four layer nails by Marie

To help you get through hump day, my wonderfully talented friend Marie (see for yourself here) has agreed to share her very latest art project. Even though her days of pulling all-nighters hunched over wildly intricate illustrations in our tiny NYU dorm room are long over, she's still putting her talent to good use... check it out:

This is the only time I've seen her work + thought "I can totally do that." Granted, she is an amazing artist, so at first I didn't think I could possibly make it as clean as she did. But her directions (below) are super easy to follow (not to mention adorably quirky, just like her) so I am definitely going to give it a try... and, of course, you should too!

here it is: the 3 color, 4 tiered polish fade!

by: Marie

First things first - if you're going to take the time to DIY this polish fade, you'll need to netflix your favorite best-of-the-worst TV show - something to provide background noise you can tune out while giving your nails your full attention. You know - Teen Mom, Food Network, Real Housewives of Anywhere, etc. For me this is anything A&E.

You'll need 3 colors to end up with 4 layers of fade. I used hot pink, gray, and a sparkly gunmental...but you should be creative! Mix + match. Experiment.

1. Take your first color (in my case hot pink) and paint your whole nail with a solid two coats. This will be the color that shows up closest to your cuticle.
2. Next give one coat of color #2 (for me, gray) to the top 3/4 of your nail.
3. Let dry while zoning out to A&E.
4. When dry, take your first color (the hot pink) and paint the lower 1/2 of your nail so your overlapping with the 2nd color you just painted. This will give you the solid color first tier near your cuticle, as well as the 2nd tier of mixed color #1 and color #2.
5. Then take color #2 a second time and paint the first top half of your nail, just slightly overlapping the 2nd tier.
6. You're finished with tier 3. Let dry.
7. Finally, take color #3 (in my case a sparkly gunmental) and paint the top portion of your nail.

Finish with a clear top coat and SHOW IT OFF! Be warned: everything you do + hold will suddenly be more exciting. Your daily cup of deli coffee will look (and maybe even taste) better than usual. Hailing a cab is suddenly performance art. Text with style. Facebook with flair. 

Leave a comment letting us know how it turned out...we are dying to know. And enjoy the compliments, Marie definitely is!