Pigment powders of all sorts have been burning up in the nail art world. There's chrome, holographic, and chameleon – some of which are also called "mirror" pigment powders. Chameleon powders are called as such because they make the nail shift between two colours, but they can also be called mirror powders because of their ability to make the nail shiny and reflect the light sources around it. Chrome powders can also be called a mirror powder because it makes the nail's surface shiny enough to reflect its surroundings onto it.
I recently purchased all three types of pigment powders from Born Pretty Store to see if these powders truly live up to their hype.

All of the powders came in a cute little container similar to a pot of loose eyeshadow, and they all came with an application tool which are basically little eyeshadow application brushes. When you apply the product to your nails, you may need to take preventative measures so that you don't make a mess. These powders get very messy and will leave glitter all over your workspace. I strongly recommend doing your nails over a piece of paper or paper towel so that you can easily contain the mess and just throw it away when you are finished. I used white paper which turned out to be very convenient, as I was able to roll the paper into a funnel and tap excess powder back into the pot for future use.

In order to apply pigment powder, you will need a gel topcoat and a UV lamp. However, I've seen many nail artists using gel formula polishes that do not require a UV lamp in order to create pigment powder nail designs (e.g. Essence The Gel Nail Polish Top Coat, Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat). This important to note when doing chrome nails, because just like when using nail foils, pigment powder designs can crack when using traditional top coats. Water-based top coats are also acceptable for pigment powder designs because they will also not cause cracking in the design (Suncoat Water-Based Nail Polish). However, your base coat and coloured polish do not need to be gel formulas. I used a regular base coat and black polish paired with a gel top coat from Born Pretty Store. When my black polish was finished drying, I applied the gel top coat and cured it under my UV lamp. Once cured, I buffed the silver chrome powder onto my nails. The powder applied with ease and instantly transformed my nails from black to chrome. When I was finished applying the powder, I sealed it in with one last coat of cured gel top coat.

If you've been keeping up with the nail pigment powder trend, then you'll have probably noticed that many nail artists have been expressing their difficulties trying to remove excess powder off of their skin. Many have been using liquid latex barriers around their nails so that they can peel off and discard the glitter. Some have also been using acetone and a cleanup brush to remove the small particles from their skin. I personally found that just rinsing your hands under water was a very easy method of cleanup. Just be sure that if you are not using cured top coat that your nails are completely dry before using a hand towel. If your nails are not completely dry, you may accidentally dent your design on a hand towel's fibres.

Overall, my chrome nails looked incredibly chic and I received many compliments on them. They were very shiny and reflective and I often found myself ogling my nails and watching the different reflections appear on their surface. If you are interested in trying out chrome or mirror nails for yourself, be sure to check out Born Pretty Store's website. All of the products that I used to create this look are listed below.


Products Used*:

Silver Mirror/Chrome Powder ($2.65 CAD)
5ml UV Topcoat/Basecoat ($3.18 CAD)
Sally Hansen Salon Gel Polish Manicure Starter Kit ($69.97 CAD)
Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear - Black Out ($2.47 CAD)
Revlon Colorstay Gel Smooth Basecoat (discontinued)

*Product price points are subject to change based on the current exchange rate.