How to DIY Water Marble Nails at Home, Step By Step in 2022

homeshoppingguide
10/07/2022
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Just like so many other trends from ~my youth~ (s/o totie-dye,claw clips, andmoney piece highlights), the marble nails trend is back and stronger than ever. Need a reminder on what that even is? I gotchu: It’s the technique of creating marble-looking nail art by dipping your fingernail in nail polish-coated water to create a marble design. And unlike mostnail trendsI knew and loved when I was a teen (RIP crackle nail polish), this one still holds up today.

So if you’ve been holding off from thisnail-art hackfor years and are finally ready to give in and get your DIY on, stick with me, because I broke down exactly how to create marble nails at home (and found some really cute inspo to get you going), with help from celebrity nail artistQueenie Nguyen. Trust me: Yourspring nailsare about to become very Instagrammable.

Meet the expert

How do you marble your nails?

We’ll get to the full breakdown below, but generally, marble nails are achieved by dribbling a few drops of nail polish in a cup of water, swirling it around with a toothpick, then dipping your nail into the pattern for a marble-like finish. Sounds easy—but it can be tricky at first. “It can be messy, and it takes a few tries to perfect the nail polish pattern,” says Nguyen. But if you don’t want to go to a salon to get marble nail art, it’s budget-friendly and very doable at home with a little patience (and some nail polish remover).

Can you do marble nails with gel polish?

“You can’t do water marble nails with gel polish—you have to do it with regular nail polish,” says Nguyen. The goal is to get the nail polish to spread out on the surface of the water so you can create a pattern with a toothpick, and becausegel nail polishis thicker and heavier than traditional polish, it won’t react the same way in the water. So if you’ve been eyeing some newspring nail polish colorsfor this, make sure you get a regular formula, not gel.

What you’ll need:

The products you need to DIY marble nails

Essie Neutrals Nail Polish in Blanc

Swisspers Premium Exfoliating Rounds

Beetles Nail Art Brushes Set

Step one: Prep your nails

Sami

“It’s really important to give yourself a manicure, first of all,” says Nguyen. So wipe away any oils or nail polish with an acetone-soaked cotton round, and gently push back your cuticles (and for the love of God, please don’t cut them) with a cuticle stick. Then, paint your nails with a white nail polish to create a clean and bright foundation for your marble art.

FYI: Because you’re dipping your fingertips in nail polish, they’re going to get coated—there’s no way around it. So to make the cleanup easier, cover the skin around and underneath your nail with Vaseline orcoconut oil(making sure to avoid the nail itself) so that the nail polish can be wiped off afterward with a little more ease.

Or, you can try Nguyen’s preferred method of usingliquid latex. “Apply the liquid latex around the nail and wait for it to dry,” she says. “After you dip your nail, the nail polish will just stick to the liquid latex, so you can just lift it off with a tweezer for a cleaner look.”

Step two: Add the nail polish to the water

Sami Roberts

How to DIY Water Marble Nails at Home, Step By Step in 2022

When your nails are completely dry, fill a cup up with water. “It’s important to make sure the water is room temperature and not cold tap water,” says Nguyen. “The nail polish will harden too quickly in cold water.” Unscrew the caps of the nail polish colors you picked (I went with blue and a sparkly pink), then, one by one, hold the nail-polish brush over your cup until a few drops fall into the water.

Note: The polish will spread out fast, so quickly follow with the second and third colors (or as many as you want), so the nail polish doesn’t have a chance to dry in the water, says Nguyen. After you’ve dropped in all your colors, you should end up with a few lopsided circles of color in the water.

FYI: I <3 these nail polishes

Nailtopia Plant Based, Bio-Sourced, Chip Free Nail Lacquer

Nailtopiaulta.com

$10.00

OPI Nail Lacquer, Chicago Champagne Toast

Mischo Beauty in Unbroken

Step three: Swirl the nail polish

Sami Roberts

Before the polish dries (which, again, happens quickly, so don’t wait longer than a few seconds), dip yourtoothpickanywhere in the floating nail polish and swirl it around. This is your chance to get creative: for a vertical marble pattern, drag the toothpick straight across the water in parallel lines, and for a more abstract marble (as pictured) swirl it around haphazardly. There are no wrong swirls here.

Step four: Dip your nail in the water

Sami Roberts

Once you’re happy with your pattern, it’s time to dip—or, to get technical, it’s time to scoop your nail. “You want to scoop up the art with your nail more than actually dip into it,” says Nguyen. “So dip your finger in at a 45-degree angle, then scoop it up and out.” Basically, you’re trying to pick up the floating polish (so it lays flat across your nail). The whole movement should take less than a second.

Step five: Clean up your nail

Pro tip: It’s easiest to dip and clean each finger one and a time while the nail polish is still wet, instead of dipping all 10 nails and then cleaning them up after they dry. To clean off your skin, either pick off the liquid latex (if you went that route), or dip a nail brush into a capful of acetone and carefully trace the outer edge of your nail to clean up any messy edges. You should be left with just the marble nail print on your nail. Repeat steps four and five with all 10 nails.

Step six: Seal with a top coat

Sami Roberts

Once your nails are dry, seal the nail polish with a clear top coat (my fav options below) to prevent chipping or denting, and give your cuticles a generous coating ofcuticle oil, since they’ll be pretty dried out from the acetone. And then go forth and post all of the selfies of your new marble mani to your Insta.

4 topcoats your marble nails need:

CND Vinylux Longwear Top Coat

Sephora Collection Color Hit Mini Nail Polish

Nails Inc. NailPure Top Coat

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

The easiest water marble nails ideas

If this step-by-step breakdown wasn’t your speed, maybe a video tutorial will help it click even more. So if you want to make sure you really have the process down, check out this tutorial on water marble nails:

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Maybe a little easier? Great. Now keep scrolling for some inspo images to screenshot and DIY at home.