Mirror manicure is officially back and it’s at the peak of the popularity. All this happened thanks to the model Gigi Hadid, who wore it for the Met Gala Ball “Manus x Machina” at the Metropolitan Museum in May this year. Her elegant long almond-shaped nails were decorated with shining crystals inside, and on the top, was a mirror coating, we called them mirror powder nails. The whole manicure worth approximately $2000. This futuristic nail art has attracted even more attention than the make-up, hairstyle, and outfit of the model taken together.
Fortunately, we don’t need to be models or spend $2000 on mirror nails. The manicure like this can be created with many ways, moreover, you can do it at home. For it, you can use metallic nail polishes, special nail sliders, and even the foil for nails. But I suggest you come up with something new. In the last couple of months, the most popular way to create a manicure with a mirror effect was a chrome mirror powder. Between Gelish vs Shellac for this, I go with IBD, one of the best gel nail polish brands.
I'm sure that most of you have seen the videos on Instagram or YouTube with the process of the creating mirror powder nails. Now you can not only observe beauty videos but also take the action and try this beauty trend. If you are not sure in your nail art skills, you always can go to the professional salon. But you can have fun and try it by yourself. So, let’s the nails party begin!
The benefits of the chrome mirror powder
The chrome mirror powder is a fine dispersion pigment having a powder texture. It is intended for rubbing into the base coat of the nail polish. The mirror powder pigment is usually scattered in the convenient small plastic boxes, with the applicator like in eye shadows palettes.
Chrome mirror powder is a good alternative to other products which create mirror effect on the nails. For example, the nail foil cannot be printed in some places, but the chrome mirror pigment always fills the nail surface at 100%.
At the market, you’ll find a lot of shades of the chrome mirror powder. But you don’t need a lot of them, two or three boxes will be enough for home using. Moreover, the mirror powder shade depends on the color base of the nail polish base. The most recent look I had was created with silver mirror powder and grey CND Shellac.
The process of creating begins now
If you do the mirror powder manicure in the professional salon, the master, probably, will create it with a gel nail polish and mirror powder. Fine mirror powder is usually applied on the base layer of gel polish and rubbed with a special sponge. On the top of the powder, master applies a glossy top coat and cleans your fingers and nails with a special solution.
If you decide to try the chrome mirror manicure at home, at first you need to buy the chrome mirror powder (be careful: sequins should be very small - this is the only option for a uniform coating). And do you know that you can apply chrome mirror powder on the regular nail polish? But in this case, you need to catch a magic moment, when the nail polish layer is dry enough but has kept a slight stickiness.
Mirror Powder Nails (Chrome Pure Powder)
You also need a good application. Sometimes these can come in a kit when you buy nail art brushes. Otherwise, you can get the ones I use.
Mirror Powder Applicators
To make an amazing mirror powder nails, you must follow the next instructions:
- Prepare the nails for the polish base (make a basic manicure and clean the nail plate from dust and oils). Czech nail files are the best for this!
- Apply a thin layer of nail polish base, dry it in the UV lamp for 2 minutes or in the LED-lamp for 30 seconds. I used Entity1, from my IBD Nail Polish and Entity Manicure.
- Then apply the color gel nail polish (it will be a great base for the chrome mirror powder). Dry it in the lamp. This time I used a grey shellac, sometimes my alternative to gel.
- Collect a small amount of pigment on the applicator. Apply and gently rub it over the nail plate.
- Rub up the mirror powder until you get a perfect glossy and metallic effect. Pay special attention to hard reached places.
- Whisk the remains with a brush.
- Apply a finish coating on the top of your nails and dry them with the lamp.
- Voila! Mirror powder nails are ready!
Important information! For a perfect mirror powder manicure, your nails must be healthy and in a good shape. If the surface of your nails has imperfections, the mirror powder manicure will highlight them.
Top 10 tips to have a perfect mirror powder nails
- Apply the chrome mirror powder on the surface which isn’t sticky, otherwise, it will be impossible to achieve a perfect glossy look.
- Better to use dark nail polishes. The color of mirror surface will look more vivid and rich.
- If you want a gentle and light manicure, you can use white or transparent nail polish.
- Make sure, that during rubbing mirror powder on the surface of the nail there won’t be any little hairs and dust. They can ruin perfect smooth coating.
- Nail polish layer should be thin.
- Nail polish cannot be over-dried in the lamp, otherwise, the powder isn’t rubbed into the surface.
- Apply mirror powder immediately after the drying nail polish. The faster you start the better result you’ll have.
- The best finish top for mirror powder nails is the one which you use for the nail sliders.
- If you have bold spots on the surface, apply a very thin layer of top coating and rub the mirror powder again.
- Use only glossy top coatings.
Chrome mirror powder can be used in different ways and for different nail coatings. As you see, the techniques of application are very simple. You don’t need to have special skills or a lot of practice to work with the mirror powder. You can achieve cool design from the first time.
I’m wondering, have you ever tried mirror powder nails? Share with me your experience and tips. Or maybe you have your own techniques. I’ll be happy to know much more from you.