Easy Peasy Lava Nails

Today I have a decidedly non-Eastery (well...unless you're going for a Good Friday/Holy Saturday look, I suppose) manicure to show you. I've been intending to do lava nails for some time, and I finally did. Fortunately, I absolutely love them! I can't stop looking at my nails, which, while vain, is how I know when I've done something I'm really satisfied with. For your benefit, I took pictures along the way and did a little tutorial. First, here's the finished product:

indoors, artificial light

I think it looks pretty cool! My favorite thing about this manicure, though, is that it's stupidly easy to do. I kid you not - all you absolutely have to have that some people might not is a black or grey crackle nail polish. Here are the steps, and you can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you like. I left them as small as possible to avoid making the post a bazillion miles long.

1) Apply base coat - this is especially important because you're using colors that tend to stain - and a red base. I used Ulta Silk Wrap Base Coat and one coat of OPI Red My Fortune Cookie, which is my absolute favorite red. I'm not sure what the black dot on my nail is, but I left it alone since I knew I'd be covering it up anyway. Also, sorry for my gross-looking fingers throughout this post.

2) Splotch on some orange. I used a dotting tool and OPI A Good Man-darin is hard to find, but you could use just about anything since you're not going for perfect, round dots - a pencil eraser, the head of a pin, a toothpick - use your imagination if you have to. :)

3) Splotch on some yellow in the same fashion. I used Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta. As you can see, the design kind of looks like crap at this point, which is the beauty of the whole thing - this really isn't nail art.

4) I clearcoated the whole nail with Wet n Wild Clear to keep the final product from looking quite so lumpy and to ensure that the crackle would crack properly, but that's really a matter of personal preference. You can probably skip this if you choose.

5) Crackle time! I used China Glaze Black Mesh, but you could use any other black crackle, and I imagine China Glaze Cracked Concrete would look good as well. As with any crackle manicure, try to work quickly and use even strokes.

6) Clean up your fingers with polish remover, add top coat (I used Seche Vite), and ta da! You're done. *looks around for obnoxious red button* *pushes* That was easy! Now go show off your fierce lava nails to all your friends.