Today I’m feeling a little bit more mirror chrome, guys, it sold out again! So congrats to Kokoist for selling out twice on the liquid mirror chrome. I will work with it again; hopefully, many of you have it by now. We are going to do aesthetic manicure vibes!
Upgrade your client’s nails with this look easily! (I’d charge at least $30 extra; time-wise, it is relatively quick, but you are using a few different mediums).
I recommend some length for this look, so ensure you’re working on medium-length structured natural nails or gel nail extensions. It will make creating this design a breeze.
Before We Get Started
Our early bird enrollment for Kokoist will soon be opening (promise!). Just sign up here to the waitlist (AKA the VIP List), and you’ll be the first to know. As long as you have an internet connection, are able to acquire Kokoist products in your country, and have a week of flexible work-time in late April. You qualify for this certification; DIY or PRO are welcomed!
And the reason why you want the surface to be super smooth is that if it is, the chrome is just going to accentuate any ripples and other imperfections.
You’ll really enjoy this design, and you can experiment with different colors of liquid chrome!
Let’s get started with the recipe for this look…
The Materials:
- Kokoist Lychee Nude #199
- Liquid Mirror Gold Chrome #MR-04
- Mega Stick Base
- Makeup sponge
- Lint-free Towelettes
- 90% Alcohol
If you want to try some of the products I used today for this look, you can shop at Kokoist and use code PPN10 for a 10% discount.
The Step-By-Step:
1.Prepping & Cleaning
Remove any old product and smooth your nails out, then remove dry skin, do your cuticle work, and get them nice and clean ready for product application.
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 how to do a structure overlay step-by-step and correctly prep the nails, check out this masterclass to learn more about the Master Gel Nails Course.
We reserve both of these lessons for our Master Gel Nails Course; you can come back and click here to watch my free masterclass and learn more about it.
2.Color
After clear gel application, I applied two coats of color Lychee Nude #199 by Kokoist (my favorite color in the world!). You can use any color for this design’s background, but I recommend your favorite nude color.
3.Magic 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 & Fabiola Saucedo
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