31DC2013 Day 04: Green Jade Nails

I'll admit, I cut it a little close with the nail art for today's prompt... If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that my green nails almost turned out differently. Thankfully, I scrapped the idea of making my nails look like lettuce last minute and decided to attempt nails that looked like jade.

I used three colors for this look: Essie Blanc, Sally Hansen Jaded, and OPI Jade is the New Black. How apropos, right?

The process for these nails reminded me of the process for my tortoiseshell nails. Here's a short little tutorial for you!

1. Start with one coat of Sally Hansen Jaded (jade colored jelly).
2. Using tweezers and small torn pieces of a triangle makeup wedge, sponge on random areas of Essie Blanc (white) and OPI Jade is the New Black (rich green). Be sure to leave some space unsponged.
3. Add another coat of Jaded. It's jellylike consistency will add a cloudy effect over your sponging without covering it up.
4. Repeat your sponging, but in different areas this time.
5. Add a final coat of Jaded to create depth.
6. Using a small nail art brush, add some thin "veins" of white on top. A little bit goes a long way here.
7. Finish with topcoat for the polished gemstone look.

I also wanted to add a little bit extra to the manicure, so I placed some metallic caviar beads from Born Pretty near the base of the nails as an accent. I think they do a lot to add to the antique effect -- these nails almost look like found artifacts!

I wish I could have captured the depth of these nails better in the photographs. I can really see the differences between the layers in person!

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My green nails from 2012!
My green nails from 2011!