Navy Pearl: Inky-blue nails with Pale Blue-green Pearlescent Glitter (How to do glittery nails without glitter polish)
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I’m no nail maven. I do my own nails every week, but I certainly am not a pro when it comes to nail art and techniques, so do excuse the imperfection!
This is just a quick overview of how you can use any glitter as a nail polish without having to dunk a lot of it into clear nail varnish, using the last zodiac shade (there is a 13th but that one is not one of the 12 signs). How many of us have run out to buy little bottles of clear varnish and then dipped tons of precious glitter in?
There’s only one special tool that I use to get intense glittery nails without having to commit so much extra product up-front.
- Base coat and top coat
- Nail varnish (I used L.A. Girl Disco Brights in Dance Studio)
- Glitter (Lime Crime’s Pisces, a translucent baby-periwinkle with green and gold reflection)
- Special tool: Small synthetic bristle fan brush (see step 3 image below; you should be able to get this in an art store for just a few dollars)
Step 1: I first apply the usual base coat and then 1 coat of varnish (or until the base color is ALMOST the opacity you want). You want to leave the final color-coat for later.
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Step 2: Work finger by finger. First paint on the final coat of color on that one nail, and then dip the damp tip into a mound of glitter. You should get a very thick coat of glitter right there.
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Step 3: Then quickly with your fan brush, press into the glitter and then lightly tap the flat of the brush over the glittery sections, moving inwards away from the tip slowly. You should deposit less glitter the further in you go. If you are light-handed there shouldn’t be any varnish getting onto the brush itself. If it happens, just quickly pinch the brush hairs between a sheet of tissue and pull away to remove.
This creates a gradient effect instead of a harsh line between the navy blue and the sparkles.
Repeat on all the other nails.
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