Monday, April 20, 2015

Embossed Metal Manicure


     Today I have a tutorial of sorts to share with you on how to achieve that embossed metal manicure look that has been floating around the internet lately. I say a tutorial of sorts because I didn't quite achieve the look I was going for and this is more of an experiment that I tried and decided to share. Plus I have an ulterior motive,  I'm hoping some of you talented ladies will have some tips or tricks to share so my next attempt will be a success. 

     Let me start out by showing you what I ended up with and then I'll get into the steps I took to get there. I really do love this look and my goal right now is to master it!


     I started this manicure off with a coat of Orly Bonder on a nail tip. I wanted a semi sticky base to hold the design. Which was a good idea, but ended up not working quite as well as I had planned. I'll get more into that later on in the post but if you look closely at the picture above you might get an idea of what Im talking about. 

       For the design I chose a 3D sticker from Born Pretty Store
6pcs 3D Nail Art Stickers Gold Embossed Texture Heart Star Lace Pattern Decals.


     I really liked the look of a few of these stickers but for my experiment I went with one of the designs with all the curls. (Far right of the picture) Here is where I made my mistake. I placed the sticker on the nail tip but I didn't make sure to press down firmly near the edge. You know, right where the tip starts to curve.


     Can you guess what happened? That's right the stickers popped off of the nail surface, only I didn't notice it until after I had added my first layer of polish. Can you say face palm moment! When it comes to my own nails I press the tape or decal down and hold it there for a few seconds and then repeat until I know it's good and stuck. I knew I needed a semi sticky surface for this to work, but I think the Bonder gave me false hope about the sticker sticking without the extra pressure I normally apply.

     Now for the magic! How do you transform a 3D sticker to embossed metal? Cover it up with a metallic finish nail polish of course. I chose Essie Blue Rhapsody although Penny Talk was a tempting choice.

How-to-create-an-embossed-metal-manicure
2 coats of Blue Rhapsody without top coat

    Like I mentioned above this is pretty close to the look I was going for. I have to fix the problem of the sticker sticking up at the side, which seems simple enough to do. What I need suggestions for is how to avoid seeing the edge of the sticker along with the 3D design. I think that is what's keeping me from absolutely loving the finished look. What do you think, am I being too critical? Id love to hear your thoughts on this new nail trend or any suggestions you have. 

     If you'd like to try this technique out but need the stickers make sure to use code LAUNX31 to save 10% on your entire order from Born Pretty Store. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!

28 comments:

  1. That's really cool! I've got to try this!

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  2. I've never tried this! I think you did a great job and what a pretty design as well. :)

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  3. Maybe try trimming the sticker part all the way down to the actual design and adhering it with a little nail glue instead?

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  4. That's quite a neat idea, I never thought about painting OVER a sticker for a look like this :).

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  5. I really like this and I've been meaning to try it but I haven't thought of the right polish to do it with. I love that you used a metallic to do it. Metallics pick up everything! So Smart! Love it

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  6. ValiantlyVarnishedApril 20, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    I have these decals! Such a clever idea - definitely have to try it!

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  7. This is such a cool idea! I never would have thought to use those stickers like that.

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  8. Oh wow this is so clever! I never would of thought of doing that. It looks pretty cool!

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  9. You're definitely too critical! This tutorial was really helpful, I would have never got it myself without reading.

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  10. Yes, you're way to critical, I love this! I have got to try this!

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  11. This is really cool! I've never seen this type of nail before - I like how it looks!

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  12. This looks so cool! I never thought of painting over a 3D sticker to get this kind of look!

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  13. What a fun idea! I've never seen this type of look before but I'm definitely going to have to get some stickers and give it a try! Love!

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  14. Thanks Lisa. Hopefully next time I'll have worked out all the kinks.

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  15. Thank you. I think a metallic works best for this kind of look but Id love to see it with a holo too.

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  16. Awe thanks. Hopefully next time I try this look I will have all the kinks worked out.

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  17. Thank you. =) Id love to see your version.

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  18. Thanks. Ive seen a lot of this done with gel polish but I wanted to give it a try with regular to see if I could make it work.

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