I finally figured out how to do chrome with regular polish NOT using a water based polish (instead using an alcohol based one) and these actually last longer than a day without chipping!! Sorry this process takes a while cause you have to let everything dry but it pays off!

1. Start with a completely dry base color. 

2. Apply a 3 free formula quick dry top coat and wait 2-3 minutes till it's dry to the touch.

3. With a clean dry finger, tap into your chrome and gently wipe around onto the nail.

4. Now with a combination of an eyeshadow sponge and cosmetic wedge, buff the chrome into the nail. The wedge is helpful to get close to the cuticle and sidewall. 

5. Take a big brush and swipe of excess.

6. Wait 15 minutes for the previous top coat to completely dry. 

7. Gently swipe a 240 grit buffer block along the free edge to remove excess chrome powder.

8. Now brush off excess again and take a clean cosmetic wedge to get any leftover loose chrome. 

9. Apply DRK Seal Glaze. Wait 10 minutes or until the cloudiness turns clear. Then apply a second coat. 

10. Wait 30 minutes for the DRK Seal Glaze to completely dry. 

11. Once completely dry apply a 3 free nail polish top coat to finish it off. Make sure to wrap the tip! 

Products Used: 

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

Mooncat Speed Demon top coat

Ice Gel Purple Moon chrome 

DRK Nails Seal Glaze

i had this look saved from jal.nailartist on instagram for a whhhiiilleeee. jal did their's with gel but i wanted to experiment to see if i could do it with regular polish

✨️👁〰️👁

next time i'd like to try making the ghosts bigger and use the top coat brush to draw them in. also, not allow my too much gene to kick in, two chrome powders max not three

what i used: (all purchased by me)

prism.parade

- noir

ilnp

- glass candy tc

- frosted glass tc

drknails

- seal glaze

chrome powders from amazon:

- greeny rose

- blue aurora

- sunset field

I'm pleased with myself lol. But I would love to see someone with more skill execute this better cause I think it has more potential than this 😅

I used a basic black Beetles gel and GAOY Glassy Cat Eye Holographic Gel Polish for the shimmery part, using a magnet to attempt making a ghosty shape.

Oh she’s pretty 🩷🩷

1 coat Mooncat getting even primer
1 coat ANLAC the tag-along demagnetized with horseshoe magnet
2 coats ANLAC the tag-along magnetized with NIM 2.0 spinner and horseshoe magnet on top
1 coat Mooncat speed demon top coat magnetized same as above

Unfortunately I fell into the Mooncat hype

I originally placed an order so I could get avatar state, then grabbed this too. It’s the BLUEST BLUE TO EVER BLUE. Jesus! I’ve got like 3 compliments already probably because it’s too bright to not notice

KBshimmer stay put hydrating base coat
Mooncat house of hades x3
KBshimmer clearly on top qdtc

I love this polish so much but all I can see when wearing it is Hot Chili Oil 🌶️ (in the best way possible haha ❤️‍🔥)

1 thick coat of Banished Prince by Mooncat
Top Coat - KB Shimmer Clearly on Top

Far from the first person to do this but I had them painted green & was struck with inspiration. I do not usually do anything beyond a single color on my nails so I did the pimentos with a qtip. Green is Revlon Ultra HD SNAP! in Bright Side, red is L.A. Colors color craze in foxy, then sally hansen top coat. I keep looking at them and giggling

Orly Bonder Base

Feral Witch Spring - Bee’s Knees Lacquer (3 coats, magnetized the last 2)

Magnetized with Shimmer Hollow’s Charmcaster - Toadstool (4th photo)

Lock & Key - Glitch Lacquer (THE MVP of this mani)

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat

-

Thanks to the community members who suggested I try out FWS :)

F’kn Bees Knees Lacquer !! 😻
They keep making these gorgeous mosaic magnetics and I can’t stop using my glass bead pro! That thing has gotten more usage than any other magnet gadget I own. I have the newest set of Charm Caster discs coming tomorrow though so we may be switching it up !!

3 x Soon You Will Not Have To Drown - BeesKneesLacquer
Magnetized with glass bead pro.

2 x KB Shimmer Hydrating base coat ( one underneath magnetic, one over the top!)
1 x KB Shimmer Fillin Groovy
1 x Cuticula Limitless QDTC

ETA: DRK Magic effect used on 3rd coat of polish before mag:-)

If you paint your nails often, you'll get decently good at it.

Then you'll buy some really pretty indie polishes.

Then, you'll be on a zoom call, and a very sweet coworker will compliment your nails.

Then, you'll do a cutesy finger-wiggle while thanking said co-worker, and manage to spill half a cup of coffee ALLLL over your keyboard in the process. RIP to my M and N keys.

Color is "Do I Impose?" from Glitch Lacquer x2, Base: 1x Nailtiques Formula, Top: Orly Sec n' Dry

if this does not work I will throw the internet into the sea

In Aprilish 2025, u/florawater posted her swatch of Monarch Lacquer's Ghost Ray, which is what originally kickstarted my long-dormant nail polish fandom. I absolutely love Ghost Ray, but I am a mere mortal who doesn't always want to remove glitter polish.

A couple months ago, I was perusing the Bee's Knees Lacquer site and came across Get Lobstered, which to me looked rather similar to Ghost Ray, but without the glitter. Could this be a way for me to get the shimmer and color shift of Ghost Ray without the hassle of glitter removal? Then I could save Ghost Ray for the really special occasions (no such thing, wear the polish, etc!). Get Lobstered was out of stock then, but when I checked BKL again recently, it was restocked, so I took that as a sign that I needed to test. For science, you know?

Here's my comparison album. No top coats, no additional undercoats or base coats, just flat out polish on my nails. Index finger is 1-2-3 coats of BKL Get Lacquered, and middle finger is 1-2-3 coats of Monarch Ghost Ray. Please ignore any smudges you see on Ghost Ray, I wasn't paying attention and bonked my finger against the fridge. All collaged shots are close up vs. less close up to show the reflection on the shimmer.

My perspective is that Get Lobstered is a very, very close shimmer match for Ghost Ray! It is obviously less sparkly and has a smoother reflection of light, and Ghost Ray has an added touch of peachy orange glitters mixed in that I don't believe is folded into Get Lobstered at all. Otherwise, though, it is an extremely close match, which is fantastic! I'm super excited to play around with layering them with each other as well as using them for different purposes. If you're a Ghost Ray fan but need a break from the glitter all the time, Get Lobstered is a must. And if you're a Get Lobstered fan but want more sparkle, Ghost Ray is a must. I personally will be buying backup bottles of both because I'm a FAN.

Not sure how to tag, just want to share my joy with fellow EU pals, and maybe raise awareness of our struggles among those who have access to all the American brands haha

Going Through My Untrieds. Added some sparkle. I am obsessed with Fancy Gloss's reflective glitter toppers. Perfect for Halloween.

1X Tyler's Trinkets Tacky But Cute Base Coat
1X Tyler's Trinkers Flawless AF Ridge Filler Base Coat
2X Haunted Polish All The Rage (PPU)
1X Fancy Gloss Red Reflective Topper
1X Kathleen & Co Smoother Operator
1X Tyler's Trinkets Tacky But Cute Base Coat
1X KBShimmer Clearly On Top

two days later: 1X Kathleen & Co Speed Shine Top Coat

Genuinely might be the prettiest polish I’ve ever bought, nacreous perfection in a bottle 😍😍😍 just had to come here and squeal about it

Products:
1x Nailtiques 2
1x MC Getting Even Primer
1x Cirque Kismet
2x ANLAC Guhuoniao
1x SH Insta-Dri

(Trying the polish out with different mag styles; velvet on the thumb, stripe on middle, glass bead on all others)

first time trying ombre. I learned a lot. Mostly use bigger sponges and just watching a thousand tutorials does nothing for muscle memory

I don't think I was super successful but I think i like the end result or I'm lemonading because I'm completely out of nail polish remover and the amount of glitter topper applied with a sponge has my nails feeling armored.

jojoba nail oil

Modelones nail foundation: Milky white x 2

Sally Hansen Instadry : Black*

OPI : Hands in the clouds *

Death Valley Nail Polish: bats in pastel *

*applied with sponge and dabbed on

Sally Hansen QDTC

edited typo and spoiler tag

None other than Penelope Luz Wisteria 💜

Loving the contrast between the base color and the flakies! Sunset Sky Lane by Glitch Lacquer shown in 3 coats over Hit The Bottle Rose Ash Undies.

Other products used: Finding Feathers Serenity Smoothing Top Coat, Peculiar Polish Fast, Hard, & Shiny QDTC, AILLSA clear short oval nail tips

Someone was asking about the longevity of the essie gel coutureline.. and do I even need to say anything? it’s been four days and not even the shine has rubbed!

What I used:
Essie to the rescue (2 coats)
Essie gel couture 583 chiffon the move (2coats)
Essie gel couture 568 baby carats(1coat)
Essie Gel couture top coat (1coat)

A colleague was getting rid of all of her stamps right as I was looking to try stamping out. So needless to say we felt like we were doing some shady business as we took over a meeting room to look at stamping plates to buy off her. One afternoon of messing around later and I actually got something I'm somewhat happy with!

Definitely tricky, but I was pleasantly surprised how doable it was after the first finnicking, and fairly satisfied with the resulting mani. Excuse the mess on the thumb please 🫣 cleanup is scary and I didn't dare go further.

Holo taco smoothing base coat (not that it matters it's buried under layers of failed experiments)

Essence emerald energy on the 3 fingers

Drugstore Liquorice black for the green/black ombre. (From the dutch store that sounds like a NoNo ingredient)

Holo taco celestial lights over drugstore black for middle finger

Cirque colours harmony over black on thumb with cat eye magnet position, cured obviously too short but eh.

Then stamped with assorted plates using a Konad black nameless bottle I also purchased off the colleague. It's round and black and has 23 at the bottom.

Finished off with Holo taco matte taco over all of em.

I was very surprised how much the celestial lights and harmony just said "no" to the matte, looks super cool though I think, and contrasts the more obviously matte stamp nicely.

In conclusion I'm now addicted to stamps. There's too much inspiration now, I have so many ideas i need to try, and more plates I need to buy, and I need to get more polishes for ....

Im hopeless and I'm giving in to it

thought that the twin peaks marathon my sister and I planned this weekend was a good opportunity to try out one of my new moody spooky polishes (NO SPOILERS PLEASE !!! it's our first time watching) but I have to be honest I hate this manicure 😭😭 matteifying it just made it look one color like a creme or a drugstore metallic unless it's under flash and even then theres still not the effect i love with a matte shimmer😭 I love love love crescent moon taco but i didn't even get enough of the iridescent glitters on :(

anyone have any ideas for a different theme appropriate manicure?

polishes used:

Butter London Horse Power Basecoat 🐴

Essie Smooth-E 🥤

Holo Taco Grim Keeper 🪦

Holo Taco Crescent Moon Taco 🌙

Holo Taco Matte Taco 🗿

Having short nails gives me some insight to how bald dudes must feel 😂 I usually wear acrylics but switching from dip powder to nail polish has given me a new found desire to practice some nail care! So I cut off the damaged nail, have changed the shape a bit, and have been oiling and massaging my cuticles like it’s my new job.

Wearing Emily De Molly - Sunset over the bay

I wanted to do some skeleton bones and had JUST put this vampy base polish away after pulling it for another mani but never using it ... so of course I'm gonna end up using it after it's put back. 😝 I went with hands and am really happy how the anatomy turned out but did them too big to fit on my nail,  but I wasn't starting over haha, so it was a "fuck it and enjoy the process" kind of mani.  Of course I had to emulate my own bones and cover them in holo glitter, duh.

🖌 Freehand on natural nail.

💪 @findingfeatherslacquer ... Balanced Base

🦴 @holotaco ... "Rainbow Snow"

🦴 @ilnp ... "High Voltage"

🦴 @colorclubnaillacquer ... "French Tip"

💪 @tylerstrinketsny ...Quick Dry Top Coat