The Secret to Applying Glitter Nail Polish
It looks so pretty in the bottle, but what is the secret to getting the glitter nail polish to actually apply glitter to your nails? I hate applying glitter polish to my nails only to end up with a lot of clear polish and about 10 pieces of glitter.
If you want your nails to actually have glitter, you can always do the makeup sponge trick, though this requires something to put on your skin and the glitter always ends up super bumpy for me.
Instead, I simply invert the bottle for about 30 minutes before application. The glitter will move toward the top of the bottle, and when I then go to apply the polish more of the glitter will be picked up by the brush.
Once I have dipped my brush into the polish, I sweep the brush along the lip of the bottle to push the polish down the brush. Rather than pulling my brush out, I hold the drop of polish against the inside of the bottle lip with the brush. Let the liquid of the polish drip down, it will leave even more glitter on the brush.
When applying the glitter to my nails, I do sometimes wait a few minutes in between layers of polish. If I apply too soon, the brush will remove the polish that I already have on my nail. In addition to waiting a few minutes, lightly patting the polish on to my nail rather than sweeping will also help the glitter to apply to the nail.
How to Keep Glitter Nail Polish Off Your Cuticles
The best way to have glitter free cuticles is to prevent the glitter from getting on to your skin to begin with. You can cover your cuticles with tape, but I’ve found that a layer of liquid latex is easy to apply with an orange stick. Allow it to dry before staring your manicure, it will easily peel off of your skin when you’re done.
How to Get a Smooth Glitter Manicure
Due to all of the patting and clumpy glitter in the polish, my manicures with glitter polish often end up lumpy and not shiny. Applying a thick shiny top coat such as Seche Vite makes a big difference!
Layering Your Glitter Nail Polish
Relying only on your glitter nail polish to provide full coverage just won’t work. I recommend using a regular polish under your glitter polish, chose based upon the main color in the glitter polish. Layering over a creme or shimmer polish will also make removal easier later.
How to Easily Remove Glitter Nail Polish
Glitter polish applied directly to your nails can be very difficult to fully remove. A good base coat and a layer of nail polish underneath the glitter polish will make removal much easier!
The real trick to completely removing glitter polish is acetone. Soaking your nails in some acetone for a few minutes and then rubbing with some force using a textured wipe will make removal easy.
You can simply soak a cotton ball or piece of white felt in acetone, press it against your nail and then wrap your nail in foil. I have found that this is a bit awkward, and you could also use a cap instead of foil. There are also special foils with attached cotton pads.
I’ve found that the easiest way to soak my nails is with a nail soaking tray. I wait about 5-6 minutes, and then use a square of white felt soaked in acetone to rub the polish off. If it doesn’t come off easily, you’ll need to soak for a few more minutes.
I’m a doctor, a mommy and a bit of a beauty addict. If you let me, I can take 2 hours to get ready in the morning. Really. I'm on a quest for faster beauty that works!