[How to] Do Holiday Sprinkle Glitter Nails

A friend of mine found a fabulous manicure photo on pinterest and asked for a tutorial.

Purdy, dontcha think?

Materials needed:

Base Coat Nail Polish & Nude Base Polish & Clear Top Coat

Loose glitter (optional) & Glitter polish (finely milled, chunk, or a combination of both)

Make-up sponge wedges & Scissors

1. Always start with a base coat polish. Base coats help to smooth out ridges, protect your natural nail from staining, and can extend the life of your polish of choice. I am using one from Orly that has added proteins for strength. I would use a ridge filler but my nails are in pretty good condition right now.

2. Follow with 1-2 coats of your nude polish. A single-coat opaque nude color would work best to keep the polish thin. Allow to dry.

3. Get your glitter polish bottles and roll them between your hands to mix well. Even if you think their mixed–do it. I was surprised how much glitter I was missing out on from not properly rolling and shaking the bottles to get the glitters to fully remix instead of settling on one side the bottle. Once you’ve mixed get your makeup sponge and turn it on its side:
Paint the corner with the glitter polish and then dab the makeup sponge corner onto just the edge of the nail. You can slowly build up the glitter on top of each other because you are doing it in thin steps. You can alternate glitters so it has a different look also. The key is to treat the glitter portion like you are doing a gradient. More glitter towards the tips, and

less towards the cuticle.

I used two types of glitter and layered them on top of another

Loose glitter version*:

Pour your loose glitter of choice into a very small dipping cup. Paint your nail on just the tips (can be uneven/jagged/’like-a-richter-scale-messy”) so the glitter catches in and gradient way. You can add more clear polish to the tip area so it catches more. Quickly dip your nail into the glitter or dump over the nail to completely cover the wet polish. Blow excess glitter away and allow to dry for several minutes.

4. Top your glitter design with a nice shiny top coat, like seche vite. It gives it a nice glossy look and will seal in your design.

Have another way of completing this look? Let us know! 🙂