Liquid stones on nails: features of manicure and subtleties of execution

For women's pens there is no better decoration than a neatly made manicure. Varnished nails are the perfect companion for original rings, watches and bracelets.

The nail service industry does not stand still, new types of design are constantly appearing. The “liquid stone” technique, which will be discussed today, is just such. This design is so special and interesting that it certainly deserves a separate story.

For the first time, this type of design was proposed by the Russian master of nail service Ekaterina Miroshnichenko.

In other words, liquid stones on nails are called casting. These are not rhinestones that attach on top of the applied varnish and often fall off during socks. This is an imitation gem design. This technique looks pretentious, bright, and probably not every woman can walk with such a manicure every day. However, as an option for publication or for ladies who do not want to make their everyday life gray, this design is an excellent find.

To create the effect of a natural gem on a nail, a combination of polymer and sculptural gel is used. There are no protrusions and depressions, as when attaching rhinestones and sequins, on the nail, it is perfectly even. However, thanks to the magnifying glass effect, an optical illusion is created that the stone on the nail plate is real.

Is this manicure technique beautiful? This question does not have a clear answer. Proponents of minimalism or naturalness will answer “no” and will be right in their own way - for them, such pretentiousness in decorating their own hands is equal to ugliness, unaesthetic.If a woman has been faithful to the classic jacket or plain scarlet varnish for many years, she will feel uncomfortable with casting on her nails, and, of course, such a manicure will not decorate her.

Ladies, who love variety in decorating themselves, are not afraid of experimenting with their appearance (and sometimes boldly go to them) will say their decisive “yes” and again they will be right - after all, such a design will not be excessive, vulgar, or the notorious "expensive-rich." On the contrary, it will be an organic complement to the image, a piquant detail that attracts the eye to the hands and demonstrates them in a favorable light.

Without going into debates about the beauty and aesthetics of such a design (after all, these criteria are different for everyone), let us dwell on its other advantages.

• Stability and durability. Stones made of latex and polymer will not catch on tights or scarves, will not cause damage to your appearance. They do not tend to fall off at the most inopportune moment, ruining the impression of the whole manicure.
• This design is easy to wear, despite its apparent "heaviness."
• With accurate socks, it lasts from two weeks to one month.
• The manicure is practical, does not interfere with doing household chores and daily routine work.

However, this sophisticated design has its drawbacks.

• Like any other "heavy", multi-layer manicure, liquid stones spoil nails. Therefore, you should choose only the highest quality materials, so as not to spend in the future on the restoration of the nail plates for several months.
• This technique requires a lot of professionalism from the master of nail service. Made sloppy, poorly or rudely, such a manicure, firstly, will not look exquisite, but, on the contrary, will emphasize all the flaws of your hands, and, secondly, it can cause great harm to your nails.
• Even if you find a master pro, you should not “overturn” nails for more than one month, and do designs one by one. After each “hard” manicure, you need to give your nails a break, make a therapeutic manicure and treat them with home or salon care from baths, oils and creams for at least a week. Of course, vitamin complexes for strengthening nails will also not be superfluous.

If you wear short nails, this can become an obstacle to the design with casting and liquid stones. Indeed, for a beautiful application of manicure in this technique, “space for maneuver” is necessary (the “stone” itself cannot be less than 3 mm), which is why it was originally conceived and used only for extended nails. Now modern materials allow you to wear liquid stones on natural nails, but they should be long.

There are a lot of types of manicure using casting and liquid stones. First of all, they differ in the color and size of the stones used - whether it is a “ruby”, “amber” or “emerald”. Or maybe pearls will sparkle on the nails? The size of the jewelry also varies from 3 mm to the length allowed on the free edge of the nail. For competitive works, where the design is done on long and very long nails, specially built up for the competition, the stones can take the most bizarre shapes and sizes, as well as be combined in a combination of three, five or seven pieces.

Stones can be not only separate elements in nail design, but also act as an independent manicure. For example, so popular now marble on nails is nothing but liquid stone. In the same technique, turquoise can be made - both bright blue and artificially aged greenish. Malachite with its veins and tints will look great.Jasper, pearls, even diamonds - all conditions are created for imagination! If the master of nail service is a real ace in his field, he will be able to do anything - from amber with pieces of sand to marble with gold streaks.

You can design on one nail, on two or even all - for example, marble or turquoise. The main thing is not to go too far with an abundance of details and not turn an exquisite and refined manicure into the hands of a Soviet saleswoman strewn with “stones” in the worst sense of this phrase. Even if you really like this type of design, you should take into account how appropriate it will be in your usual mode, whether it is acceptable with the dress code that exists in many organizations, whether you will feel comfortable with this manicure, whether it will excessive, and, of course, whether it suits your style and image. If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then you can wear liquid stones without looking at the opinions of others!

Before we describe step by step the application of liquid stone on the nail, we will dwell briefly on the materials that will be required for this (and there are quite a lot of them).

So, what kind of "helpers" are needed to work in the "casting" technique.

• Color gel base for french manicure.
• Gel protection (cannot be dispersed).
• Black gel polish, as well as a special paint for applying the contour of the stone. It is important to choose a contour paint so that foil is printed on it without problems.
• Gel with the effect of stained glass (needed to simulate a stone texture). Hue is selected depending on the simulated stone.
• Sculptural gel with a viscous texture.
• Brushes for nail art: angular to apply the base layer, “hair” for contouring and working - for applying the remaining layers.
• Manicure foil in gold or silver.
• UV lamp or LED lamp for gel polymerization.

Now let's move on to the technology of applying liquid stones on nails. How is this done?

• On each nail plate on which this type of design is planned to be made, a “smile” of French manicure is drawn. For this, an angular brush is suitable. After application, the layer is dried in a lamp.
• Next, you should apply gel protection and put your hands back in the lamp to dry.

• After that, the preparatory stage begins for applying the design directly. With the help of a “brush” with the help of black gel, the planned pattern is applied. If you have no experience, you should not use too complex patterns. If you do not have enough imagination to create your own author’s pattern, you can take any necklace or brooch with rhinestones or stones and transfer the print to the nail plate. The place where the stone will be located is drawn especially carefully. Next, you should dry your nails again.
• After drying, the foil must be carefully applied to the painted pattern - silver or gold. This is done as follows: a piece of foil is taken in size coinciding with the nail plate, applied to the previously applied pattern, pressed with fingers and removed in one motion. This process is called "casting." So the "stone" is placed in a frame, respectively, gold or silver.

• Further, colored gels are applied along the contour of the “stone” blank. This is done with a thin brush. Sharp color transitions are unacceptable, overflows should look very smooth and neat. After this, the nails need to be dried again.
• Take the selected gel with the stained glass effect and use the “hair” brush to apply it on the resulting “stone”. So he will begin to overflow. Put the nails back in the lamp.

• After this, you should proceed to the formation of the volume at the stone. This will help sculpting thick gel applied spherically. With this method of application, the optical effect of the “magnifier” is obtained, and the stone looks real and voluminous. The nail is again dried in the lamp.
• It remains only to apply the top with the base brush.The nail with the applied top should not have tubercles, hollows and dents, it should give a perfectly even glare. The top layer should again be dried in the lamp. Your design is ready.

This section shows some unusual works.

• The combination of varnish with the effect of "cat's eye" and "marble" looks interesting and unbanal. Suitable for both going out and daily wear.

• The traditional jacket in combination with a large purple stone looks sophisticated and discreet. Suitable even for the most modest young ladies.

• "Opal" in a gold frame on very long nails looks really luxurious. It is possible only on acrylic nails, however, the result will justify all the efforts.

• Lunar manicure in combination with stones is original and even extravagant. Suitable for lovers of sports chic.

• The classic combination of scarlet, white and ruby ​​is the choice of courageous women who are not afraid to be noticeable.

• "Malachite" looks great in manicure. In combination with appropriate jewelry will make you the star of any event.

For how to make nail designs using the "liquid stones" technique, see the next video.