Violet Vapor

These kind of look like galaxy nails, but I was trying a new watercolor technique.  The final effect reminds me a little of the plastic bag technique, but I like this one better.  I chose purple and white polish over the black base color because I wanted a lot of light and dark contrast. 

Polish Used:

• Wet n Wild - Black Crème
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - White On
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Grape Going!
• Base and top coats

Other Supplies:

• Makeup sponge or eyeshadow sponge brush
• Acetone
• Silver nail striping tape

I didn't have an eyeshadow sponge, so I tried using a q-tip.  It worked fine, although the blotting is probably smoother with the eyeshadow sponge brush because there aren't any fibers like on a q-tip.  To create this look:

1. Apply a black base color.
   
2. Working one nail at a time, apply a thick coat of black, then dot on white and purple polish.
   
3. Use an acetone soaked makeup sponge/eyeshadow sponge/q-tip, to dab the dots of polish until you get the desired water color effect.  I kept a small bowl of acetone handy to rinse off the brush between nails and dabbing.
   
4. Apply a clear top coat.  You can stop at this step and just have abstract nails.
   
5. Add silver nail tape in different patterns on each nail.
   

Here's a close up shot of my thumb.  This one turned out the best.