A couple of years ago, when I was first getting into nail art, I tried out some rose quartz nails that were... not great. As simple as the look is, I do feel like it takes a light touch and just the right polishes to actually pull off. A couple of weeks ago, for our continuing "Experimentation" #CBBxManiMonday theme, Jayne tried out Rose Quartz nails and I just loved them so I decided to give them a go myself. Admittedly, it took me two days and some definite experimentation to get this look, but in the end I'm kind of in love with it. 

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As I've been doing lately while I wait for my nails to grow, I started by applying a set of sculpted polygel nail using paper forms over a base of ASP Make It Peelable Base Coat. I think I might actually do a full review of this base coat because... it can be tricky and I think making it work without damaging your nail bed requires some steps. Anyway, I used the Gershion Poly Nail Gel Kit that I've been using for the past few weeks and I chose the Dark Pink polygel shade so that I had some depth to the base to start with.

I actually picked up a gel polish specifically for this mani, though I do think it's actually one I'll get some real use out of. So to all of my nails, I applied a coat of ASP Creme De La Creme to all of my nails and cured. This is a pretty sheer polish, but it applies really beautifully and levels like a dream without any streaks. On my pointer, pinkie and thumb, I went in with a second coat, cured, and then followed with my Aimeili No Wipe Top Coat to finish.

For the two middle nails, I wiped off the tacky layer and then I applied a little bit of ASP White Hot to a palette and then diluted it a little bit with isopropyl alcohol to get really soft lines. Using two different NailStuff.ca Nail Art Brushes - a fine detailer and a small angled brush (use affiliate code TRYSH for 10% at NailStuff.ca!) - I applied jagged lines of the white mostly moving in the same direction, with a couple of little opposite direction offshoots. After curing that, I applied another coat of my base colour and repeated the process. One more coat of my base colour and I thought I was done.

After spending 24 hours looking at my nails and being unsatisfied, I decided that I needed some lowlights, so using the same technique I did with the white initially, I went in an added some random lines of Vishine Gel Polish in Shade 1592 and then used some alcohol to really soften them in. The thing I found was that to get the look I wanted I really needed to keep everything really soft. I added a little bit more white for contrast in really fine lines as well at this point. After curing, I applied a coat of Aimeili No Wipe Top Coat to my two middle nails, cured for 30 seconds, and voila!

I think that the thing with rose quartz nails that I've personally struggled with is finding that balance between the delicacy of the design and really wanting it to show up. It can be really easy to use a heavy hand and end up with a look that doesn't quite work, so I'm really thrilled that I was able to play with this and get it where I wanted it. 

As always, be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof, See The World In PINK, and Tea & Nail Polish to check out what's on their nails for this week's #CBBxManiMonday!

Thanks for reading!