Barron

Barron 

Miami-based nail tech and Vanity Projects artist Rose Barron offers her clients clean and precise nail designs that are fused with her signature feminine and edgy style. Faced with a challenge to create a new approach to paint roses on nails, Georgia O’Keeffe’s famous floral canvases came to mind.


The proper tools are essential to execute this interpretation inspired by the American artist. “A good brush is everything to me. A long and sparse-haired brush is a must. I recommend Presto’s Art 11 brush and Wildflowers Nail Academy’s gold medium-skinny striper brush,” she says. “If you want to create very thin wispy lines, apply a very thin coat of clear gel to the entire nail first, then do the fine lines. This extra step will ensure no skips and create very thin, floating lines.”

1. Begin by prepping the nail for gel-polish application. Apply a gel-polish base coat of your choice to the nail, making sure to cap the free edge. Cure for 30 seconds in an LED lamp. Next, apply an opaque white gel-polish to the entire nail, making sure to cap the free edge. Cure for 30 seconds. Repeat for full coverage.


2. Using a light gray gel-polish and a thin striper brush, begin to map out your rose. Start from the center of the bud and move outward to create petals. Cure for 30 seconds.


3. Using a detail brush with dense hair, softly pack the brush with a light toned mauve gel-polish. Softly sweep color in between the petals as shown to add depth to your design. Do not cure.


4. With the same brush, blend in a darker gray to the areas shown. This will become a guideline for Step 6. Cure for 30 seconds.


5. Clean the brush and gently stipple and sweep an opaque light baby blue gel-polish to the petals as shown. Make sure to use very little product so the color blends out softly. Follow this same technique with an opaque forest green gel-polish and an opaque yellow gel-polish. Cure for 30 seconds.


6. Add dimension to your flower. Using a rich, dark black gel-polish and a very thin liner brush, begin adding depth to parts of your dark gray petals executed in Step 4. To blend out thicker parts, use your dense detail brush. Cure for 30 seconds.


7. Apply a thin coat of matte gel-polish top coat, making sure to cap the free edge. Cure for 30 seconds. Use a lint-free wipe and nail cleanser to remove the inhibition layer.

Follow Barron on Instagram: @rosebnails

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