new technique - watercolor nails! + tutorial

Hi guys! Today I have a super exciting and really cute new technique to show you!
You'll be surprised when I tell you how this is done. Take a look!

Watercolor nails! Aren't they pretty? I'm totally in love with this watery, overlapping look. I love the way the colors blend.

So, how do you think I did this?
It takes one secret ingredient... Acetone.

A little cap full of acetone and a big, soft paint brush.

When I say "big" - I don't mean really big. Just bigger than you would use for nail art.

This is my watercolor brush vs. my nail art brush. That should give you an idea.

I got the idea for these nails from this post from beautygeeks. They did them a bit differently and I'm not such a fan of the final result, but I knew I could turn it into something really pretty!

Here's what you've gotta do to get this look.

Paint your nails white, and add a coat of a thick topcoat and let it dry. I use Seche Vite.
Topcoat is important - it creates a protective layer so the acetone won't ruin your white base color.

Choose the colors you want to be in your watercolor. Keep in mind that they will be watered down and runny - it might take a few tries before you find polishes that work exactly like you want them to.

I chose these four Kleancolor minis. Neon Yellow, Neon Aqua, Neon Amethyst, Neon Pink.

Add a few tiny drops of color to your nail.
(This picture is awkward but I had to quickly take it while the polish was wet!)
Then, you dip your brush in the acetone, blot off a little so it isn't soaking wet, and then start spreading the blobs of color!

You should end up with something like this.
If you can't seem to understand how this works - watch the video in the link I posted. it will show you the basic technique but I like to spread it out more instead of just making blobs.

If you end up getting too much acetone on your nail and it is wet - don't worry. Blow on your nail and the acetone will quickly dry.

It looks sort of funny at this step, but keep going!
(However, I bet you could just do a 2-tone one with different colors! I don't think it works with the white but you cold definitely try other colors.)

Add your second color and spread it around the same way you did the first, but don't cover up all of the first color. That's what creates the blended watercolor look!

See how it looks orange over the pink, but yellow over the white?

Adding blue brings many other colors into the look! You get blue, green, and purple!
You likely only want to use one small drop of blue because it will take over the others easier.

I finish off the look with the purple shade.

With the final color, you should try to lightly cover any remaining white.
Add topcoat and you're done!

I'm in love! It's so simple and takes basically no skill. You're just blobbing and smearing! Just like painting with watercolors in kindergarten.

I left the above picture fairly large so you can click it to see how cool it looks close up!

Loving it! Let me know if you guys try this. I hope you can have as much success as I did!
I can't wait to try this with more colors - I'm envisioning watery blues and greens... So many possibilities!