Hello all! I know the additives have been discussed in depth on this forum, but I was curious. I purchased a set of pigments from Pearl FX to do ombre nails for a hair show and was wondering if these can be used in the same way as the additives during a Shellac service. I have mixed some of the blue with Cream Puff to create a pastel blue on myself but was wondering if the pigments will affect the integrity of the Shellac. I will still b purchasing the additives when I can get my hands on them, but I was asking this question Bc there are extra colors in the Pearl FX pigments that I would LOVE to use. THANKS!!

Yes, you sure can. I've done it for years. I dust it onto the sticky layer of the cured gel. It doesn't affect the integrity of the gel at all. Looks amazing when you dust on different colors and a bit of glitter. You can use it on any gel with a dispersion layer, SOG, hard gel, clear or any color. The possibilities are endless! The PearlEx can also be mixed into any clear gel. You can use any powdered pigment used to make your mineral makeups.

Have u ever mixed it in the uncured shellac?

not sure how to put the link in? Behind the scenes: December. Nails Magazine. using the cnd additives.x

I guess the only thing you can do is try but I'd try it on yourself xx

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Same as rockstar? Your adding a pigment with glitter then!

Ya, kinda like doing rockstars!

I don't mix it in, but dust it on top. The best type of brush I've found is a cheap eyeshadow brush. Dip the dry brush into the pigment just to pick up a tiny bit and touch it to the cured-but-still-stickey gel. Dot it in a couple spots, then add a couple more colors, then add a little glitter in spots just to highlight. PearlEx has some interferance pigments that look amazing over black.

You can mix it into the Shellac (or any other colored gel) but you could compromise the integrity of the gel. I would stick to the sheerest, lightest colors to mix the pigments into.

As I understand it, the pigments/Additives can be mixed into CND powders or gels but must be dusted on top of Shellac, like rockstar nails. It should not be mixed into the Shellac.

Now I noticed on the look book 2012 that the new additives CAN b mixed into shellac. But I was just curious about these pigments. I tried it on myself. So we will c lol

hi hun

there is a thread on her about additives and pigments came up in the thread, can't link as on my phone, anywho yes additives can be mixed if i remember rightly, but pigments need to be applied to tacky layer. Hth x x x

Gelish are short of nice neutral browns so I tried adding brown pigment to the inhibition layer of Gelish structure gel & it looked fantastic but when I put the Top It Off over the top loads of the pigment came off onto my brush.
Did I do something wrong?

When you apply the pigment, kind of "push" it into the dispersion layer. Clean off your brush, then dust off the excess pigment. Then it'll stay put when you put the top coat on.

I am looking forward to getting the additives from cnd, but until then, I am going to purchase some pearlEx pigments.

Can anyone recommend which colours look amazing please.

Thank you, I did do that but still lots came off,I'll have another go.x

It sounds like you might be applying too much of the pigment. You only need a tiny, tiny amount. And then really push it into the tacky layer and then brush off the excess with a fairly stiff brush. Some people think you should have a separate bottle of top coat just to use with glitter and pigments because some will always come off onto your brush, but I find that if you really brush the excess off well, you don't need this.