Before the nail hit of winter 2020-2021, silver (lunar) magnetic gel polish, had died down and become familiar, a new sparkling miracle appeared on the nails of girls who follow manicure fashion. Reflective (laser) shellac has become the most popular spring new product in the nail industry, literally blowing up the Internet community, inspiring creative experiments and incredibly sticky photos and video publications on social networks. Today we will tell you the essence of reflective gel polishes, teach you how to use them correctly, and help you choose the most spectacular look for salon work and home use.
Photo by: @elenanail51/@lananail_s
"Trick" of the coating
Glow-in-the-dark varnishes reveal their “abilities” exclusively in the ultraviolet spectrum. They are “charged” by sunlight, daylight, and in the dark they release it by emitting it. The effect is achieved thanks to particles of phosphorus, which has the property of glowing in the dark, or special phosphor powder TAT 33. This technique is widely used by manufacturers of mechanical watch movements. When advertising a product, they usually write: “You can tell the exact time even if you are in a dark room.” To do this, phosphorus coating is applied to the hands.
palm trees
floral pattern
pointed shape
square shape
Orange color
long nails
stones
colorful nails
bright glow
soft pink with rhinestones
Classification of luminous varnishes
Fluorescent
Reflects a narrow spectrum. “Charges” from daylight. It has a modest palette, 4-5 main shades - blue, green, red, orange. Fluorescent coating is often combined with regular coating.
fluorescent
Neon
A coating that “works” in the ultraviolet spectrum. Ideal for nightclubs, beach parties with appropriate lighting. Available in a “vigorous” palette - fuchsia, light green, bright yellow. In daylight it is no different from standard tops.
neon
Phosphorus coating
Transparent or tinted coating containing phosphorus particles. Gives a glow to any layer of varnish applied to the nail. During the day, phosphorus accumulates light and releases it at night. The effect is quite pronounced. This is not a varnish for every day; phosphorus particles negatively affect the nail plate and health in general. Be sure to apply a high-quality base and color to protect your nails from the harmful effects of phosphorus. The modern nail industry does not use phosphorus in the production of goods. Such coatings can be found on websites of Chinese products.
phosphorus
Luminescent
Emits light in the ultraviolet and reflects it, regardless of lighting conditions. This is a “combo” of neon and fluorescent coating.
luminescent
Phosphor
Type of decor, the main component of the luminescent coating. Glows very intensely during the first hour spent in a dark room. Extinction occurs after 6 hours. The phosphor does not react with soft tissues; it is safer than phosphorus. It is usually produced in powder form, which is easy to mix with any shade or transparent top. The downside of the coating is its short durability. After 2-3 days the manicure will float.
phosphor
Special effects for nails
Applying luminous varnish is no different from applying regular varnish. The only peculiarity is that if you use a luminescent coating, do not forget to “charge” it before leaving. You can paint the entire area of the nail with it, or you can highlight individual elements of the design, then they will shine in the dark. A French manicure looks beautiful when the base consists of regular varnish, and only the ends are covered with glowing varnish. They glow spectacularly in the dark. It will look no less beautiful if you apply a design to the nail with a dark varnish and a luminous one on top. If you're not afraid to stand out from others, try painting each fingernail a specific color.
Manicure ideas with glowing polish
French
The edge of the nail plate, the so-called “smile,” is highlighted with luminous varnish. This is a unique option to diversify your office manicure, especially if you use a neon coating to highlight it, which in daylight looks like regular varnish.
French
Lunar
A phosphor is used to highlight the periungual hole. This is the “other side” of the French jacket. It looks fresh, original, expressive. You can, on the contrary, paint the entire nail with luminous varnish and leave the hole natural.
lunar
Combo
A combination of polishes in one shade (one glowing, the other not) looks appropriate in any situation. During the day, you show off a stylish, modest manicure, and in the evening, parts of the nail brighten and reflect the light. The design can be anything - monograms, blocks, dots.
combo
Geometry
A professional craftsman in the salon will draw smooth, clear lines using varnish containing a phosphor. You can practice and create a design yourself. It is important that the art is executed as accurately as possible.
geometry
Leopard and zebra
Characteristic black stripes on a white background or dark spots on yellow can be painted with varnish containing a phosphor. In the dark, such a manicure will not leave you unnoticed.
stripes
Reflective gel polish: what is it?
Manicure fashion has taken another turn, showing us a new product for 2021 - reflective gel polish. In fact, the coating, the popularity and demand of which is rapidly gaining momentum, is already familiar to the fair half of humanity. Most recently, nail service specialists shared step-by-step technology for handling reflective pigments. Shellac with similar characteristics has become a more convenient, easier, faster and more spectacular way to create a manicure, the multifaceted beauty of which captivates hearts and eyes both in daylight and in artificial light.
The incredible popularity of coatings with a light reflection effect among artists and their clients is due to the multifunctional nature of these gel polishes. What does the concept of “reflective gel polish” mean? This durable polymer material is based on the unity of a translucent, colored stained glass base and reflective particles. Therefore, depending on the pigment saturation, gel polish can be used as a decorative top, as an independent coating and as a product for painting nails. The uniqueness of this shellac is that, unlike pigment and glitter, the brightness of the glow is not dulled when the design is covered with a correctly chosen topcoat. Reflective gel polishes are often confused with luminescent and mirror ones. However, the nature of all these products is completely different.
Colored pigments, rubs and iridescent gel polishes with luminescent properties glow only under ultraviolet rays and have acidic, saturated colors. In everyday life, they are simply bright bulk or liquid decor. Mirror gel polish (or dust), if you know how to use it correctly, impresses with the fantastic extra-gloss characteristic of liquid amalgam. Laser, or as it is also called, hanbi gel varnish, has completely different properties, characteristics and principle of operation. A breathtaking glitter gel that leaves no manicure fairy indifferent, in natural light and bright sun it looks like an ordinary medium-density shimmer gel polish, the color of which seems to be dusted with ash. Such elegant, dusty shades with a twist beautifully shimmer with the scattered holography of fine shiny sand, making them look very organic on the hands both in an office look and in a more sophisticated manicure. Comparative photos of what gel polish looks like in daylight and in artificial light suggest that you are looking at two completely different products.
Photo by: @inga_nogtik
To understand how reflective gel nail polish works, you need to know what exactly brings out its brilliant shine. The texture of the coating contains special glass hemispherical particles with many edges, which refract bright direct light several times and return it at the same angle. Reflected and amplified light is the basis of the glow principle of a new type of shellac. A camera flash, a phone flashlight, a bright artificial lamp are the source of the magical charm of reflective nails manicure and pedicure. The glow will be more dazzling and powerful the darker it is around the marigolds themselves. Therefore, nail art with reflective gel polishes is simply created to sparkle on the dance floor under the rays of a strobe light or become your diamonds on your hands on a summer night! There are a lot of ways to create shining magic for nails, both for experienced pros and for beginners. Which one to choose and prefer depends only on the amount of time you have and the effect (or several effects) that your model wants to show off on her nails. Let's take a closer look at the types of dry and liquid reflective artificial diamonds.
Photo by: @alenahoncharova
How to make glowing nail polish yourself?
In order not to waste money on another bottle of coating, we recommend making your own glowing varnish. Buy TAT 33 phosphor online. Intermediaries package it in small bags. Surely the nail salon will have it on sale. Take regular varnish, add a level teaspoon of powder into it, mix well with an orange stick. Shake the bottle several times. Apply several layers to enhance the glow effect. The durability of the manicure will be increased by a transparent base. We recommend drying each layer in a UV lamp.
For a luminous manicure to fully reveal its beauty, use several layers of varnish. Remember that phosphorus in the composition is unsafe. Choose the right coatings that will not harm your health.
How to make the application of reflective gel polishes easier and extend the life of the design?
If you have little experience working with gel polishes, and this is your first time using a reflective look, we recommend using a useful life hack to achieve the required density and saturation of the chosen flower bed. First of all, it will be useful to the master if the client wishes to perform coating using the “under the cuticle” technique:
- If you are faced with the fact that the stained glass base of a luminous gel polish does not form a sufficiently opaque layer when painted onto a tip, and a transparent base is planned for the design, you need to select a shellac similar in color to the base. Using a colored product as a substrate, you can achieve the necessary depth and beauty of color;
- for a manicure based on a camouflage base, a good solution would be to create a mixture of the base (base) and the reflective gel polish itself. The master paints the cuticle area with this material with a thin brush, dries the coating in a lamp and applies a second, dense layer of reflective shellac. This method will allow you to preserve the freshness and beauty of the design longer, postpone correction for a while, hide the clear boundary between the growing nail and the gel polish layer, and obtain a dense, saturated layer at the cuticle.
