Hey Glitter Tribe Babe! Welcome back to another blog post on this step by step nail Art design using Nail Mate Acrylic and Glitter Planet Loose glitters. If you are new here my name is Lorna and I am a fully qualified Nail Tech teaching you all things nails ๐๐ And my fave colour is PURPLE ๐
I LOVE to practice and demo designs so I have a TON of the practice tips available on my nail desk. I use some ‘blue tack’ to tack on the nail tip to the stand, this makes it easy for me to hold whilst applying my design. For this design I am using the number 12 rainbow Aqua brush from Glitter Planet. It is 100% kolinsky nail brush. Glitter Planet also have a VEGAN Nail brush available called the ‘PURE BRUSH’ – Nail Mate Acrylic Core system is Vegan/Cruelty free and the Colour acrylics are Cruelty free ๐ฐ
Once you are set up with your practice tip or your prepped nails (and clear base) you are ready to come In with ‘Candy pink’ duo marble powder. Work in medium beads to create the maximum marbled effect . if you try to work in one big bead the marbled effect will be less. Once you apply your first bead use the tip of your brush to gently ‘swirl’ the product. You don’t want to SMOOSH it all together and create one colour. You want to be able to see the difference and the definite marble effect. Continue the process with more beads, the amount of beads will depend on the size of nail you are working on.
The next step is to apply your GLITTER!! For this look I am using ‘frosting’ loose glitter from Glitter Planet. Use a small wet bead of Nail Mate crystal clear acrylic to pick up the glitter and apply it to the nail. Once you are happy with the glitter placement come in with Crystal Clear acrylic and cap the entire nail. Make sure the entire nail is capped so that the glitter is protected when you file.
Next it’s time to File the nail smooth and apply Super Gloss no wipe top coat for a SUPER GLOSSY High shine finish. The finished result is absolutely Super gorgeous and pretty.
I really hope you enjoyed this short blog post. Please leave me a response and I will make sure to reply to you. Also if you have a design, topic or on trend look you want me to focus on then please leave that in a reply.
Always remember you are BOMB.COM, Lit AF! Don’t every let anyone tell you any different! You’ve Got THIS!!
Hey you guys!! Ok so as most of you know I am the co owner of my AMAZING Nail Brand ‘Glitter planet’ it only feels fitting that this blog post is about *GLITTER* It is going to be a part of my education basics series where I teach you the basics on all things nails. If you do want to request a topic for me to focus on the let me know and I’ll be sure to visit it for you.
Lets start off by sharing the MAIN ways to apply loose glitter and then go into more detail for each one.
4 Ways to apply loose glitter:
As a loose glitter mixed (this means its not mixed with anything)
Pre mixed (this means the products is a glitter acrylic, glitter builder gel or glitter gel polish already to use and super convenient)
As individual pieces to create easy simple designs/Mosaic designs
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 due to the chemical compounds with the preferred medium.
Acrylic – If you are using it with Nail mate acrylic system you will need to pick up a clear bead of ‘crystal clear acrylic’ and dip it into your loose glitter. This will pick up some of the glitter and allow you to transfer it easily to the nails. Make sure to spread smoothly for an even finish that isn’t bulky. TOP TIP: if you feel like your pre mixed glitter acrylic since full coverage then I can recommend pairing it with Nail mate colour acrylic underneath to create a solid colour base beneath the glitter.
In this instagram TV video I show you how I apply Nail Mate Colour acrylic as a base to ‘Vintage Rose’ Loose glitter. The loose glitter was picked up using a bead of Nail Mate Crystal Clear Acrylic.
Gel Polish – If you are Using Glitter planet Loose Glitters with 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. 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 Nail Mate Super Gloss Top coat, this is a no wipe gel top coat. Once applied (uncured) you want to take your chosen glitter and sprinkle It onto the nail making sure you cover the entire surface of the nail. Dang off the excess glitter and then cure in the 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 Acrylic – You want to start off by saturating your brush in monomer, then wipe the brush on the side of your Glitter Planet ‘THE DISH’ (Large crystal dappen dish’ Then you want to dip into your glitter acrylic and apply 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 we have a HUGE Rage of fine and chunky glitters. 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 I will tip a few of the individual pieces out into a pallet or tray, apply Nail Mate Base coat over you colour/design where you want to apply the glitter. Then use a dotting tool or a fine brush with a little 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 also double top coat over this with super gloss 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 guys enjoyed this blog post and I look forward to creating more for you. Don’t forget to leave a comment about what you thought, And request more topics for me to focus on. Always remember you are BOMB.COM, Lit AF! Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different!! YOU’VE GOT THIS! Mwah,
Hey you guys!! Welcome back to my Blog, that actually does exist haha, I have just been incredibly busy and haven’t had a spare minute to get any content together, but thankfully I’m back and it feels SO GOOD. OMG! I have some fab news to share with you all, I am an official columnist in Scratch Magazine for 2019!! Eeeekkkk – which means each month you can check out my tips and tricks in the mag, you know I’m totally going to be saving every single copy! You can subscribe here! I am so thankful for such a fabulous opportunity,ย so first off a HUGE thank you to the team at Scratch for having me.
Letโs start off by getting to know me a little more, after all you’ll be seeing a lot more content published after this and itโs always good to get the know the Nail artist behind the tips, tricks and fabulous info, right?
My name is, Lorna Andrews aka Ninja Nail Fairy, Iโm 26 years old, and located in the UK. If you follow me on You (along as I can keep up with a solid schedule ofofcoursecourse). I have been a Nail tech for 6 years now and started up after having my first baby – I amย originally self taught – but I’ll save the details for another blog post. Afterย learning nails was my passion, I figured I wanted to be able to spend as much time as I could with my son and nails was perfect as I could work in the evenings. Once my boy started nursery I ventured into a salon and worked there for two years, I LOVED the buzz of a busy salon and how friendly everyone was – I was constantly back to back with clients and it was amazing. If I wasnโt servicing clients I was constantly changing my own nails or practicing, you know how it is when you first start out and you literally can not get enough of creating nails, not to mention buying a million and one nail products – I literally re did my nails every other day- even now I can’t last more than a week with the same set, but with being so busy Iย don’t get to do them quite as often. The addiction and passion is real, and if you know, you know.ย
This past year I have entered a few photographic and boxed nail competitions and have LOVED every minute of it. The whole process is such a huge learning curve, I highly recommend entering some if you ever see any open up. Most of them do have a small fee, usually around ยฃ20 – ยฃ30 per entry. I won 3rd place and voters choice in my first competition and in my second one I won first place, which means I got a sparkly trophy YAY! 3rd place and Voters choice ๐ , I was super freaking happy. Here is some of my editorial style work below, showcasing makeup, nails, photography and re touching by me. The competitions that I have entered in the past are here Professional Beauty Nail Championships, there are so many others too, if you guys want me to source and do a full post on competitions then let me know I’d be more than happy to put that together for you.
I won 3rd place
I won 1st place and voters choice
won voters choice
Gonna be a Teacher ya know….
I have recently completed my Award in Education and Training Award so hope to offer 1-2-1ย design course in the new year. This is something I really want to do and it’s something that’s going to take me to the next level. I’m not going to lie I’m pretty anxious about this and nervous as to what my students will think in the early stages as I will be still ‘learning’ how to teach as such, you know, finding my feet and methods that I feel suit best. But it’s is 100% something I will be doing this year!! So anyone wanting 1 2 1 design classes in Acrylic nail then let me know as my first lot of 1 2 1 sessions will be heavily discounted until I feel comfortable with everything I am doing ๐
A Brand is Born….
I am 120% passionate about nails, especially acrylic and glitter. I have a great eye for mixing my own glitter cocktails and creating stunning combinations. So thatโs where Glitter Planet was born. Glitter Planet is my own brand that me and my husband own, providing a high quality Acrylic system Nail Mate, fabulous nail glitters and other accessories and tools. I have just Launched our acrylic line Nail Mate which you can view hereย the response to our system has been incredible, you should check it out if you get a spare minute. I am feeling so humbled and blessed by the support within the Industry.
Thank-you so much for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about me. And please always remember you are BOMB.COM, Lit AF. Donโt ever let anyone tell you any different. Youโve got this.
Hey you guys! Welcome back to another blog post! So in todays post I am going to be sharing with you the MUST HAVE products for starting off doing nails. Obviously as a nail tech you will learn to love and hate different brands, and you will get a feel for which one is right for you so its always worth starting out with some trial kits before you break the bank on investing/ if you can’t buy trial kits then search for reviews and videos on YouTube, ask for advice from other techs and remember not all systems will suit everyone so watch multiple videos to help aid you choice.
โฅ ACRYLIC Trial Kits โฅ
Some trial kits you might want to try, please bare in mind that with some brands you must be qualified or studying in order to purchase or even view prices.
Although as a nail tech myself I must have over 1000+ products, you only actually need the basics to start off. But let me warn you now, you WILL become addicted. And you WILL buy a lot that you don’t need. But obviously you do really need it- SO BUY IT ALL, duh.
BELOW I HAVE LISTED THE MUST HAVES FOR A FULL SET OF ACRYLIC NAILS:
NAIL FILES & SANITISER
You will need a hand file to prep your natural nail, this only needs to be a gentle etch of the nail so don’t be going HAM on your natural beauties. You’ll also use a hand file for shaping the nail tips and finish fining at the end once acrylic application has been finished. You will need sanitiser for obvious reasons, to ensure you are working clean. You want to make sure the nail is properly cleansed, this will also remove any excess oils from the nail plate to promote adhesion. My absolute faves are the 100/180 grit files from Glitter Planetโข and also the safe scrub nail prep as it has antibacterial properties- Also as a bonus you can use Code NINJA10 at the checkout for 5% off
NAIL TIPS/FORMS
At the minute my favourite forms are the ones from Nail Mateโข at Glitterplanetuk.com, and I also LOVE the tips they supply. Glitter Planet have so many different options so depending on the look you are going for will depend on the type of tip you decide to go with. Most nail tips can be reshaped into your desired shape by using a hand file.
PRIMER
You will need nail primer, there are two available from my NEW System Nail Mateโข (glitterplanetuk.com) – Primers are a special formulation of chemicals which will alter the PH level of your natural nail state in order for the acrylic products to adhere correctly. If you don’t use a primer you will notice lifting – Also note you should AVOID getting any primer or any other chemicals on the skin – If you do then please please wash immediately otherwise it could lead to allergic reactions due to over exposure. I have seen this happen so many times and its so sad to see.
You’ll need an acrylic powder of choice, obviously if you choose clear its much more versatile because you can buy glitter for affordable prices at Glitterplanetuk.com and apply it with your clear in order to have multiple colours on your nails, without having to buy a lot of coloured acrylics. My faves from Nail Mate are: Crystal Clear & if you want a nice cover powder I can highly recommend Perfect Pink.
MONOMER
You will need monomer, this is probably an obvious step because it is used with the Acrylic powder in order to create a chemical reaction to start the polymerisation process of products to ensure…. OK STOP – I have gone WAY TO FAR! HAH! So you just need the monomer for picking up your bead/powder, to then apply to the nail. You will not be able to do acrylic nails without this. It basically IS what forms THE NAIL. I can highly recommend the Nail Mateโข Premium adhesive monomer .
ACRYLIC BRUSHES
It’s important you find a brush you are happy with and that you can use to maximise your product control and over all application finish. I personally love to use a flat brush with a fat belly! They one I currently use is the #10 Nail Mateโข ‘Magic Stick’ its the most incredible brush I have ever used, it kinda has to be since I am the one who designed it ๐
If you are new or a beginner into the nail world then I can highly recommend starting out with the Size #8 Magic Stick. This brush is designed to adapt to the way you work, so the more you use it the more you train the hairs to fall how you like them. The brushes all come pre crimped which gives them their flat precise shape, the ferrule is packed with the perfect amount of bristles to give the user 100% control with product application. No matter what brush you go with make sure it is high quality and also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, make sure you clean it thoroughly throughout the application process, and afterwards to ensure there is no product left in the bristles – otherwise your brush will die *literally*.
โฅ โฅ โฅ
Ok so thats’s it, the MUTST HAVES for create a set of nails, or to start practicing. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything because that would be really annoying!! Good luck, and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, I have NEW videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
โAlways remember, you are BOMB.COM, LIT AF. Donโt ever let anyone tell you any different! Youโve got this. Mwahโ