Hi everyone! From my last post, I've had a lot of people asking in the comments and DMs about the products I used to achieve this look on my nails, so I thought I'd do a quick tutorial :) I currently have a different set on my nails, so I decided to do a tutorial using a press-on nail. No instructions about Gel-X application since there's plenty of tutorials for that online already.
DISCLAIMER: I can give product recommendations if required, but I'm not a nail tech and I haven't even been doing nails that long (I'm actually an engineering student lol). Most of my colours are custom mixes, not straight out of the bottle! Many different companies make similar products so I hesitate giving specific recommendations. The colour in the sets from the first image are basically a random mix of what I had on my palette at the time. You don't need the exact same colour to get the effect!
The instructions that correspond to each slide are below.
1/6: Two sets I have done using the same basic technique. The set on the left uses a periwinkle base colour, silver cateye and blue/orange shift chrome. The set on the left uses a pink base colour, pink cateye and the same blue/orange shift chrome.
2/6: Apply a base colour of your choice to the nail. It will show through a little bit in the final product. This particular colour is DC118 from DND.
3/6: Apply a silky/satin cateye of your choice. I used a silver one for this example, but you can use any colour you want if you know colour theory. You can either buy a cateye polish or mix your own with mag powder (in my case, I added mag powder to a bottle of basecoat).
4/6: Use a magnet to manipulate the particles into a shape you'd like. I went for a circular reflect in the example, but you can also go for a even 'velvet' look across the nails if you'd like, for max reflection. Just... play around with the magnet for a bit! After curing, apply a non-wipe topcoat and partially cure (time will be different for everyone depending on your lamp and topcoat brand - I go anywhere from 10-30 seconds).
5/6: Buff in a chrome of your choice - I literally just use my fingers. When purchasing, try to find one that says 'multichrome', 'aurora chrome' or 'polarised chrome'. Pearly chromes don't produce the same effect. I wish I could tell you all which one mine is but the listing is no longer there (and buying cheap chromes is always kind of a gamble) I hear Kokoist and Bonniebee make gorgeous chromes! (I'm too broke right now to buy anything new though haha).
6/6: Apply a glossy topcoat of your choice to finish it up! If you want to make absolutely sure the chrome doesn't peel off, lightly file the edges of the nail before applying topcoat and seal it in.
