Nail art tutorial: Marbling with shaving cream

I had an idea today. I remembered when I used to make fancy paper with shaving cream and food coloring. Hmmm, how can I translate that to nail art? I obviously don't want to use food coloring. Would polish work? Well, I tried. And I am sorry to tell you that I couldn't get that to work. So then I tried acrylic paint. Woo Hoo! It worked! 

The great thing about using this technique is the fact that it only takes a few minutes and cleanup is oh-so-easy. Not to mention the fact that acrylic paint and shaving cream are relatively cheap. 

Let's take a look and then I will show you how I did it.

It isn't as precise or as intricate as water marbling, but I still love the way it looks. I used a black creme polish called Vincent from Colors by Llarowe for the base color. And I have no doubt that if I play with the marbling and the "rinsing" a little more that I can get more intricate designs.

Now, let's talk about how this was done.

You will need the following items:

• One nail polish for a base color
• Top coat
• Shaving Cream
• Acrylic paint
• Toothpick or cuticle stick
• Butter knife, ruler, or other flat utensil
• Small paper plate (I think the one I used was 9 inches.)

Spray shaving cream on the paper plate. Don't be afraid to use to much. This will work for one entire hand. And if you use as much as I did, you can probably dunk both hands at once.

Smooth out the shaving cream using the knife or flat utensil.

Pour thin lines of acrylic paint on top of the shaving cream. I used three metallic colors. (Please note that this looks like a lot more than it is. This photo is taken extremely close up.)

Using the toothpick or cuticle stick, "marble" the paint into the design you want. Remember, it may not transfer precisely.

I used scotch tape around my nails before I started. But I really don't think you have to do this. It's up to you, but acrylic paint washes off with soap and water.

Then I dunked all my fingers and my thumb into the shaving cream. I left them in the mixture for about 30 seconds. 

Let the mixture dry for about three minutes. Be careful not to touch anything. And please, please make sure you don't get the shaving cream in your eyes. It will burn.

Head to the bathroom or kitchen sink and rinse the mixture off under a very slow stream of water. The pressure of the stream and the length of rinse time determine the end result.

Apply a quick dry top coat (I used HK Girl) and make sure it's completely dry before you head back to the sink to scrub off the remaining paint. 

What do you think? Is this something you would try? I am going to be experimenting more with this technique. I can't wait to see some other designs.