I’m a huge fan of glitter. Give me something sparkly and it will hold my attention for hours! I love glitter on the eyes, lips, nails, even the body! Not all at once of course, even I have my limits. Though a lot of people frown upon glitter, there are some of us out there who are a sucker for it. If you love glitter and want to be sparkly, the best (most subtle) place to wear it is on your nails. Here are some tips and tricks for sparkly fingertips.
Glitter nail polishes are not created equal. Some contain large chunks of glitter, others have finer specks of sparkle. Some formulas are chock full of dense glitter particles while some may be more of a base color with subtle sparkles. You have many options if you’re looking for a glittery nail polish. Some can be worn on their own and others look best when applied on top of an opaque color. Choose your glitter nail polish to fit the look you are going for.
You can choose to apply your glitter polish on it’s own, or on top of another color. If you choose to use a glitter on it’s own, you’ll most likely need a lot of coats to reach an opaque glittery state. A nail polish with a high glitter content works best for this technique. My absolute favorite nail polish for this look is Opi’s Absolutely Alice. Make sure you use a good topcoat to seal the glitter and prevent it from flaking. This also helps prevent the chunks of glitter from feeling scratchy to the touch.
Polishes with a clear base and a lower glitter content are best to apply on top of another color. These work great if you have a color you love that you want to add a little oomph to. The best way to apply this type of look is to start with 2-3 coats of your opaque color. Wait for it to dry and then apply one to two coats of your glitter, based on how sparkly you want it. Make sure to seal it with a good top coat as well.
The biggest challenge most of us face when using glitter nail polish is taking it off. Glitter polishes tend to adhere to your nails with an iron grip making removing them a battle. I remember the days of using half a bag of cotton balls and all my collective energy trying to scrub the glitter off of my nails. Luckily I have since found a solution.
To make removing glitter nail polish easier, use felt instead of cotton balls. Any type of felt will do. You can purchase it at pretty much any craft store. I’ve even seen it at some of the larger Walmart’s in the fabric section. A large sheet of felt should last you quite awhile and it’s relatively inexpensive.
To use the felt technique to aid in removing glitter polish, start but cutting a small square of felt. It doesn’t have to be too big, just a few inches squared. Soak the felt with nail polish remover. You want it to be nice and wet, but not dripping. Hold the soaked piece of felt on your nail for 10 seconds to soften the polish and then apply a little pressure and “swipe” the nail polish off. You may have to go back and scrub a little but the tough felt material really helps to grab the glitter making it much easier to remove. You can use the same square of felt again until both sides cake up with polish. If this happens, cut another small square and continue. It might be necessary to re-wet your felt with nail polish remover if it becomes dry during use.
Glittery nails are fun and mesmerizing, especially under the summer sun. Don’t be afraid to wear glitter. If you want to sparkle, then sparkle!
