Glitter with Gel

[Mystiq Jade]

Hello, I'm a newbie to Salon Geek (and loving it... I'm learning so much!). I've been playing around with glitter and gel... and have made nothing but a miserable mess!! Is there a way to apply glitter (regular finely grind glitter) to a gel design, and to put a top coat without having to mix it into the actual gel? I'm using LeChat Gel. Please help!! :sad:

 

[Nail Sculptress]

Hi Mystiq!
I use gel mixed with glitter all the time, but don't use LeChat. I don't know their products as I have not tried it.

I use nailbasics which is manufactured locally and I'm pretty sure you would be able to order it. Email me privately at [email protected] for more info on that.

As to whether or not you can apply glittle to gel without mixing it...yes, indeed you can! And very easily! BUT it depends on what you want to do. For example, right now I have a glitter base of emerald green with dark gold around the smile line and spread into the green a bit (both of these glitters are Young Nails). I wanted to "bling" it up a bit, so after I cured the green and gold, I took a gel brush and dipped it (dry) into crushed pearl and very gently patted it onto the nails. The trick is to do this with the sticky dispersion layer still on the nail. The effect of the crushed pearl was AWESOME!!!! Gives the design almost a "foil" look! I've had several compliments on them, mostly from men! Go figure!

Now if you decide to mix gel and glitter, the general rule is 3 parts glitter to one part gel. In the nailbasics brand, I use roughly equal portions of build and flex in a small pot and then I had the glitter. I use an orange wood stick to mix and usually manage to do it without any kind of mess.

Does this help?

 

[Bagpuss]

i apply a thin layer of clear gel where i want my glitter....DONT CURE....dab with spare brush some glitter...CURE....cap with another layer of clear gel....CURE....buff and topgloss.

 

[adelekeegan1]

I apply my base coat of gel, cure then I apply my glitter which I have mixed with my top coat, cure and then build with clear gel as usual.

 

[angel fingers]

i apply a thin layer of clear gel where i want my glitter....DONT CURE....dab with spare brush some glitter...CURE....cap with another layer of clear gel....CURE....buff and topgloss.

hi there, im an educator for lechat so i'll try to help.

your lechat gel will combine beautifully with glitter. and the lechat glitters are some of the sparkliest i've used .i prefer not to mix glitter into my gels as it just ties up a lot of product unneccessarily. i use the method bagpuss describes in her post or the other simple way of doing it is to apply base gel where you want the glitter to go, then dip the nail in the glitter and tap off the excess and cure as normal.

the deeper the colour of the glitter the more time you need to cure as the uv light cannot penetrate the product quite as easily as a clear gel. you probably wont find any difference if you use say a pale pink glitter but if you were using midnight blue or black for instance, it takes a moment longer to cure.

i'm very happy to help anyone who has questions about anything le chat:green:

 

[justWend]

i find it easyer to paint my smile line with the clear gel then dip the nail into the gliter dust, tap the finger gentely then cure for 1 min,then gently brush away the glitter from the tip, you will be left with an even coat of glitter that is not to thick, then continue with your top coat of gel.

 

[Wandawump]

I have asked this before and never got an answer, Susan, Does LeChat make PHd products?

 

[Mystiq Jade]

i apply a thin layer of clear gel where i want my glitter....DONT CURE....dab with spare brush some glitter...CURE....cap with another layer of clear gel....CURE....buff and topgloss.

See... I did this... but when I went to put a layer of gel on top... 1) it got all over my brush... 2) after it was cured and I went to wipe the tackyness off... the glitter came off! I cured it for 4 minutes to be sure... :S

 

[angel fingers]

I have asked this before and never got an answer, Susan, Does LeChat make PHd products?

i tied to find out for you, but havent had a reply on this. you might be able to ask lechat hq in america.
i know that we are having the lechat l/p acrylic in the u.k soon but there are no plans to release it in the usa.

 

[Mystiq Jade]

i find it easyer to paint my smile line with the clear gel then dip the nail into the gliter dust, tap the finger gentely then cure for 1 min,then gently brush away the glitter from the tip, you will be left with an even coat of glitter that is not to thick, then continue with your top coat of gel.

Hehe, I tried that too... maybe I was just loosing patience...
I guess practice makes perfect!


Thanks everyone for the answers!! You've all helped me out quite a bit!!

 

[Mystiq Jade]

Hi Mystiq!
I use gel mixed with glitter all the time, but don't use LeChat. I don't know their products as I have not tried it.

I use nailbasics which is manufactured locally and I'm pretty sure you would be able to order it. Email me privately at [email protected] for more info on that.

As to whether or not you can apply glittle to gel without mixing it...yes, indeed you can! And very easily! BUT it depends on what you want to do. For example, right now I have a glitter base of emerald green with dark gold around the smile line and spread into the green a bit (both of these glitters are Young Nails). I wanted to "bling" it up a bit, so after I cured the green and gold, I took a gel brush and dipped it (dry) into crushed pearl and very gently patted it onto the nails. The trick is to do this with the sticky dispersion layer still on the nail. The effect of the crushed pearl was AWESOME!!!! Gives the design almost a "foil" look! I've had several compliments on them, mostly from men! Go figure!

Now if you decide to mix gel and glitter, the general rule is 3 parts glitter to one part gel. In the nailbasics brand, I use roughly equal portions of build and flex in a small pot and then I had the glitter. I use an orange wood stick to mix and usually manage to do it without any kind of mess.

Does this help?

Thanks Nail Sculptress for the advice on mixing glitter in gel!! MUCH appreciated!!!

 

[angel fingers]

See... I did this... but when I went to put a layer of gel on top... 1) it got all over my brush... 2) after it was cured and I went to wipe the tackyness off... the glitter came off! I cured it for 4 minutes to be sure... :S

are your bulbs fresh in your lamp, i dont have any problem.
another thing you can do is use lechat protech to be the adhesive layer for the glitter. this has no sticky layer and adheres really well to the glitter. dont use it on the natural nail though, but it works well on tips. i always put my glitter in first and then build my nail in the regular way over the cured glitter.

try using a dry manicure brush to brush away any stray glitter before you add another layer then you wont get it on the gel brush.

 

[Bagpuss]

after i have applied the glitter to the clear gel and cured, i then only apply clear gel on that area again to cap it....this way there is no chance of getting glitter over your brush and over the rest of the nail.

 

[Mystiq Jade]

are your bulbs fresh in your lamp, i dont have any problem.
another thing you can do is use lechat protech to be the adhesive layer for the glitter. this has no sticky layer and adheres really well to the glitter. dont use it on the natural nail though, but it works well on tips. i always put my glitter in first and then build my nail in the regular way over the cured glitter.

try using a dry manicure brush to brush away any stray glitter before you add another layer then you wont get it on the gel brush.

My bulbs are in top notch... but I will definately try using a dry brush to get rid of the excess glitter. Thanks so much for your help!! Much appreciated!!

 

[Lana]

Try this link
Tutorials
Just klick on first tutorial "Glitter gel Backfill"
I personaly like mixing my glitter with gel and using dotting tool for application.
No mess whatsoever.

 

[Mystiq Jade]

Try this link
Tutorials
Just klick on first tutorial "Glitter gel Backfill"
I personaly like mixing my glitter with gel and using dotting tool for application.
No mess whatsoever.

Thanks Lana!! That was an awesome video! I just might have to invest in getting a drill... it just goes by so much smoother!