I had been feeling like I’d really lost my inspiration and motivation lately. After joining in on a Bloggeration Chat on Sunday morning I had a look through my Pinterest board, and found some Purple Mojave Turquoise that I found really beautiful. I put my mind to recreating it as nail art, and I’m so happy with the results.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art - macro

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art – macro

Polishes and tools

Orly Bonder
Picture Polish Fool’s Gold
Rainbow Connection Zap liquid latex 
Plastic cup
Spray bottle filled with surgical spirit
Color Club Never Be Royals
Cult Nails Wax That top coat
Kami Nail Foil Adhesive 
Nail foil
Clear Jelly Stamper Bling Brush
Seche Vite

After my normal nail care routine, I used Bonder as my base coat. Next, two coats of Fool’s Gold. It goes on really sheer for the first coat, and I’d probably use three if it was alone, but two coats is fine here.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Keely's Nails

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Keely’s Nails

I did a little clean up and applied Zap around my fingers, up to my first knuckle. If you’re using liquid latex don’t forget the pad of your finger and under the free edge. It’s a pain to clean up under your nails.

I just needed one or two drops of polish to spread, then a spray or two of alcohol to break it up. I don’t want my full nail covered for this design, so you can get two or three nails spotted each time.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Right hand

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Right hand

Next I used a semi-matte top coat before the foil glue. The glue is really thin and light, it repels and beads up on a smooth, shiny surface. The semi-matte coat helped me be a bit more precise. I still used too much though!

After 10 minutes, the glue is clear and tacky, so ready for the foil.  I was using the orange/gold metallic gradient edge of a larger rainbow foil. I wanted the look of bronze for this design, which is the metallic element in Purple Mojave Turquoise.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art - thumb macro

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art – thumb macro

Generally it’s best not to use a normal top coat over foil, because it breaks up the finish: it’s known as antiquing. I wanted that effect here, so I carried on with my normal Seche Vite on top.

That was it! Apart from waiting for the latex and foil glue to dry, it didn’t take too long at all.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Left hand

Purple Mojave Turquoise Nail Art | Left hand

Purple Mojave Turquoise

This semi-precious stone is partly man-made. The purple dye and injected bronze really contrast beautifully with the bright colour of the turquoise.

It also makes for a really unique and eye-catching design. I’ll be sad to take this one off.

Purple Mojave Turquoise Pinterest

Purple Mojave Turquoise Pinterest