After bubble nails,it's safe to say we're a little skeptical of nail art. But now, the beauty world is bringing us one of the coolest and most wearable nail-art trends we've seen in a long time.
We're talking about shattered glass nails. The trend supposedly originated in South Korea, but it has made its way stateside with women around the country emulating the look of shattered glass on their nail beds. The results are quite striking, to say the least.
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If the thought of actual glass shards on your nails sounds terrifying, hold your horses; that's not what's happening here. Instead, women are sticking cut pieces of mylar paper onto their nails in a way that resembles shiny, sharp glass pieces.
At Valley, a salon in Manhattan that specializes in nail art, owner Nina Werman explained that her technicians use a foil adhesive that can be bought from supply stores online. The technicians cut the foil into different sized pieces with sharp-looking edges. Then, during a gel manicure, they apply the pieces after the top coat. A builder gel is placed on top of them in order to lock in the design. Werman explained that because the design is incorporated into your standard gel manicure, so you can style your nails like this as often as you do a typical gel application without an additional health risk.
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But, here's the kicker: You don't have to head to a professional to get this look. Celebrity nail artist Pattie Yankee told TODAY.com how to try this design technique at home.
Here's what you do:
- Use your go-to base coat on all of your nails.
- Paint a coat or two of your favorite dark polish. Yankee said anything from navy to black to purple to even deep red and burgundy can do the trick.
- Use top coat and let dry for 10 to 15 minutes or until tacky.
- With iridescent cellophane that you can find at your local crafts store, randomly cut little triangles so it resembles shards of glass. Tip: If you don't have cellophane, no problem! Yankee said you can easily get the same look using gold transfer foil or even a thin sheet of aluminum foil.
- Grab a tweezer and carefully place the pieces onto the nail in a design of your choice. The more pieces you put on the nail, the more "shattered" it will look. Tip: To avoid sharp edges and bumps make sure to gently press the paper onto the nail.
- Apply a final layer of top coat. For best results, Yankee suggests using a top coat that's specifically designed for nail art.
If you want to create this manicure using an at-home gel kit, Yankee suggests applying the cut up pieces after the last round of polish. She says to then finish the manicure just like any other.
And there you have it! In six easy steps, you can have a unique and trendy manicure that looks luxe. Nail art, you've redeemed yourself.