Watermelon Nails!

It's summer! I can't take the time/space that I need to lay out all my materials and work on cosplay for the time being, and sometimes I even get too lazy to draw, but lately I've been trying out different designs for my nails...

The other weekend I went to a picnic with my friends, and I had the crazy idea to paint my nails like a watermelon, here's how I did it:

After manicuring my nails, filing them and applying a base coat, I added a shimmery polish to the top portion of the nail.

I want the bottom of my nails to look like the rind of a watermelon, so I used these tip guides to help me make even lines. I've read that you can also use masking tape, but I've yet to try it.

I put the guides to separate where the lines will be...

And paint it green~

I used these two shades of green, because I don't like either one on their own. I used Pure ICE in Wild Thing as the base color (it's rather neon and flat) then the NYC polish to add a layer of shimmery green.

I waited about 2 minutes before removing the guides, but maybe I should've waited longer because some of the polish peeled back; ideally the "rind" part should cover the white bottom of the nail, like a french manicure.

Next up is some pink! My intention was to layer the polish in the style of syrup nails, but my polish was not sheer enough nor did I have sufficient layers to pull off the right effect.

The initial shimmery layer is some very discontinued Old Navy polish >_< and then Pure ICE in Splash for the pink.

Only after I was done did I realize I should have put the lighter shimmery color along the "rind" (towards the bottom) and build up the darker pink from the top of the nail down to better resemble a watermelon... in any case...

The next step is to add some watermelon "seeds" I used this Sally Hansen shade called Flirt, it's a very dark burgundy red.

I used a toothpick that was dabbed in polish to pain on my seeds. A steady hand is key, most of the seeds should be toward the top.

After the polish has thoroughly dried, I applied a generous layer of quick drying top coat to protect it, it also smoothed some of the lumps from my dubious paint job :p

There you go! That's how I spend my Saturday mornings!