
Pros and Cons
Watercolor Nail Polish Anself : Best for no smell
Even though a bit more expensive than the average nail polish set, this is the best if you want quality as well as quantity.
Pros and Cons
Simply Peel Liquid Latex : Best accessory
It’s a lacquer-like product that when applied on the skin, it dries out to protect it from getting color all-over.
This anti-mess product will be your new best friend. It is perfect for water marbling as it doesn’t allow the polish to stick to undesired places.
Pros and Cons
UR SUGAR Jelly Gel : Best for size
It’s the longest-lasting nail polish out there with almost 2 weeks of continuous use after application, with no smudges or chips.
Pros and Cons
PUEEN Latex Tape Peel Off Cuticle Guard : Best for a cleanup
It’s super for applying on areas you want free of color or glitter. It’s especially great for water marbling as you need to submerge not only the nail but the whole finger in color, which leads to a messy manicure.
Apply it everywhere but make sure you keep it away from the nails as the polish won’t stick. We advise you to allow at least 2 minutes to dry before you put your fingers into the water bowl. This latex tape will do its job effortlessly and you’ll have a lot of fun peeling it off.
Pros and Cons
Abitzon Non-Toxic Set Eco Friendly : Best Over-All
Besides being easy to apply, play with, and create beautiful designs with vivid and different colors, it’s the best feature yet is that you can simply remove it without any harmful acetone.
Simply soak your hands in water for 10-15 minutes and peel the varnish off in no time with its unique formula. Also, the variety of colors will let the artist in you out so you can have fun during the process as well.
Pros and Cons
Best nail polishes for water marbling – Buyer’s Guide
As there’s no specific nail polish that works only for water marbling, we recommend you try all your favorite brands and colors one by one and see which one is the easiest and the most fun to work with. As a rule of thumb, the polish has to be more on the liquid side as opposed to thick because the heavier the nail polish the better the chances that it won’t float, therefore stopping you from creating the perfect manicure.
Nevertheless, in order to make the right choice, it’s time you learned a thing or two about the steps to follow for this unique type of manicure.
What do you need?
You don’t need to go to a beauty salon to color your nails in water. You can simply do it at home using objects that you most likely have around the house. Let’s take a look at what those are:
- nail polish that has a thin, liquid-y consistency. Make sure you have at least 2 for a better design
Tip: if your absolute favorite nail polish color thickened, add some acetone to the bottle and shake it until the polish becomes liquid. If it’s still not enough after the first try, add some more and repeat.
- a plastic bowl with cold, purified water
Tip: you can buy it in any grocery store or at the pharmacy
- a wooden stick and a toothpick for more precision
- petroleum jelly for the finger skin
Tip: you can use scotch tape or band-aids to cover the skin around the nail if you don’t have Vaseline
- cotton swabs dipped in acetone to remove the excess polish from your fingers
- transparent top-coat for protection after application
- cuticle oil or moisturizer
What else do you need? Patience! This innovative technique needs a lot of time to perform due to the intricacy of the designs, and if you want to do it well you need to be patient and not let the frustration get to you.
We suggest you take your time, at least for the first few tries when you are a beginner. Take a full Sunday afternoon to do it and listen to some relaxing music during the process to facilitate creativity and serenity. All this will guarantee the most beautiful design for your nails that everybody will talk about.
How to do your manicure in the water marbling style?
The steps are very easy to follow but to refine your technique you need to do some trial and error first. You’ll get better and better every time.
What to do:
1. Start by adding the distilled water to the bowl.
2. Add one drop of color into the water at a time. Let it fall naturally into the center of the water. Wait a second for it to settle and let another drop fall in. The more colors or shades you have, the better the model.
Tip: every time you let a drop fall, make sure it falls into the center of the bowl to create equal circles.
3. Take the wooden stick and start dragging the circles of color from the outside toward the inside to create the desired model
4. When the design is ready, tape your skin with scotch or apply Vaseline to avoid getting dirty. Insert your finger in the center of the color with the nail facing down.
Tip: if you use Vaseline, make certain it doesn’t touch your nails, otherwise the polish won’t stick to the surface. Also, if you don’t have Vaseline, you can simply use your lip balm. It will work the same way.
5. Before you take the finger out, use the wooden stick again to remove the excess polish from around the finger. Repeat the process for all fingers.
6. When you’re done, use a cotton swab dipped in acetone to remove any polish excess from the skin.
7. Let the marbling dry and use the transparent topcoat as well as the moisturizer.
That’s it, you’re done!
FAQ
Q: Do I need a specific nail polish that works for water marbling?
A: No. You can try any nail polish you have at home. Just make sure it has a liquid consistency.
Q: Will the nail polish mix if I use more colors?
A: No. The chemicals in the nail polish make it hard to mix with other liquids.
Q: Why is my nail polish sinking?
A: You polish is not floating because it has a thick consistency, therefore it’s heavier. You can add acetone to your favorite product that got thicker, shake the bottle, and try again. This time it will definitely float.
Q: Is it easy to remove nail polish from the skin around the nail?
A: Yes. You can do that simply by wiping it off with a cotton swab or disc dipped in acetone. If you don’t want the mess, use scotch tape around the nail to avoid getting dirty.
Conclusion
Water marbling is a great way to change your manicure routine. It’s innovative, interesting, and a lot of fun to do. You can experiment every time with different nail polishes and designs to keep the wow factor on, and you’ll be guaranteed to get all the nice compliments from your girlfriends.
Besides the best nail polishes for water marbling that we recommend, our research and testing team has another important advice for you. In order to get a beautiful manicure, keep the lids of your nail polish colors open during the creation of the design. This won’t let the color sit for too long in water and lose its properties. Get marbling!
