Connect with us

Manicure Guides

Making Chrome (Mirror) Nails Without UV – Complete Tutorial

Published

on

mirror nails

Chrome or mirror nails is one of the most attractive and eye catching nail designs you can find. It is not so difficult to make and final result will impress you and all your friends. This design is amazing for different holidays or for going out. It looks fantastic and you can be sure that all surrounding people will be looking at you with great interest.  

General problem with this design is that it requires UV lamp. Many ladies just don’t have it or don’t want to use it because it may harm the skin. But hopefully there is a way to make this amazing manicure without using the lamp. In this tutorial I will explain how to create mirror surface on your nails without UV!

Chrome Powder

The first and the most important thing you need for this manicure is Chrome Powder. It’s also named Mirror Powder in some stores. It can be purchased from many beauty shops near you or online from Amazon or other websites. The price isn’t too high and there are many different powders available. In general, there is no big difference between them and you can buy any.

Color of the powder affects the shade of the mirror you will get at the end. If you wish 100% authentic mirror / chrome surface buy Silver powder. If you want golden mirror buy Golden powder and so on. The technique for all the colors is the same.

If you like this style and want to try different colors it’s recommended to buy color sets with several shades. This will help to save some money. Purchasing several colors at once is usually cheaper.

Pay attention: some of powder producers say that their product is for UV lamp only. But it can be easily used without the lamp. My own experience tells that the lamp is not required at all if you use proper polish.

Gel Polish

Chrome manicure can’t be done with a simple polish. Special Gel polish is the best choice for this. Many ladies don’t use this type of polish because it requires UV lamp. The lamp is not so expensive but many people still don’t want to buy it. Hopefully you no longer need this tool. There are special No-light polishes that get dry without any UV.

Nails Inc. Gel Effects Polish and Sally Hansen Miracle Gel are one of the best. You just apply one of them and wait as you usually do. The lamp is not required.

You will need one of these Non-UV polishes for the purposes of this Mirror style.

Technique

Apply 2 layers of black Non UV nail polish to every nail. This black base will make the mirror effect stronger. You can use other colors as a base but you will receive other mirror shades at the end. For example pink base will give you mirror-pink color. If the pink is used with gold powder you will get Rose Gold mirror surface and so on. It also looks fantastic and I recommend to play with different bases. But we are going to use black base for the purposes of this tutorial. Only black can give 100% chrome effect.

After these 2 layers become dry apply gel top coat to make the surface shinier. Wait until the nails get completely dry. This is important! If the layers are not dry you may harm the surface at later steps and it will affect final result.

Now it’s time to apply powder. Many guides recommend a sponge applicator for this. But if you don’t have one – forget about it. You can apply powder with your finger. Some people say it’s even better. It gives more control and you can pressure stronger. Pressure is the key! If you don’t give enough pressure you may fail.

Take some powder and start buffing the surface. If nothing happens try to increase pressure. It may take time before you will see the result. If you did everything correct sooner or later the powder will form nice chrome surface. Silver powder is so cool that you will be able to see your reflection! Apply the powder to every nail.

After this is done use soft brush to remove any excessive powder from the surface. Hard brush may harm the mirror!

Applying Top Coat

Applying Top Coat is necessary. If you don’t use it you may easily remove metal particles from the surface when washing your hands. You may also contaminate your clothes with the powder.

Pay strong attention to what top coat you are using!!! This step is very important! If you use simple gel top coat it will ruin all your hard work. The nails will become matte and will not have that mirror surface. If you don’t want this use only WATER based top coats!!! They will make the surface even shinier!

Apply the top coat and wait untill it’s dry. Clean the fingers. You can use any sticky tape to remove remaining powder from your hands. You can also try q-tip. If you have polish corrector pen it may also help you with this. It contains polish remover and you can push metal powder of the skin.

Now it’s time to admire the result! As you see the nails have smooth shiny surface. Such manicure is a blast! You will definitely attract attention of all surrounding people. Be ready to answer their questions about the mani.

If you like our Chrome Manicure guide please share it with your friends. We appreciate your help!

Popular Questions

Q: I have red (or any other color) gel polish for the base coat. Will it work?
A: Yes, it will work but you will have a mirror with red shades. Base color affects the shade of the chrome surface. Black is perfect for 100% authentic chrome, but playing with other colors may also be very interesting.

Q: Can this technique be used with UV gel polish?
A: Yes, this technique can be used with simple UV gel polish. The process of applying powder is the same and the result will be the same.

Q: I try to apply powder but it doesn’t stick to the nail. What to do?
A: Try to increase pressure and continue buffing. It will take time before you start seeing the result.

Q: I applied top coat but my surface became matte!!! What to do???
A: Try to add another layer of powder and cover it with WATER based top coat! This will make your nails shine. Use only WATER based top coat for final layer!!!

Q: Is this tutorial for artifical or natural nails?
A: You can use method described here for any type of nails.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Manicure Guides

How to Cut Nails? – A Lady’s Guide

Published

on

How to Cut Nails? - A Lady's Guide

Hands are one of the most important parts of the body when it comes to beauty. Every woman wants to have perfect hands. But you will have to spend time for this. You need to take care of them in order to cutting fingernails make them look good. Cutting nails is one of the most important procedures for keeping your hands in perfect shape. Here are the reasons for this:

  • Doesn’t matter how pretty you are. If your nails are too long and have bad condition you can’t look attractive. But if they are well-cared you also look much more beautiful.
  • That’s not only about beauty. If they are too long you may accidently damage yourself or someone else with fast movement of your hand. The injury can be quite serious because they can be quite sharp.
  • The longer they are the more difficult it is to keep them healthy. Regular trimming removes excessive length allowing them to be strong. It also prevents them from accident breaks.

In this article I will explain how to cut your nails and will give you some tips you will definitely use.

How often?

One of the most frequently asked questions is about regularity. People ask how often they should trim their nails and toenails. The answer is: every human has individual speed of growth. We all have different metabolism and it affects this directly. Some people have to cut nails once a week while others can do it once every two weeks. Everything depends on you. Average value is about once every 5 – 7 days.

General rule here is: you should trim them when you feel they are too long. If you see that you are not comfortable with your current length – it’s time to take care.

There is one more rule: always cut them when they are damaged. This will prevent them from further cutting fingernails delamination.

Preparation

All health care procedures start with clearing. You should visit bathroom and clean your hands with soap before you start. This will kill all the microbes and will make your hands ready. You may also soak fingers for several minutes in warm water to make nails softer. This will make further actions a little bit easier. Try this to find out if this procedure is good for you.

Dry your hands after this. It’s possible to continue with wet hands but it’s more difficult. When your hands are wet you have less control over your cut and you may get injury or make a wrong cut. This may be a disaster for some women.

Find a quiet place where nobody can push you. This is important especially when you use manicure scissors. They are very sharp and have sharp tips. So be attentive!

You should also respect other people and set up a place for the cuticle clippings and chunks of your nails. It’s better to use a sheet of paper or a towel for this.

Tools to Use

Nowadays there are several great tools you can use for trimming purposes: Nail clippers and Scissors. Both tools are good but have differences:

  • Nail clippers are very popular and are not expensive at all. Their advantage is that they can cut along a set concave edge. This is a guarantee that all your cuts will be the same and thus all your nails will have the same shape. But this is possible only if the clippers fit the size of your nail. If they are larger or smaller you may have problems. There is one more problem: cheap clippers are usually not sharp enough.
  • Manicure scissors are very good alternative. Many people use them because they are sharp and they fit better. They provide more control and you can make the cut you want. But they require more dexterity than clippers, especially when you trim your fingernails cutting fingernails on the right hand. On my opinion Manicure scissors is the best choice and I prefer to use them.

I know that some people sometimes try to trim using other sharp stuff like knives, razor blades and so on. Never try this!!! This may lead to serious injury! Use only special tools listed above!

There is one important thing you should know: every member of your family must have his own tools for hand-care. If you don’t have any – go and purchase them now. Never give your set to your friends or to someone else.

Also keep in mind that your tools must be clean. Always clear them before and after usage. You must have separate scissors or clipprts for fingernails and toenails.

Time to Start

I recommend to start with you left hand. Take scissors or clippers and start trimming the nails one by one. Men usually don’t have problems with this. They can cut almost all excessive length and everything will be ok. But ladies have to worry about the length. That’s why you shouldn’t rush.

Start with a finger that has the shortest nail. Cut it to the desired length and then go to the others. Try to make them even. If they are the same length they look much better. This is important for further manicure.

If you have a broken nail it will be the shortest one. But very often it will be too short because they usually break near the finger. In this case you cutting fingernails have two options:

  • To cut all the nails to this smallest size making them even. This is not the best decision, especially when you like to wear long manicure.
  • Not to cut other nails seriously and wait until this smallest grows. This is much better on my opinion. It will grow pretty fast and you will not suffer a lot.

Don’t forget about the shape! If you like oval make oval cuts and so on. This will help you during the filing process.

Use small cuts. It’s easier to control the scissors when you make smaller cuts.

If you want to make the nails short try not to cut too much! If you cut too much you will expose the sensitive skin and it may be painful. The pain may last for several days when you touch this area.

Filling Nails

Filing is a very good procedure to give your nails desired shape and to remove jagged edges.  But there are several secrets you should know:

  • Never file wet nails. Wait until they dry completely. If you try to file them when they are wet you may split them or even crack.
  • If you have natural nails don’t use rough file. It will damage them and will make them split. It’s better to select softer tool.
  • If you have too much length to remove it’s better to cut excessive length with scissors and then file a little. Remember that filing is not a very good procedure for nails` health and if you do it for too long it may lead to splitting.
  • Don’t use coarse side of the file if it’s not really necessary. As you know there are 2 sides: coarse and finer-grade. Use the smallest grade. Coarse side is too rough and may lead to splitting. Once again: excessive length must be removed with scissors! Filing is for final shaping and polishing!

Now let’s talk about the technique. Many people do it cutting fingernails wrong moving the file back and forth in both directions. Never do this. You should move in one direction: from the side to the center. Then in other direction: from the other side to the center. This will help to avoid splitting. Use full length of the file and move fast. We have a detailed article about most common mistakes women do during this process: Nail Filing – You Are Doing It Wrong!!! Read it for more information.

That’s the end. Now you have prepared your nails for further actions: pushing back cuticles and applying polish. If you like this guide, don’t forget to share it with your friends. I`m sure they sometimes do their manicure wrong. This will also help our website to provide you with better content and updates! Thanks you ladies!

Continue Reading

Manicure Guides

Camouflage Nail Art Tutorial

Published

on

camouflage nails

Camouflage nail art is becoming more and more popular because of growing camouflage trend in clothes. You can see many people wearing such clothes almost everywhere. If you also have clothes with such print make sure you have this cool manicure in your arsenal.

In general this print is very similar to animal print: you either love or hate it. If you are in the first group this guide is for you. We have explained all the details about how to make camouflage nail art.

Polish

First of all prepare your nails for the manicure as you usually do. You will need at least 5 different colors for this design: light creampale dark greenbrownlight green and black. You will also need top coat.

Light cream is for the base color. Cover all your nails with it and wait until it gets dry. You will most likely have to cover your nails twice. Your base layer must be solid.

Pale dark green is your next color. Take your thin brush or dotting tool and start drawing green areas. Wait for some time after you are done. Give the areas some time to get dry.

Now take brown polish. You also need to draw several spots with it. Wait again after you are done. You have to wait after applying each color in order not to mix them.

Now take light green and draw several areas near existing spots. You may place the colors near each other. But that’s not the only option. You may apply one color over the other to make the manicure look better.

Take black polish and apply it to some of the free areas you haven’t covered yet. At this stage the design may look not very attractive but everything will change when you apply top coat.

Now wait until the polish dries and apply thick layer of top coat. Don’t pressure a lot and you will be ok. The top coat will make the design smooth and attractive. Don’t forget that you can use either shiny or matte top coat!

That’s all. Now you have cool Camouflage manicure. Share this guide with friends if you like it. This will help our website to grow.

Popular Questions

Q: What patterns should I use for this design?
A: There is no exact pattern. Try to use your imagination. In general we recommend painting longer and shorter areas. Just make sure you have used 3-4 different colors.

Q: I stopped drawing because the design looks terrible. Is this because I can’t draw well?
A: We recommend not to stop at the middle. Continue drawing and finish your work. The result you see in the middle may look terrible but finish it and apply top coat. Top coat makes magic! You will see how it will change your work.

Continue Reading

Manicure Guides

Camouflage Nail Art Tutorial

Published

on

camouflage nails

Camouflage nail art is becoming more and more popular because of growing camouflage trend in clothes. You can see many people wearing such clothes almost everywhere. If you also have clothes with such print make sure you have this cool manicure in your arsenal.

In general this print is very similar to animal print: you either love or hate it. If you are in the first group this guide is for you. We have explained all the details about how to make camouflage nail art.

Polish

First of all prepare your nails for the manicure as you usually do. You will need at least 5 different colors for this design: light creampale dark greenbrownlight green and black. You will also need top coat.

Light cream is for the base color. Cover all your nails with it and wait until it gets dry. You will most likely have to cover your nails twice. Your base layer must be solid.

Pale dark green is your next color. Take your thin brush or dotting tool and start drawing green areas. Wait for some time after you are done. Give the areas some time to get dry.

Now take brown polish. You also need to draw several spots with it. Wait again after you are done. You have to wait after applying each color in order not to mix them.

Now take light green and draw several areas near existing spots. You may place the colors near each other. But that’s not the only option. You may apply one color over the other to make the manicure look better.

Take black polish and apply it to some of the free areas you haven’t covered yet. At this stage the design may look not very attractive but everything will change when you apply top coat.

Now wait until the polish dries and apply thick layer of top coat. Don’t pressure a lot and you will be ok. The top coat will make the design smooth and attractive. Don’t forget that you can use either shiny or matte top coat!

That’s all. Now you have cool Camouflage manicure. Share this guide with friends if you like it. This will help our website to grow.

Popular Questions

Q: What patterns should I use for this design?
A: There is no exact pattern. Try to use your imagination. In general we recommend painting longer and shorter areas. Just make sure you have used 3-4 different colors.

Q: I stopped drawing because the design looks terrible. Is this because I can’t draw well?
A: We recommend not to stop at the middle. Continue drawing and finish your work. The result you see in the middle may look terrible but finish it and apply top coat. Top coat makes magic! You will see how it will change your work.

Continue Reading

Trending