SStreets Style shots from Montreal’s Fashion & Design Festival
Street Style shots from Montreal’s Fashion & Design Festival
Street Style shots from Montreal’s Fashion & Design Festival
Street Style shots from Montreal’s Fashion & Design Festival
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Glitter Gradient nails Art Tips
this tutorial should help you with that look. The reason I prefer working with loose glitter is it gives you an intense, super sparkly shine that is hard to recreate with polish.
You'll notice with this tutorial I haven't done my usual step by step photos. I didn't forget to take pictures! ;) I just couldn't seem to get the idea across in photos, you have to see it in motion, so I made a video! Also, the glitter I used is from Claire's Accessories.
Tips and Tricks
- If your glitter is going on lumpy, pick up a bit more polish on the brush and blend it through the glitter to smooth it out.
- You should wipe the brush in between each dip to keep your polish clean OR I have a bunch of crappy, tiny bottles of top coat from the dollar store that I use for circumstances just like this!
- To get the glitter gradient really smooth, brush over and over so the colors blend nicely.
- Pay attention to the very tips of your nails, that was the first place I lost my glitter. :(
- Beware of "over gooping" your glitter. You don't want an inch of glitter on your nails!
- My secret to getting rhinestones to stick to my brush when I'm picking them up? Lick your brush! Not as sticky as polish, but enough to pick them up.
Nail Art Brushes
if you use nail acrylic your brushes will hold up a lot better, true nail polish can be quite hard on brushes. If you primarily use polish, go for synthetic brushes. If you use acrylic, go for natural hair.
where to buy
Your main places to buy brushes will probably be the internet, art/hobby stores and nail supply stores. If you choose to buy online, I would suggest Amazon or Ebay, but beware of those amazingly cheap sellers from China on Ebay. The quality can be quite dodgy, you might find them losing their point and falling apart in a couple weeks.
If you decide to buy from a nail supplier, your best bet is Sally Beauty Supply. Most big cities in Canada, America and the UK have one. The brush selection they have online is pretty decent, so you should be able to find what you're looking for. Craft stores is a bit more of a gamble, but they usually have pretty small, fine brushes. I got my brushes from the art section at Wal-Mart. They're pretty good, although I have had a few loose hairs here and there.
If your brushes are stiff and hard, it means there is dried polish in them. You can soak them in some remover or acetone, but try not to leave them for toooooo long! The first time I soaked my brushes I, very stupidly, left them bristle down in a glass of remover and came back to find a bunch of brushes with bent tips.
To preserve the point while you soak your brushes, use a clothsepin to suspend them in acetone. Clip it onto the brushes and place it over the rim of the glass so the brush is suspended in the remover. Submerged, but not touching the bottom of the glass, as you can see in the photo above. Leave them for about an hour, then rinse them in water to remove any acetone and leave them bristle up to dry.
Nail Art Pen ( Easy to Design )
Some claim to be pens, but are actually polishes with long thin brushes. Make sure you actually get what you want! This article will help you make an educated purchase so you end up with the perfect tool for you!
What are your options?
There's a few different brands out there that are pretty well liked, one is Migi. They are a two way nail art pen, meaning they have a brush (in this case a normal size brush) and a pointed tip. They have a great selection of colors, and what makes Migi really unique is that they offer free refills and free replacements. Talk about service! You can buy them in sets of 8 colors for $24.99 from the Migi website, or sometimes you can find a good deal on Amazon
. I haven't tried them, but everything I've heard has been positive.
If you live in the UK, your best bet is Nails Surpreme Nail Art Pens. Sophie from The Illustrated Nail uses them, what more do you need to know!? They're very high quality and have the same brush/nib style as Migi. You can get a set of 8 for just under £20, so they're still pretty affordable. They also include a fun set of instructions and ideas of stuff to do with them.
Another good option in the UK is the Model's Own pens made in collaboration with Wah Nails. They're also two way style and they're easy to find in most Boots stores or Topshop. I found them in Guildford...they're out there if you look! They're £6 each so if you want loads of colors, it's more cost effective to go for the supreme ones.
One brand that I have tried and really do not recommend is the Cina pens from Sally Beauty. They have a tip similar to a felt tip marker...far too thick for what I need. You have to shake it and press down the tip to get the polish flowing, and once it is it tends to come out in huge globs all over your finger. What a disaster! Steer clear of this one! I've also heard some pretty bad stuff about the Sally Hansen ones in the same style as Cina, but I've never tried them.
The nail art pens I'm currently using are from Ebay, from one of the many online nail retailers based in China. They were about $5 with free delivery and they are very average. Most of the colors are opaque (although I got a couple of duds in my pack of 16) but the polish smells terrible and the long brushes aren't cut well. The tips work perfectly, the polish flows really nicely and I'm totally re-filling them with my own colors! If you're on a super-budget they're alright, but Migi or Supreme is better if you can splurge!
Galaxy Nails Art tutorial
Galaxy Nails Art tutorial
Galaxy nails Art tutorial because they are so unique and personal to the artist doing them.In this tutorial I used Sinful Colors in Ciao Bella (which I seem to use for every look on this site, I love it!) with a coat of Sinful Colors Frenzy over it for the base. I also used Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in White On, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Mint Sprint, Beauty UK in Black and Lilac Girl, and for the glittery top coat I used Wet n Wild Fast Dry in Party of Five Glitters.
Tips & Tricks
- When you're sponging, less is more. You can always add more polish, but one big glob can ruin your mani.
- I try to treat the white as a central focal point and work out from there, but don't be afraid to experiment with different shapes. If you hate it, you can sponge over with a darker color.
- If it looks a bit plain, do some tiny white dots for stars.
- To me, galaxy nails are all about depth. Space goes on forever, so you want to have lots of different layers. The glitter sandwich technique is a good way to get the "distant stars look".
- Prefer a video? I like this one from Cute Polish.
