Nebula/Galaxy Nail Tutorial (and an epic battle!) - PIC HEAVY

I'VE MADE HISTORY, FOLKS! Never in the 3+ years of writing this blog have I managed to get my beloved boyfriend, Mr. G, absolutely ENGROSSED in something that's beauty-related. Sure, I've come close, like when I asked him to review men's grooming products like this one, but I've never managed to have him spend an entire night on the couch (watching So You Think You Can Dance with me, no less) deeply focused on something beauty-related.

And all it took was the prospect of "visiting" outer space.

Do a YouTube search for "galaxy nails" or "nebula nails" and you'll get tons and tons of tutorials on this very popular manicure. I've been obsessed with trying it out for months now, but little did I know that when I showed a YouTube tutorial to Mr. G, his response would be, "I'm down!" 

So before I show you our Epic Battle Of The Galaxy Manicures, I'd like to give you a tutorial on this manicure, in case you're new to it.

The thing I LOVE about this manicure is that you don't need anything special for it. In fact, it's fun to go through your existing polish stash and pick and choose things that might work (don't be afraid to experiment--you are not tied to the colors I've chosen for this tutorial!).

Most tutorials suggest using those cheapie makeup sponges (the kind that are shaped like pie slices) that you can get at the dollar store. The last time I was at Dollar Tree they did NOT have those sponges, so I improvised and bought an 8-pk of pink hair curlers for $1. This turned out to be a great choice, as just one curler will provide you with MORE than enough sponge for a full manicure (you can probably get a dozen manicures from just one curler, because you just tear off a tiny amount per polish).

NOTE: I don't suggest using cheapie kitchen sponges for this, because those sponges are very porous (i.e. the holes in those sponges are huge). You really need a denser sponge for this to work properly.

I thought it would be fun to use nothing but Wet n Wild polishes for this tutorial, so that you can see that you definitely don't need a lot of money to have some fun with this!

Items used:

• Wet n Wild Black Creme
• Wet n Wild Everybody Loves Redmond
• Wet n Wild Tickled Pink
• Wet n Wild Sugar Coat
• Wet n Wild Midnight (Limited Edition from 2010, but you can use Eggplant Frost instead)
• Wet n Wild French White Creme
• Wet n Wild Hallucinate
• One sponge from a pink hair roller, torn into tiny bits (you can also use a makeup sponge)
  
• Tweezers
• One toothpick

STEP ONE: Apply Black Creme as base coat

STEP TWO: drop a few dots of Everybody Loves Redmond onto a piece of paper. Pick up a piece of sponge with your tweezers and dip gently into polish: 

STEP THREE: lightly stipple (dab quickly in short bursts) a diagonal band of polish across the nail: 

STEP FOUR: Repeat process with Tickled Pink:

Try not to completely cover Everybody Loves Redmond. You want some of the red to peek out from beneath the pink:

STEP FIVE: now do the same thing with Midnight (or Eggplant Frost if you don't own Midnight):

Try to use a very thin layer of purple so that you can still see the red and pink beneath it (this is where sheer polishes REALLY come in handy):

STEP SIX: Now use Sugar Coat (it's important that you use a sheer polish for this step) in the same way as the others:

  

Try to concentrate this color toward the middle of your design:

STEP SEVEN: place a few drops of French White Creme on your paper and, with a toothpick, make some dots for "stars" in random sizes and clusters on the nail:

It SO does not need to be perfect, so don't worry if your dots aren't perfectly round:

STEP EIGHT: Top your entire nail with a coat of glitter polish like Hallucinate (you can also use solid silver glitter, or any type of glitter you want. Chunky, fine, a mixture...it doesn't matter!)

Voilà! You're done!

If the idea of having all ten of your nails look like this seems a bit much, consider doing just ONE nail (an accent nail) such as your ring finger in this design, with the rest of your nails painted solid black or deep blue. I think that would look stunning.

AND NOW...THE EPIC BATTLE BEGINS!

Mr. G's designs:

 

Mr. G created these three designs using lots of polishes from my stash from China Glaze, Wet n Wild, Jordana, Sally Hansen, OPI and NYX. 

 

 He was a little upset that JUST as he was working on the tail of his comet (far left nail), I happened to plop down on the couch, which made his hand move (oops!). He wanted the tail to be much thinner than it is here (sorry, honey!).

Now, my designs:

 

 

I also used polishes from the same brands that Mr. G used: China Glaze, Wet n Wild, Jordana, Sally Hansen, OPI and NYX. 

 

So...who won the epic battle?

That's entirely for YOU to decide! Please leave a comment and let us know if you prefer Mr. G's designs or mine! My feelings won't be hurt if you like Mr. G's better, but giving him bragging rights might drive me nuts for a couple of days...just sayin'!

Some of the polishes featured in this post were given to Nouveau Cheap for previous reviews.