Don’t Sweat the Technique: Glitter Nails using Shellac
Note: This post was written for publication 3/29 but then I got too busy preparing to leave town. A couple of days ago, a photo of a glitter toe I posted on Facebook 4/20/2010 – one year ago – suddenly got attention and I was asked how it was done. I had previously entertained doing a toe video but you should get the idea with the video I made for this post. If you don’t, let me know. And to go back to my intro on toes with glitter, it is here.
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Ah, glitter. Yesterday we looked at a beautiful layered design on Kimberley using Shellac. As a stylist and image consultant, she pretty much has free reign to go bold. What happens when you need a little discretion? Is it a life of nudes for you?
Not necessarily. Depending on your profession, you may need to resort to closing your office doors and kicking off your heels to get feel a little freedom with toes that glitter. Or, maybe you can push the border with a little fingernail bling. You don’t need much to add a bit of excitement to your nail regimen – let me show you:
How to Glitter with Discretion
I had a chance to show off my glitter nails and technique during NY fashion week this year. Glitter doesn’t have to be all about really loud nails – sometimes it’s just enough to switch things up a bit to keep from getting bored. Enjoy the trend using Shellac, which doesn’t require an e-file to apply or remove. It’s fun to glitter with discretion. The most mild form of this is using CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie (as shown in the video) or Negligee. I use just a bit of glitter at the tip and drag down only slightly. Do not encapsulate the entire nail. The choosen glitter must be fine and highly compliment. Think monochromatic shades or with lights, keep translucent:
As you can see, this works from pale to hot pinks, taupes to bold Rock Royalty. The key is in a small amount of glitter and making a right match with color.
One of my booties noticed my glitter toe from exactly a year ago today posted on my Facebook wall and asked about it. Use the same technique, but place the glitter all over the nail. Seal with topcoat.
As always, you cannot go wrong with Shellac because it doesn’t require an e-file for application or removal, and this should hold for up to 6 weeks. I’ve been doing it for a year, switching over to Shellac as soon as it came out and my clients have gone all over the world with pretty glitter hands and toes.
I had the chance to show off my glitter nails technique during NY Fashion Week, where I had a chance to work the subtle on Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference founder Jennine Tamm (The Coveted), a medium on HolierThanNow and full blown bling ahead on Lucky Magazine panel speaker Karla Sugar. It works for all kind of women!
FADING COLORS
If you want to try a color fade, simply start your chosen color at the bottom and go as far up as you desire. Fill in with second color.
Glitter Toes – These are very popular in my salon
That’s awesome Dawn! For colors, I would really go by gut and what you love to get creative. For a cosmetics launch party for Purple Lab I used Purple, thin line of silver and Pink to match their brand colors.
The gold glitter toe remains a constant fav. Use a light gold mixed with a bit of brown to give it depth. You can then drag brown to gold or silver/brown/gold. Works well year round and matches just about everything. Have fun!
Hillary, Thanks soo much for giving us more options with Shellac!! This is great! I already tried it on a client and she loved it!! Could you give me an example of which 2 colors you could use or have used with the color fade??
Don't sweat the technique: Glitter nails using Shellac http://bit.ly/fGfNvb