Galaxy Nail Tutorial

So I wanted to do this manicure earlier in the week (Because I went to go see Prometheus and wanted a mani that fit).Which was awesome by the way, but I'm getting off topic. I wanted something cosmic because duh, the movie is about space travel and aliens and stuff. But lucky me I got a virus or something and was sick most of the week. So I decided I was going to do the nails and this tutorial anyway. Also on a side note you should go see Prometheus...Michael Fassbender is yummy. And I am fully convinced that someone needs to get on making some Michael Fassbender androids because I want one. I know, I need to focus, the nails that's what we are here for right? Any how, Here's what you are going to need for this manicure. It seems like a lot but it's actually a pretty fast manicure. Longest part is dry time.

Any black nail polish, base coat, top coat, Q-Tips, tweezers, some tiny sponge pieces and something to put the polish on. And because I like to reuse things whenever I can I am using the lid of an empty Crystal Light container for this purpose. 

 Then a selection of polishes that seems space-like. I like blues so I went with blues, greens and yellows, but I have also seen it done with purples and pinks. Just pick a color scheme you prefer. Oh, and sorry the picture is a little yellow my camera was having an episode.

China Glaze Nail Lacquer

And lastly a nail polish with large hexagonal glitter in it (I chose China Glaze Techno), and a dotting tool. I used my smallest dotting tool, you will see why you'll need this later. 

Start by applying a base coat to clean dry nails

Then paint them black. Use as many coats of polish as you need to make it opaque. I used 2. Then let them fully dry.

Now you will need the plastic surface to drop your polish on. I know a lot of people use paper for this and that's fine but my re-purposing side has a seizure at the thought of how much waist that is. I use plastic lids because when you are done you just let them dry and you can easily pick off the nail polish blobs. And once they are removed from the plastic you have a clean surface that you can use the next time you do nail art that requires it. It's like uber re-purposing. You can reuse the lid until it cracks then you can recycle it. Think of how many pieces of paper you'll be keeping out of a land fill.

It's important to mention here that you want your sponge pieces to be small and jagged (the more jagged the better). They make for a more random natural polish transfer. Nature doesn't make straight lines so neither should you. Next you will grab one of the little sponge pieces in your tweezers.

Then dip it into the polish gently. And sponge it onto your nails. There is no right or wrong patterns here. Just start by gently tapping it on the nail in whatever pattern strikes your fancy. You don't want this one opaque though, you want it see through. It's also important to note that you will want a different sponge for each polish (so you don't blend the colors unintentionally).

  

Just free hand a pattern but don't cover the entire surface just a good portion of it. I chose my lightest shade (China Glaze Sea Spray) for the first color because it's creamier and made a good base for the other polishes to build on top of. 

Repeat the previous steps with the next color. I used China Glaze Blue Iguana. You will only want to apply this color to the center of the section you already sponged the light blue on to. 

Then sponge the next color. I chose green (China Glaze Cha Cha Cha). Place however you want (if it's a thin color like mine is). Stick to the centers if it's a creamier color. Go easy on this level.

Then again with the yellow polish (China Glaze Solar Power). Go easy on this one as well. You only want a tiny bit of the yellow and try and keep it to the center.

Then you will take the dark blue and this one is crucial you need a dark creme blue polish. I used China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway. You will take this on the sponge and dab it around the borders of the polish. You are using the dark blue to blend out any harsh edges and to make the tiny solar system you just created look like it's emerging from space (the black background). Then you clean up around the edges of the nail removing any polish that may have gotten on your skin. Then here comes the boring part...you wait. Wait till your nails are fully dry. I waited 15 minutes to make sure they were really good and dry. Remember this is a crucial step you have a lot of polish on your nails, it needs time to dry. 

 Once your nails are dry place a blob of your glitter polish with large hexagonal glitter in it on your plastic lid.

Use your dotting tool to isolate a hexagon to be placed on your nails at random. Place the hexagons (3-6 based on how big your nails are) per nail, and place them randomly. These are the tiny little planets in your nail solar systems. 

Once your hexagonal glitter/planets are placed your nails should look like this. 

Then comes the fun part where the galaxy starts to take shape. Take a micro-holographic nail polish (I used China Glaze Fairy Dust) and brush it over the whole nail. Then wait for it to dry again. About 15 minutes should do it.

Then add a top coat. Don't forget the free edge. This design is too cute to lose to early chipping.  

And your finished product. You have to see these nails in daylight to get the full effect. You're own sparkly solar system right on you finger nails. Thanks for joining me on this nail adventure and I hope you've enjoyed the tutorial and feel like you can go make your own solar system now. Until next time, stay classy and stay polished. 

XOXO