Blue Jewels

Hello!

I've not done any proper nail art for what seems like ages, so for this manicure I wanted something a bit intricate. I was inspired recently by some gemstone nails I saw on Instagram. I've seen quite a few nail artists try out this look since a tutorial was posted by Chalkboard Nails last year. I didn't actually follow the original tutorial as I didn't have it to hand, I just worked from a picture, working out how to do it as I went along.

I picked seven blue-ish Barry M shades for these nails, one for each bit of the gemstone. I've just looked at the above tutorial and the tutorial actually suggests using one polish, making it darker/lighter with white and black, but I think my way was okay too!

I started off by drawing the gemstone shape onto my nails using my black Barry M nail art pen. I then painted in each section with a different shade of blue. By this point, they were looking quite messy but I knew I could tidy them up later. I added some quick-dry topcoat, and once they were dry I went over the black lines again with the nail art pen. I also added the 'reflection lines' using my white nail art pen, then topcoated again. 

Here's a pic of them in progress, which I think goes to show that even if nail art looks messy and bad along the way, it can still turn out well if you persevere!! (and my nails are so stained at the moment, urgh)

The polishes (all Barry M) I used were:
Malibu (bright blue)
Plum (dark purple) 
Limited Edition Purple (medium purple)
Prickly Pear (light purple)
Blueberry (light blue)
Elderberry (grey blue)
Chai (grey)

I looooove these!