8   42
17   60
15   53
18   85
22   114
22   104
698   346
15   213
81   80
28   57

Nailed It: Watercolor Mani Tutorial

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Summer is the perfect time to play around with colour and to have a little more fun with your look.  I personally really enjoy playing with my nail looks during this season since there are a whole whack of fun (and bright) new shades out thanks to the summer collections.  Today I wanted to show you my latest look – the watercolor mani.  It’s unbelievably easy to do yourself, and nearly impossible to screw up, so even those of you who aren’t super confident in your nail art skills won’t have a problem.

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What will you need for this mani?  5 polishes – one white toned for the base and 4 other shades (have a little fun and play with colours!  You can go any direction with this one; neons, brights, pastels… Go crazy!) – and a cosmetic sponge.  I decided to go with 5 polishes from the Essie Summer 2014 collection since they’re all such bold shades.

How to:

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1.  Start by applying two coats of a white polish to act as the base (I used Essie Urban Jungle).  Allow to dry completely.

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2. Apply your first shade (I used Essie Strut Your Stuff) to the corner of the cosmetic sponge.  Lightly sponge the polish onto a corner of the nail.  Repeat for the rest of your nails.  You will need to reapply polish to the sponge every few nails.

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3.  Repeat this step for the other 3 polishes (in my case: Essie Roarrrange, Haute in the Heat and Ruffles & Feathers).  Don’t worry about any overlapping of shades – it makes for a really neat look!

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4.  Clean off any polish that made its way onto your cuticles using a brush or q-tip dipped in nail polish remover.  Seal it in with a base coat (I used Seche Vite) to lock in your mani and blend the colours a little.

It’s that easy.  Just sponge on some polish and you’re left with a fun, watercolor mani to show off.  Will you be giving this a try? What shades would you use?