Not only the owners of long nails want stylish neat manicure, but also those girls who prefer a more practical length. At the same time, it is not necessary to resort to exclusively monophonic manicure or to paint nails with transparent varnish. There are other options that differ in variety and personality, and the greatest scope for imagination gives the use of gel polish.
The benefits of manicure gel polish?
Gel polish is a relatively fresh beauty product, but it already has a whole army of loyal fans, who, having used it once, refuse any other types of cosmetic products for nails. What are the advantages of gel polish?
The main characteristic of the product is universality: it comprehensively combines the best qualities of manicure varnish and insoluble gel used for nail extension. Thereby gel polish has the following advantages:
- High durability. The coating made with gel polish will last on the nails for at least 15 - 25 days. At the same time, you can safely do household chores, wash dishes and not be afraid to damage the manicure;
- Gel-treated nails retain gloss for the entire period after application. Usually vulnerable places (tips and edges) do not peel off, so that the manicure always looks fresh;
- Gel Polish has a neutral odor;
- The film former present in the product protects the nail plate from abrasion due to external mechanical influences. This helps to strengthen it;
- In the composition of gel polish there are no potential harmful components, such as formaldehyde, which is found in the structure of manicure varnishes;
- The created texture based on gel polish can serve as a solid basis for experiments with volumetric design (gluing rhinestones and glitters, creating transitions of shades, etc.).
One of the main advantages of gel polish is considered to be relative ease of use. You can make a manicure with him yourself, without resorting to the help of beauty salon specialists.
It is especially valuable that gel polish makes it possible to perform high-quality professional manicure not only on long, but also on short nail plates.
If you have brittle nails or a nail plate by nature has a shortened shape, feel free to use gel polish, but consider the features of its application to nails of this type.
Features of applying to short nails
The rules for working with gel polish, if the final result means creating a film-like coating on very short nails, includes several points. Their observance is extremely important if you want to achieve the same effect as if a manicure was done in a professional salon. The basic rules include following conditions:
- To begin with, the nail plate is carefully sanded.The coating should be perfectly even, uniform in structure, otherwise the finished manicure will look unnatural;
- The nail needs to be shaped. For this, the plate is worked out with nail scissors and a nail file. If you have a narrow in shape nail bed, it must be moved as far as possible. Such manipulations are performed in order to mechanically lengthen the nail plate or at least create an appropriate visual effect;
- The treated nail plate is degreased. At home, for such purposes, nail polish remover or boric acid solution is used;
- Apply a base coat on the nail, distributing it so that the thickness is minimal. The base evens out the remaining defects after sanding and creates a durable film on the nail. Dry the layer under the ultraviolet lamp;
- Next, the selected shade of gel polish is applied to the nail. The coating is applied in two layers with an interval of 3 to 5 minutes, during which each layer is dried under the lamp (2 to 3 minutes). Do not overdo it with the thickness of the layers, otherwise the manicure will get an unnatural appearance and will protrude above the nail plate;
- At the end of the procedure, apply the top product in a thick layer. It will take about five minutes to dry.
Useful advice: visually lengthen the nail, you can manicure in the gradient technique (transition). To do this, the base of the nail bed is painted with a lighter varnish, while dark shades are chosen for the tips. Such a manicure is universal and suitable for both everyday look and evening out.
Before you begin to perform manicure with gel polish, you should familiarize yourself with it potential disadvantages. Full awareness will help to avoid common mistakes made by girls who use this product for the first time:
- It is impossible to dry the coating created with gel polish in air. Its polymerization occurs only in ultraviolet light. Therefore, for a home manicure you will have to purchase a lamp of this type, this is a prerequisite;
- Intensive grinding, required for subsequent application of gel polish, leads to a gradual thinning of the nail plate. As a result, after a certain time, the nail may become brittle and layered;
- There are single-phase gel coatings on the market, including a base, a shade, and a top-quality agent in one composition. These are quite expensive products, so many people prefer to do with gel polishes of the previous generation, which require intensive preparation of the nail plate, as mentioned above;
- One of the most significant disadvantages of gel polish is the burning sensation that often occurs when drying with an ultraviolet lamp, due to the chemical reaction of polymers under the influence of UV radiation;
- Removing the finished coating from the nail plate for correction takes a long time and is a traumatic process for the nail. Most often, damage to the plate and the bed of nails occurs due to improper handling of manicure tools.
Fashionable color gel polish for short nails
So that your manicure, filled with gel polish, always stands out favorably, even if the length of the nails is small enough, use the rule of combining three shades. This is the maximum allowable amount of use of flowers if you wear short nails. Today's fashionable are shades of metal all types (gold, silver, copper, bronze), but matte coatings are no less popular. The most daring young ladies combine not only the colors of varnish, but also textures.
However, the leading position is still held plain manicure, which is a universal option for daytime and evening looks. In today's fashionable palette, there are almost three hundred shades of gel polish for the most sophisticated taste. Minimalism can be traced not only in the method of manicure, but also in the preferred colors. Nude shades and bright contrasting colors are fighting for the title of the most popular.
Corporeal
Today, another name for the shade is more common - “nude”, although the former term is still in use. Fleshly represents the most neutral tint, similar in color to the skin of the Caucasian race. This is a pale beige or pale pinkish tint (as they used to say, “the color of the thigh of a frightened nymph”), which visually lengthens the finger and looks very neat. That is why body shades are ideal for owners of short nails.
Nude colors - a classic solution for a practical manicure in the style of minimalism. The list of the most popular shades includes:
- Ivory (ivory or ivory);
- Light beige;
- The color of coffee with milk;
- Peach and light pink;
- Light gray.
Another undoubted advantage of the nude color is the variety of possible options for the execution of technology and design of manicure.
Burgundy
Bright colors look better on long nails, but if the shade of red is chosen correctly, it can play to your advantage. Red and its variants remain, as before, in the wake of fashion. The more saturated the color, the more elegant the manicure looks, so stylists recommend a closer look at the burgundy and the following shades of red:
- Marsala;
- Burgundy red;
- Scarlet;
- Ginger
- Coral;
- Ocher;
- The color is “Bosa Nova”;
- Copper red.
Such a manicure performed on short nails will look especially good in the evening, so it is used to go to various events.
Emerald
Shades of green on the nails - this is a solution for brave girls who are not afraid to show their position regarding personal style. In fashion, various colors of the emerald palette, varying in degree of saturation and warmth / coldness.
Actual shades are:
- Mint;
- Jade;
- Viridian;
- Lime;
- Canary green;
- The color of wild mustard.
Remember that the green color of gel polish on short nails has an independent value, and it should not be combined with rhinestones or patterns.
Blue
Blue
Representatives of the older generation, calling blue varnish on nails an option for vampires, should point out the opinion of stylists who call shades of blue the most common color for extravagant manicure of the last ten years. On short nails, such a gel coating looks good if the correct shade is selected, and the nail plate itself has been well polished. The finished film covering the nail should be perfectly even.
The most successful options for the blue shade are:
- Cobalt;
- Denim;
- Sky blue;
- Royal blue;
- Ultramarine;
- Indigo.
Violet
Purple-purple or violet is a truly royal decision. For a variant of manicure with gel polish, we recommend choosing color nuances that are close in color to your skin, otherwise you can achieve an undesirable effect, since purple will emphasize the paleness of the hands. The most optimal shades are:
- Blackberry
- Plum;
- Eggplant;
- Amethyst;
- Cyclomene;
- Royal purple;
- Charoite;
- Violet;
- Glycine;
- The color of lavender.
Fashionable design with gel polish on short nails
In addition to experiments with fashionable shades of gel polish, do not forget about the design for the nails. With a short form, it is preferable to adhere to minimalistic decisions, otherwise you may be accused of bad taste.
The most relevant design options for gel polish on short nails are:
- Ombre
- Manicure with rhinestones;
- French;
- With manicure foil.
Ombre
The ombre technique is strongly associated with hairdressing, but it is also used with equal success in manicure. With it, the colored coating of gel polish on the nail plate is created by "waves", resulting in an interesting visual effect. There are at least 2 performance techniques:
- Smooth transition (gradient);
- Coating each nail in a separate shade, but in a single color scheme.
The maximum number of colors when creating an ombre is 3 shades, but some stylists also allow a combination of 4.
French
A classic version of a manicure that looks equally good on nails of any length, including short ones. If you have the second option, you might want to try not only a common manicure in neutral shades, but also a fashionable jacket with a combination of contrasting colors. The following combinations are in fashion today:
- Black / pink;
- Blue / amalgam;
- Gold / Emerald;
- Yellow / pink.
A contrasting jacket is ideal for evening manicure, but if the colors are chosen with taste, it is acceptable to wear it during the day.
Interspersed with foil
Manicure foil is a new trend that breaks all records of popularity. On its basis, the most original design for nails is created when applying a gel coating. Using such material, it is quite possible to print an unusual pattern and print, made not only at will, but also, for example, to a customer’s personal sketch.
An interesting fact: today manicure options are in fashion, in which a foil coating is applied to one nail, and the entire plate is filled with it.
The technology for applying the foil looks like imprinting on top of a layer of bonding gel polish, which performs the basic pattern. The colors of the foil - silver and golden - are successfully combined with most shades.
Rhinestones
Miniature crystals on short nails look appropriate and create the desired effect only in a metered amount. Do not use rhinestones to cover the entire nail plate completely, also attach jewelry only selectively - to several nail plates, but not to all ten fingers of both hands.
Rhinestones used for manicure on short nails are distinguished by a variety of shapes and colors, with their help create an interesting volumetric design. Such a manicure is quite appropriate in tandem with an evening outfit, but for a day out it is better to choose a different solution.
