I don't have any snakeskin stamping plates (although I know they exist!), so I had to take a bit of a different approach to achieve this look. My original idea was to freehand on scales with a dotting tool. I did some extensive testing with this method, and I did like it! But I was asking Michelle for her opinion on which of my color combinations looked best and she suggested that I look at this tutorial by Love4Nails on YouTube for creating a snakeskin look.
I LOVED her suggestion and immediately scrapped my previous idea! I ran off to find some tulle; I only had lace, but it got the job done! After a few modifications to the tutorial, I was on my way!
So the basic gist of this manicure technique is to start with a random combination of colors on your base. You could even use one color if you want, but since I was making a Christmas snake I put both red and green on. I made them sort of organic shapes like you might see on a snake. The green I used was Zoya Veruschka, and the red is Illamasqua Scarab.
Then, you take a piece of lace or tulle and wrap it around your fingernail (after the base is dry). Lightly sponge on a TINY bit of white polish (Sally Hansen Whirlwind White). It is really easy to go overboard on the sponging. You don't want it to be TOO dense.
When you peel off the lace, you are left with snakeskin! All you need to do to finish it is clean up a bit and topcoat it. Easy!
This was my first time using Illamasqua Scarab, and I have gotta say this polish is a STUNNER. I am really eager now to do a full mani using it.
What do you think? Does it read as snakeskin to you? I am thrilled with the results of this manicure technique and am really looking forward to trying it out with some other color combinations in the future.
Stop by Kayla's and Rebecca's blogs today to see their takes on Christmas leopard and zebra print! And make sure you check out the Love4Nails tutorial, too... her results are GORGEOUS and actually quite different than mine!
