This was seriously so much more difficult than you would have imagined. Stamping your finger print on paper with ink is child’s play. Getting a print where just the ridges showed up, not so easy. I did try this with ink. It looked okay, but you couldn’t put a top coat over it. The top coat would basically eat the ink and it would disappear. I knew that was too easy. I read where someone simply painted polish on their finger, stamped it on a paper until they saw a good print, them stamped it on their nail. I tried that and still, it wasn’t what I was looking for. Here’s the ridiculous explanation of how I achieved this look.
Obviously you need to choose a base color first. I went with Orly Green Apple. I love this bright green color, but it stains the crud out of my nails. Let this coat dry. Now the ridiculousness starts. I hope I can make this make sense to all of you. Get a non-acetone nail polish remover and wet a cotton ball. Swipe it over your starting nail a couple times to make it sticky or soften it, I guess. That probably doesn’t make any sense. You want the nail polish remover to just eat at the very top of the polish, which will leave it sticky to the touch.
Now on the finger or thumb that is going to do the stamping; dampen it with the same cotton ball. Damp, not wet. Take your stamping polish and brush it over the dampened part of your finger. Not too thick, not too thin. Try to get even coverage. Brush back and forth until any thick spots are spread out. Now here’s the crazy variable; blow on the polish for 25ish seconds. You want to almost dry it. About 25 seconds was the magic number for me. Your lung capacity may dictate a different number for you. Now firmly press your finger to the nail that you made tacky earlier. I started on one edge and slowly rolled my finger so I could cover my entire nail. If your nail was sticky enough and your stamping polish was just the right amount of dryness, your finger should be sticking to your nail nicely as you roll it. Clear as mud?
If your stamping polish was too wet you ended up with more than just the ridges stamped on your nail. If it was too dry, you likely ended up with spotty ridges stamped on your nail. If either of these is the case, this is where you go back to your cotton ball and clean off only the stamping polish. This is why it’s important for you to use non-acetone remover; it will easily remove the stamp, but will take a bit more elbow grease to take off your base color.
Now if you ask me, it’s important to top coat this with Seche Vite and only Seche Vite. I’ve tried many top coats and so far Seche Vite is the only one that doesn’t smear my nail art. This print is made up of such intricate details that it will look totally muddy if you use a top coat that smears. Go ahead and try whatever top coat you want, but be forewarned, it might ruin all your hard work. Please let me know if you have any questions. I know this was the most precise tutorial you’ve ever read, right?
Tags: black, green, nail art, Orly, Sally Hansen, thumb print, Tutorials
While I love these two polishes together, I’m not sure I like this arrangement. What do you think ladies?
Top Coat It 