Did Someone Say Chrome?

This is a picture from their site. 

All the rage right now are the chrome powders to mirror finish nail application systems, which means of course I had to get a set.

In your little box, you get 6 colourful chrome powders a base gel, a top gel, and a fancy crystal filled applicator.  See below. I also purchased an extra chrome powder in silver, as the silver does not come part of the standard kit.



My overall impression is that this is so much fun, they look gorgeous, and I am so pleased. Application takes some time to perfect and patience, but it is worth in the end as the results are gorgeous.

And because I like to experiment I have some tricks for you.  These kits all recommend using a base of black gel, no rub polish. Which I did not have.
I started out using my OPI Nail Envy base coat, with a coat of OPI black (non gel) polish. I painted all of my nails then did some with the base gel and some without. Nail Gel Test 1 (this link may or may not work for you), this is a video of my first experiment.

It worked GREAT on a couple of fingers, but sadly as we have learnt before gel topcoat on regular polish results in crinkling, you can see a bit if the video. I wore them for a day, it was a long day, the house was painted, and my nails SUFFERED. If you are going to stick to regular polish, remember my golden rule wait at least 12 hours before applying gel top coat, it will save you some grief. I also tried one nail with Seche Viete UV top coat, and it crinkled as well, will it crinkle a day afterwards? I have yet to try this. My pinky nail is still in perfect condition, it did not crinkle either, but I think it is the nail that gets the most time to dry.

I then tested with Gel. I used Gelish Uno, and a Finger Paints Gel. The Uno cures without without the sticky layer, FingerPaints has a sticky layer, but I got that off and moved on.

Make sure the layers are thin, and are applied smoothly, any ridges, bumps from either the nail polish or the nail will show up when you come to put the chrome on.

After your base colour is applied you apply the base gel.

Left Hand

On my Left hand, I applied to the ring finger the base gel, and to the other 3 fingers I did not. I honestly cannot see any difference, and having worn them for 2 days I cannot see much of a difference at all as to how it wears.
Not sure if you can tell, but I blended about 4 different chrome powders on my ring finger, I wanted to see if I could get an oil slick appearance.

Right Hand

On the right hand the only one that has base gel on it was my thumb, and again it made no difference to application. Actually I might go so far to say that application was easier without it.

Then I applied the supplied top gel and away I went. To bed.

I do want to try Sech Vite's UV top coat with the Uno gel to see where that leads me, and see if you must use their UV top coat.

I know that using a normal top coat is a NO NO. As it makes the chrome powders cloudy and there is no mirror finish, which defeats the purpose.

I am super happy with the finish, and really glad I own them. I cannot wait to start playing. As it is micro powder, they are a bit messy, but you just need to lay down a cloth before you start and wash your hands afterwards. Lets see how long I can wear them before a) chipping b) peeling c) tip wear (this is my curse).

As for removal, I will continue to recommend the bowl of boiling water, with a bowl of acetone set in it, then soak your nails in the acetone and rub the polish off with a remover pad, or an orange stick depending on how stubborn it is.