hiya lesley
have you looked at the tutorials on the site?
they have helped loads of people to sharpen up their technique.
the main thing is to get your mix ratio correct.(i know, not as easy as it sounds!)
rather than wasteing tips, practice picking up white & pink beads & placing them in lines on a peice of paper.
make sure you don't drag your brush through the powder at great speed, or doodle in the powder pot as you're picking up your bead :shock:
b precise, lower your brush down slowly onto the surface of the powder (you should try to pick up the bead on only 1 side of your brush, that way u should b more capable of putting the bead down correctly without it clinging on for dear life :shock: !!
raise your brush &keeping it facing downwards(so that the liquid in your brush "feeds" your bead, LOOK at the bead.
if it has already dropped off your brush never to b seen again
!! it was too wet. this means that you either;
didn't drain your brush enough on the side of the dappen dish,
or, u didn't stay long enough in the powder.
try again & adjust the liquid/time accordingly.
keep trying & place your line of beads on the paper.
try different amounts of draining your brush & differing times in the powder.
u will eventually b able to suss when the mix ratio is right.
if the bead won't come of your brush & looks like a crumbly snowball it was too dry.
when the mix ratio is correct, you should b able to put down the baed gently on the paper without too much of a struggle & without too much product remaining on your brush.
the bead should "drop" by about 25% & "dome out.
pink, clear & natural powders should look transparent & smooth like frosted glass.
white & coloured powders should look opaque & loke orange peel, (dimply!)
once you r happy with your beads try again on tips.
again no rush, if the mix ratio is correct it should behave much better.
one last thing, the fullest part of your brush (the belly), is designed to hold onto liquid . if you place your bead in the middle of the area that you want to cover, press gently to aid adhesion & "walk" the bead along to both left & right without stopping or concentrating on only one side.
the liquid in your brush will feed the bead & keep it warm, enabaling you to apply the product smoothly to cover the area evenly.
if you improve your mix ratio & your application technique you will cut down on bucket loads of buffing & fileing.
you should spend twice as long on your application than on your finishing.
good luck
love liza xx