Beach Nails Tutorial

Hey guys! This is my first blog post/tutorial so bear with me! These nails were inspired by @elleandish on Instagram and are actually pretty simple to do. This one of my favourite manis I’ve ever done so here’s a tutorial for y’all! (Note: This is a SUPER messy mani so be prepared for a bit of a lengthy cleanup)

What I used:  

- OPI Ridge Filler Base Coat
- OPI Cant Find my Czechbook
- OPI Fly
- OPI Pirouette My Whistle
- Essie Blanc
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
- Makeup sponge
- Plastic cup
- Q-tips
- Hairspray
- Nail polish remover

1. Apply a base coat to protect your nails from stains and to provide a smooth base for polish

2. Apply one coat of your lightest shade of blue to your nails as a base for your gradient and allow to dry

3. Paint a stripe of your light blue onto your makeup sponge alongside a stripe of your darker blue and then overlap them to blend the colours

4. Dab the sponge onto your nail in a rolling motion side to side to cover your whole nail surface. Repeat this two to three times, topping up the polish on the sponge as you go, until you’re happy with the gradient. Don’t worry about excess polish on your fingers, this will be cleaned up later

5. Apply a fine glitter topcoat over your gradient to add sparkle and to help blend the colours. Add a fast drying topcoat on top to dry your nails quickly

6. When your nails are dry, it’s time for the water marble. Fill a plastic up with room temperature water and add 1-2 drops of white polish onto the surface, then lightly spray hairspray onto the surface of the water and it should break up into larger circles

7. Immediately place your nail parallel into the water to capture the pattern and then hold it just under the surface for ten seconds. Use a q-tip to clean up the excess polish on the surface and then remove your finger from the water

8. Clean up around your nails with a q-tip soaked in polish remover or use a brush to get a cleaner look, and you should be left with pretty, shimmery, ocean-esque nails :)

Lisa xx