How To Nail Your Liquid Chrome Ombre Nails
Liquid chrome… a fading trend? Maybe. But it is one that will resurface again, guaranteed.
So today, I’ll be sharing a tutorial using liquid chrome to create a super aesthetically pleasing natural nail mani.
Before we get into the details, it is important to note that you will need a bit of length to the nails you’ll be working on. So if you don’t already have a good length to your natural nails, do consider adding some length artificially with extensions (my favorite medium for a natural look is using potted soft gel to extend and build).
Whether you go with a natural nail overlay or extensions, you’ll want to make sure your nails are beautifully structured, and that the top of those nails are nice and smooth (otherwise, the chrome will also reflect bumpy and uneven).
You’ll really enjoy this design, and you’ll also enjoy using chrome liquid.
Before we get into the step-by-step here are all the materials you will need:
The Materials:
- Kokoist Lychee Nude #199 *
- Kokoist Liquid Mirror Gold Chrome #MR-04 *
- Kokoist Mega Stick Base *
- Makeup sponge
- Lint-free Towelettes
- 90% Alcohol
*You can shop Kokoist Brand Products at 10% with code PPN10.
The Step-By-Step:
- Prep and Clean the Natural Nails
Remove any old product smooth your nails out, then do your cuticle work, and get them nice and clean ready for product application.
Reminder: The surface of the nails you are working on (whether natural or extended) must be nice and smooth. You can do that via a structured overlay application or by extending the natural nails.
If you want to learn the exact steps to my structure overlay service including how to correctly prep the nails, you can come to the end of this blog here to take my free masterclass and learn more about my Master Gel Nails Course.
2. Apply Your Base Color
After clear gel application, I applied two coats of color Lychee Nude #199 by Kokoist (my favorite Kokoist nude!). You can use any color for this design’s background, but I recommend your favorite nude color.
3. Liquid Chrome
To start working with the chrome liquids, apply one coat of Non-wipe topcoat to your nails and cure in the lamp for 60 seconds. This allows the chrome to burnish on very smoothly. With the liquid chrome, there’s no need to half-cure your top gel, so go ahead and do a full cure.
Next, the liquid chrome requires you to use a makeup sponge like this one. Now you will paint the sponge’s edge with the liquid chrome brush. Now fold the sponge and start dabbing the edge of the nail with the sponge. We are going for a gradation look, so gentle pats upwards. Do this one nail at a time, as the liquid can dry up.
Once you have the gradient effect going on, with the same sponge and area of the sponge you were using, start burnishing the nail. Start at the free edge and feather as you work your way up. If you go over a little bit, don’t worry at this point.
You can touch up the other nails and ensure the free edge is the most concentrated area.
If you feel you messed up somewhere, no worries. Grab a towelette, damp it with alcohol, pat areas where you messed up, and try to keep it off the skin. You can do that if you feel like you need to start over. This dissolves with alcohol, so you can remove some or all of it.
4.Use a towelette with alcohol to make it shinier.
After you are happy with the liquid chrome placement, use a towelette, spray it with alcohol, and float it over each nail. This step is going to make the chrome effect shinier.
5.Embellishments.
I will add these dainty gold and rose gold sparkle metal pieces, and to adhere to these, I am using Kokoist Mega Stick Base. This will allow me to seal them without adding too much bulk; this base is relatively thin. I’m using the brush to paint a tiny amount of gel on the nail where I will place the gold sparkle.
Use your crystals tool to grab the metal pieces and the other side to correct the placement. Use a flash curing unit to flask cure the embellishments and move to the next nail. Do one nail at a time, so your decorations don’t keep moving.
I am using Kokoist’s hand-held curing compact lamp. I only use this lamp to flash cure, so things stay in place while I work, and then I take it to the lamp for a full cure. Regardless of how long you have the finger under the flashlight, you must cure it fully in a full-sized lamp. Gel hardens at 50%, but that doesn’t mean it’s fully cured, so if you cure for a shorter time, you could have uncured gel on your hands or the clients’ hands.
6.Seal it
I like to double-seal anything on top of my nails. You could use something like Glossy Top Coat from the Nail Thoughts line. This is a thicker top coat, so this is a perfect opportunity to use a more viscous top gel like this one. I will apply one coat of this topcoat and seal it with a non-wipe topcoat layer afterward. For the second coat, I am using Ultra Glossy from Kokoist too.
If you want to learn all about Kokoist, how to use its products for soft potted gel application, extensions, overlays, nail art, and all that good stuff, make sure to sign up for the waitlist for the upcoming Kokoist certification. This will save you a ton of money by knowing your products and buying what you need, not everything.
That is it, you guys! I am really pleased with how this came out. I am not a super fan of blue nails, but this is not blue; these nails give me frozen, metallic blue vibes, and I’m here for it. Please tag me on IG if you try this design. I love seeing your creations! Thank you for joining me today, and I’ll see you at the next one. Bye for now…
Content written by Paola Ponce
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