Hey you guys!! Ok so as most of you know I am the proud owner of my AMAZING Nail Brand ‘Glitter planet’ it only feels fitting that this blog post is about all about *GLITTER* I can’t wait to share my tips and tricks on how to use loose glitter with both gel and acrylic nail products. It’s super easy trust me 🙂
Let’s start off by sharing the MAIN ways to apply loose glitter and then we can go into more detail for each method.
4 Ways to apply and use loose glitters:
- As a loose glitter mix (this means the glitter is not mixed with anything you need to mix it with something eg. gel or acrylic)
- Pre mixed glitter (this means the products is a glitter acrylic, glitter builder gel or glitter gel polish. Ready to use and super convenient)
- As individual pieces to create easy simple designs/Mosaic designs
- Sugared on top of a nail to create texture
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LOOSE GLITTER
Ok so loose glitter is the most versatile option here and when it comes to using glitter on nails you want to make sure that it’s Solvent resistant. This means that when its mixed or used with other products like Nail Mate Acrylic, Nail Mate Gel Polish or your fave regular Nail Polish the colour won’t be lifted away from the glitter pieces due to the chemical compounds with the preferred medium.
Using Loose Glitter With Acrylic – If you are using glitter with Nail mate acrylic system you will need to pick up a clear bead of ‘crystal clear acrylic’, make sure it is ‘wet’ and once you have the bead of acrylic on the brush you then dip it into your loose glitter. This will pick up some of the glitter onto the brush and allow you to transfer it easily to the nails. Make sure to spread the glitter smoothly for an even finish that isn’t too bulky. TOP TIP: if you feel like your pre mixed glitter acrylic isn’t full coverage then I recommend pairing it with a matching Nail mate colour acrylic underneath to create a solid colour base beneath the glitter.
Using Loose Glitter With Gel Polish – If you are Using Glitter Planet Loose Glitters with the Nail Mate Gel Polish System you can simply dispense a small amount of base coat onto a mixing pallet and then add your glitter. Mix thoroughly until you have the desired consistency that will apply smooth and easy. You don’t want it to be clumpy and hard to spread (if its to dry or thin and not spreading add more base coat). To create a sugared effect you will need to choose your preferred fine glitter, on your finished enhancement (before top coat) you want to apply a gel top coat, My fave is Nail Mate Super Gloss Top coat, this is a no wipe gel top coat. Once applied (don’t cure it yet) you want to take your chosen glitter and sprinkle It onto the nail making sure you cover the entire surface of the nail. tap the nail to tip off most of the excess glitter and then cure in an LED light for 60 seconds. Once you bring this nail out of the light you can go ahead and dust of any excess glitter that wasn’t adhered to the gel top coat.
‘PRE MIXED’ GLITTER
Pre mixed Glitter Acrylic – You want to start off by saturating your brush in monomer, then wipe the brush on the side of your dapper dish, my absolute fave is ‘THE DISH’ because its heavy and doesn’t tip up (Large crystal dappen dish) Then you want to dip into your glitter acrylic and pick up a bead. Apply the bead to the nail where you like until you achieve the desired effect. You can also create your own mixes by using Nail Mate crystal clear acrylic and Glitter Planet loose glitters.
Loose Glitter & Gel Polish – Lets delve into this a little further and in more detail. When using loose glitter and gel polish you really have to consider the type of glitter mix you are using. At Glitter Planet there is a HUGE Rage of fine and chunky glitters, over 600 unique glitters at this point. If you are using a fine glitter mix this is super easy, you can mix in with Nail Mate base coat and apply like a glitter gel polish. You can also sprinkle the fine glitter over the gel and cure in place following with TWO top coats. To Use chunky glitters what I like to do is I will tip a few of the individual pieces out into a pallet or tray, apply Nail Mate Base coat over your colour gel/acrylic design where you want to apply the glitter. Then use a dotting tool or a fine brush with a little bit of base coat on to help pick up the glitter pieces and place them individually onto the nail. You can get super crazy and creative with this technique by creating mosaic style nails and they look SUPER BLINGTASTIC. You would then cap this glitter in a builder gel, I recommend Clear BUILD+ as it’s a little thicker and if the nail has some bumps you can remove the tacky layer after curing, file and buff the nail to get rid of any lumps, and then top coat with super gloss and cure in the lamp to ensure a smooth even finish.
Full Glitter nail application with Gel polish
Simple Directions for a FULL Glitter nail:
- Prep the nail plate for gel polish service
- Apply Base coat and cure 60secs
- apply colour coat and cure for 60 seconds
- apply base coat and cure (skip this step if your colour coat has a tacky layer)
- Using a fluffy nail art brush dab it into your glitter and pat onto the nail ensuring a full coverage. Burnish (rub) the glitter into the tacky layer of the gel polish
- remove excess glitter with a fluffy brush
- Top coat using Nail Mate Super Gloss & Cure for 60 seconds
- Buff the shine away and any bumps of glitter
- Remove the dust and top coat again curing for 60 seconds
- Allow to cool for 30 seconds and then apply Nail Mate Cuticle oil.
BIODEGRADABLE GLITTER
At Glitter Planet we also have a series of Biodegradable glitters which are made from plant cellulose. Please check them out here.
I really hope you enjoyed this blog post and learnt how to use glitters in many ways. Don’t forget to leave a comment about what you thought, And request more topics for me to blog about for you. Always remember you are BOMB.COM, Lit AF! Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different!! YOU’VE GOT THIS! Mwah,
Lorna xoxo
