Sunday 10 July 2016

Ancient Egypt Nails for SNCJuly2016 (with Close-Up Photos)

Hello friends! The next prompt for _nailaddiction's Summer Nails Challenge (#sncjuly2016) is "Egypt", and this is my  Ancient Egypt inspired manicure for the week. As a child, I was always fascinated with Ancient Egypt. I was particularly drawn to the mysterious and beautiful symbols that adorned the tombs of the great pharaohs and their intriguing calligraphy. With this week's design, I tried my best to incorporate some of the gorgeous symbols that are commonly associated with Ancient Egypt.
On my left hand, I am wearing a Uraeus (cobra) on my thumb, which was used as symbol of royalty or authority and represented the Goddess Wadjet. This cobra, along with the striped design on my index and pinky fingers, were inspired by the mask of the mummy of Tutankhamun. On my middle finger is a scarab, which were very popular amulets in Egypt. This is followed by the Sun God Ra depicted as a bird. On my cinderella (right) hand, I went with more simple designs. The symbol on my thumb is the "Eye of Horus", which represents royal power, protection and good health. Next is the Ankh which symbolizes life. Finally, I decided put a Mau (cat) symbol on my ring finger because the ancient Egyptians worshiped them.
I feel very strange when I look at my hands because of the difference in the designs. With one being so simple and so bold and the other colourful, my eyes don't know which hand to focus on! Both of these designs makes for very beautiful manicures though, so to see how I created them and for a closer look at these designs, please continue reading....

  • Start off with an opaque metallic gold colour, make your nails shine as much as the treasures found in Tut's Tomb. I used "Tempting" by Revlon.
  • For the Stripes: Use an opaque blue polish and a thin brush (a striper or a round brush) to draw horizontal stripes across your nails. while ensuring that they are evenly spaced and are of the same width. Try to use a "true blue" colour and avoid using pastel colours, I used "Pacific Blue" by Sally Hansen
  • For the bold symbols (like the ones on my right hand): Use a black polish or acrylic paint and a thin brush. 

  • For the more intricate designs: Use a thin brush (10/0 or thinner) and black acrylic paint to draw the outline of your design first. Search up some reference pictures on google to help you with your design. Fill in your design with appropriate acrylic colours; namely yellow, blue, green, and a bold red colour. 



  • Follow up by going over your nails with a top coat to smooth out the design and seal in the acrylic paint
.... And that's it! Have fun staring at those glistening nails!



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