Adorned Nails: Paint Drip


The black base of Essence Grand-Plié in Black looks pretty cool with the sparse coral glitters but I felt that it was calling for some nail art: paint drip. However, instead of doing it on the usual nail tips, I've done it from the cuticle side of the nails.


I think I saw paint drip nails for the first time last year on Majolica Majorca's website. It was their Fall In Girl Collection and the model, Minami Hinase (I think), had on a black polish with red paint 'dripping' from the nail tips. As I wasn't sure if it was best done with a brush or a dotting tool, I did an online search recently and found this useful video by the talented Sokolum79. I've adapted her method somewhat: 1. My paint drips from the cuticle side. 2. Her method involved more dotting than dragging and mine is more dragging than dotting. You will end up with more or less the same results.

I used:


Base coat (not shown)
Black polish - Essence Grand-Plié in Black
Orange polish - Sephora Mangue L21
Dotting tool (I bought mine from Essence)
A non-absorbent surface to put a blop of polish on
Clear top coat (not shown)

Here's how you can do paint drip nails (in reverse - cuticle side):

1. Apply two coats of the black polish over a base coat. Let that dry.


Note: It is better to complete all the paint drips on one nail before proceeding to the next nail.

2. Carelessly add the orange polish to the cuticle side of the nails. Don't worry if it's messy. You will clean it up at the end.


3. Place a blop of the orange polish on a non-absorbent surface (I've simply used a plastic surface here).


Dip the dotting tool into the blop and then draw/drag an orange line down from the orange 'mess' painted in Step 2. The bigger the dollop of polish on the dotting tool, the easier it would be to draw/drag a line.


If you still have polish left on the dotting tool, then you can end the line with a dot. If not, go to Step 4.

4. Dip the dotting tool again into the blop to extract more polish and then add a dot to the end of the line just drawn.


5. You will need anywhere from two to four drip-lines on each nail. Try to vary the length of the drips so that they look random.

6. Wait for the orange polish to dry (that may take a while as the dots and such have been thickly applied).

7. Clean up the cuticles.
Please refer to my post on the Essence Nail Polish Corrector Pen to see how I clean up after applying nail polish.


8. Apply a clear top coat and you're done!


I have tried this (reverse) paint drip manicure twice. That would explain why the drips in the very first (hand) image above do not correspond to those in the subsequent images.

I'm not big on theatrical stuff but I would imagine that this nail look would be great for a Halloween party.

This is how paint drip nails look from a distance.


I have a couple more images of these paint drip nails over at Witoxichic.

23 comments:

Paulina said...

love it, it will be good for halloween

R.ChamberofBeauty said...

Woww love this combo <3 Perfect for Halloween!!!

Unknown said...

Wow!!
Great mani!!
thanks for the tutorial!

Unknown said...

Oehh like thiss :)

sugar sugar said...

the tutorial is very helpful! thanks for sharing anne dear. i love the color combination! <3

Bellas Unhas e Cia said...

Wow, it was very cool!
I love it!
kisses

Uau, ficou muito legal!
Adorei!
beijos

Yin said...

Bye bye cracked polish, hello drip polish effect. I love it :)

D.Sadie (D.G.S.Beauty) said...

That's cool! I might try to do that. =D

Unknown said...

Great mani :D Lubu Heels with red paint drip would also look nice!

Anonymous said...

OMG this is soooo COOL! Thanks for showing how to do this mani, it is awesome my dear. :D

Stunning pics on witoxichic too, great mani in combination with the orange top and your beautiful black hair. ;)

"KTee"xx

Unknown said...

I want make this since ever, but I was worried about the "drop effect", and finally someone explains how to do that, thank you!!!! <3

Witoxicity said...

@Paulina
Yup, this would work well for Halloween. :)

@Rakhshanda
I'm happy you like this! Thanks. :)

@rock-or-not
My pleasure! :)

@Anneke
I'm pleased to hear that, Anneke. Thank you! :)

@sugar sugar
Thanks! :)

@Bellas UnhaseCia
Thank you, Cris! :)

@Yin
Haha, I guess it would make a nice change from the current crackle-overload. I'm glad this is to your liking, Yin. Thanks! :D

@D.Sadie
Yes, do give it a try! :)

@Maki
Thank you! :)

@KTee
Hi, KTee! It's always nice to know that you like what I put out here. I'm pleased you approve of this bleeding orange. Thanks so much for your kind words about the related post on Witoxichic! Yay! :D

@gnoma
You're most welcome, gnoma! This was a mani that I had been wanting to do since I saw it in the said Majolica Majorca images. I'm thankful I got some guidance from Sokolum79's video. I hope you'll give this a try. It took me a few 'nails' to get the hang of it but it's pretty easy after that. :)

Anonymous said...

Brilliant combo! The orange goes very well with the orangy glitters in this black essence polish. Good choice and I love the result.

Back then you showed us your take on ruffian, which was very unique. I loved it. Now you show us your take on drip nails and again you amazed me by letting it drip from the cuticles instead of the tips.

Very artistic!

Awesome mani, take care Nicole x

Adis said...

I have half a mind to recreate this in chocolatey and/or minty colours, but I fear I'll be trying to eat my nails when I wear that :p.

Witoxicity said...

@Nicole
Hey, Nicole! Thank you so much for your very nice comment! :D I'm really pleased you like this mani. And I'm even happier that you still remember that skruffian mani from months back! Yay! That means a lot to me, my dear. :)

@Adis
Oooh, melted chocolate dripping down the nails - that's so cool! I really like the idea. Don't worry about eating it up. I don't think you'd like the taste of nitrocellulose. :D

Adis said...

^^ If you do a white/strawberry red gradient as a base, you could make an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce on top! Omnomnom! /(°w°)\

Oh, so many choices :D! I might do that when I feel less lazy :p.

Witoxicity said...

@Adis
Heh heh, you're quite food-minded, I see. For one who loves food too, it's kinda strange that I hardly thought of associating the mani with food. Instead, I thought of blood. Gee, that's pretty morbid........ :P Good luck with your drippin' chocolate sauce on ice-cream sundae! :D

Vonvon said...

As have been said, very Halloween-y! :)

Witoxicity said...

@Vonvon
Yup! And it would look even more Halloween-y with red-coloured drips. :D

Honey Bomb said...

Very nice! I love the drip from the cuticle side & your wording "carelessly add the orange polish ..." =D Definitely going to try this!

Witoxicity said...

@Honey Bomb
I'm glad to hear that! Haha, the whole point is not to worry about messing up the cuticles - hence 'carelessly' - because there will always be a clean-up at the end. :D

Mz More said...

This is pretty, perfect for Halloween!

Witoxicity said...

@Mz More
Indeed! Thanks, my dear. :D