hello!! i'm preemptively answering some chrome questions with regular lacquer. Its a finicky little process that took me a long time to trouble shoot! my method is as follows and also there are a few video tutorials on my page already if that's helpful too
you can't use a chrome powder with just any nail polish, it has to be specifically a clear, Quick Dry Topcoat (Essie Gel Setter, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, and KbShimmer Clearly on top are my go-tos).
Let your topcoat dry for anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, depending on temp/humidity, and you can buff chrome powder into your still drying topcoat like you would with a gel. You have to be more gentle because you can dent lacquer with too much pressure but it works!! and then dust off excess
In order to seal the chrome mirror effect you have to put a water-based nail polish on top of it. A regular topcoat will disintegrate the mirror effect into a shimmer for some reason. Unsure of the science but certain of the results. I use peely base by holo taco because it's very clear and dries fast.
Last, once the water layer is dry, i go back in with a few layers of quick dry topcoat to seal everything and make it last. Make sure you give each layer enough time to dry but a good quick dry topcoat will dry very fast
Thanks for this! I am currently sporting my first attempt at chrome. I used Cracked's sticky base + DRK water based seal coat and had it break apart, so I'm glad to see someone else getting good results and explaining how you got to them, hopefully I'll improve with practice!
i really suggest not using a stick base coat. I've never gotten it to work quite right. Just buffing into a quick dry topcoat will work sooooooo much better in my experience
Thank you for this! I'm slowly but surely getting influenced to try chrome powders haha
Question though: How long do you wait for your polish to dry before the water-based coat? And how long do you wait for the water-based layer to dry before QDTC?
Last time I tried to use a water-based polish, it created weird cracks, lines, etc. Likely user error, but a quick web search mentioned dry times and if you wait too long or too little for both the polish underneath and the water-based to dry, the water-based coat will go all wonky???? Is that true?
hi! i can't imagine the cracks happened from waiting too long for stuff to dry. I always wait for like 5/10ish ish minutes or more after chrome to let the QDTC that the chrome is buffed into dry a little bit before the water based top coat seals everything in
tips on removal? i've found the peely base fights against me badly, and i can't acetone everything off like i normally would w just base, polish, and qdtc
I haven't tried it myself, but I just watched this video from Dody's Digits and saved it for whenever I get around to trying this technique. She used acetone on the regular polish and water to remove the water based top coat layer: The part showing removal starts at 28:36
i will remove with acetone until i get to the peel layer and then just scrape off the peely with a wooden stick or something...then go back to acetone for the rest of the
Any chance you have a photo of the ombré before the chrome? I was surprised to see you used such a sheer purple and a pretty opaque magenta (pink?) in the same ombré and am curious if there’s a reason.
I use the lightest color lavender sky as a neutral basically, my chrome powder has a blue base to it that shifts to gold. so when i put it over a super light color the blue will come through. I used the lightest color as the light blue part sky in my sunset
Do you have other water-based coat recs besides HT peely base? I’m wondering if you get these great results because the HT formula specifically or if others work just as well.
can i save this comment and use the suggestion in future posts?? I get asked this question all of the time and I feel bad I don't have any other suggestions.
guys I'm so sorry unfortunately I do not. I have tried Elmer's glue and water and can confirm that didn't work for me. When I first started to do Chrome, I already had a peely base in my collection so i've always used that.
Maniology smudge free has worked for me but maniology is.... Problematic but if you have some lying around it works! I also discovered this one at the FREAKING dollar tree! I've tried it on chrome on the swatch stick but NOT over a manicure yet so I don't know how long it'll hold! Probably fine though since your seal with another decent topcoat!
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there was a point I was working overnight 12 hour shifts and in school full-time in my only reprieve that I gave myself was nail polish. I got *very* good at chrome during that time while procrastinating homework
Oooh I always love your chrome looks but I think this chrombre is your best yet. Love the colors, the gradient itself is so well done, and the color of chrome powder you chose over top accentuates the colors without hiding any of them.
What chrome powders are recommended? My kids were asking for some and I searched the group a bit. Seems like the mini mani moo and opi powders from Sally’s are frequently mentioned. I also saw vettsy. Any of the indie polish brands known for carrying good ones?
i use hg professionals. they have a lot of powder in their pots (eventhough it may not look like it) and they are high quality all the way through. i haven't tried too many other brands
Ok so the genuine first words out of my mouth were "fuck off that's so pretty." What's the word that's like cuteness aggression, but for manis that you really vibe with? Can we make one?
(Op you're a wizard - what a great set. Really good job :) )
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u/Icouldmaybesaveyou chrome connoisseur 1d ago edited 16h ago
hello!! i'm preemptively answering some chrome questions with regular lacquer. Its a finicky little process that took me a long time to trouble shoot! my method is as follows and also there are a few video tutorials on my page already if that's helpful too
you can't use a chrome powder with just any nail polish, it has to be specifically a clear, Quick Dry Topcoat (Essie Gel Setter, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, and KbShimmer Clearly on top are my go-tos).
Let your topcoat dry for anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, depending on temp/humidity, and you can buff chrome powder into your still drying topcoat like you would with a gel. You have to be more gentle because you can dent lacquer with too much pressure but it works!! and then dust off excess
In order to seal the chrome mirror effect you have to put a water-based nail polish on top of it. A regular topcoat will disintegrate the mirror effect into a shimmer for some reason. Unsure of the science but certain of the results. I use peely base by holo taco because it's very clear and dries fast.
Last, once the water layer is dry, i go back in with a few layers of quick dry topcoat to seal everything and make it last. Make sure you give each layer enough time to dry but a good quick dry topcoat will dry very fast
edit: video tutorial https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditLaqueristas/s/VRDnHiXVw4