✦ Options for manicure with gel polish ✦ Trends ✦ 50 photos ✦

Posted date: July 12, 2017

Sugar manicure confidently takes a leading position in nail art and is becoming a favorite of modern fashionistas. Ideal for creating solid colors, gradients or three-dimensional designs. With this material, a sea of ideas and opportunities to express yourself opens up.

From the very beginning, “sugar effect” manicures were done using ordinary sugar particles. But this material turned out to be not universal, because the sugar grains are too large, and besides, the manicure does not last long due to the fact that the sugar melts quickly - it dissolves the first time you wash your hands.

However, manufacturers of materials for nail services were not long in coming; they offered the masters a special powder called melange, which allows them to create the effect of sugar on nails. It is suitable for both gel coating and regular varnish.

The special composition of the powder resembles colored dust. It is applied to wet gel paint or colored polish, creating an incredible marmalade manicure. Small grains of sand lie smoothly and quickly on the nail plate and suit any look.

Velvet sand (melange powder) can be found in any specialty store or ordered online. The grains of sand have a beautiful shimmer, so the sugar manicure turns out amazing and easy to do.

Benefits of sugar manicure

Girls and women around the world increasingly prefer this type of manicure because:

in this design, nails look stylish and attract the attention of others;
Using this technique, you can cover all your nails, or you can only cover individual parts of them, which will make the design even more original;
the procedure does not take long and can be easily performed at home;
the material used in the work is quite durable: it will stick to the nails when doing household chores and frequent contact with water;
If you don’t do a sugar manicure yourself, but go to a professional, it can last about three weeks.

Advantages of sugar manicure

Granulated sugar perfectly laid out on your nails has several advantages:

The manicure is unlike any other - bright, stylish, unusual and extremely original, a real exclusive.
Sand particles can be used as a solid coating of the nail plate; they are also used to form images, impressions and other ornaments and patterns.
The designer nail decoration has no analogues, and it is absolutely harmless and safe.
If a sugar manicure is done according to all the rules, it will last for 20 days.

Cons of sugar manicure

Fortunately, there are fewer disadvantages of sugar nail art:

If you turn to a beauty salon for help, the new product is expensive.
A manicure with sand requires scrupulousness; negligence leads to the material falling off within a few days.
To maximize the period of wearing decorative elements, you need to wear rubber gloves on your hands when doing household chores.

Sugar candies

Nowadays, many products have appeared on the nail design market, thanks to which you can achieve the effect of sugar on your nails. You can choose any colors: plain, neon or melange.

You can create a sweet surface using acrylic powder with small glitter.

Each nail needs to be covered with a base, two layers of colored varnish and polymerized in a lamp.
Apply a thin layer of top.
Immediately, gently sprinkle acrylic dust using a pusher over the entire surface of the nail.
Dry in a lamp and remove all excess with a brush.

To prevent excess powder from spilling, it is recommended to hold the nail over the jar and sprinkle glitter on top.

Manicure with gel polish on short nails

Modern women appreciate how comfortable nails of medium and minimal length with a blunt edge and in the French style are. French manicure is at the same time distinguished by severity and tenderness. If you choose a French manicure on short nails, look at how you can visually lengthen the nail and make the finger thinner.

ORDER gel polishes for 70 rubles.

Painting in soothing colors looks ideal on medium-length and long nails. Short-cut nails with interesting colors create a festive feeling. In summer you can choose bright patterns in green and yellow tones; for autumn these are orange, beige and muted green shades.

Sugar manicure with gel polish

This design looks better on extended nails or gel polish. It is in these cases that you can create not just a marmalade coating, but also make various designs and patterns that imitate a sugar coating.

Step-by-step instructions for performing the sugar effect on nails:

The first thing you need to do is perform a standard manicure procedure, give your nails a shape, use a buff to remove the gloss, degrease your nails and apply bonding agent to them.
Next, the nail plate needs to be covered with a base and sent to the lamp. After this, you need to apply gel polish of the main color to your nails in two layers, polymerizing each of them in a lamp.
Melange powder is applied to the residual stickiness of the varnish using a pusher or brush. It is best to do this procedure over a jar of material, this way you will save decorative rubbing.
After this, you need to pour a little finish onto the foil (this is done so that the powder does not get into the bottle along with the brush) and cover your nails with it using a brush from the old bottle. The nails are put into a lamp and dried longer than usual.
To make a sugar manicure with gel polish look more natural and believable, after drying the nails are covered with a second layer of top coat. Without drying it, the nail plate is re-sprinkled with melange and sent to dry. Finally, remove the residue using a fan brush and rub in any protruding particles using a stiff brush.

The essence of sugar manicure

Initially, sugar manicure was done using regular sugar, but such beauty disappeared very quickly, it was enough to wash your hands thoroughly. But companies producing manicure materials quickly corrected the situation and created a special melange powder, with which you can easily and quickly create a sugar effect. The most interesting and unique thing is that this powder is suitable for both gel polishes and regular polishes, allowing you to create beauty even at home.

The powder in the jar looks like colored dust. Usually it is applied to a wet base, which can be of any color, thus creating a beautiful velvet manicure. Small particles lie very smoothly and beautifully on the nail.

Velvet sand (melange powder) is available for free sale, either in a store or on the Internet. The grains of sand come in a variety of colors and shimmer very beautifully.

Editor's choice: White and gold manicure

Sand effect varnish

A pleasant novelty in the world of manicure is sand nail polish. Sugar-effect varnishes contain small particles (often silicone grains of different sizes). They are the ones who create the effect of a rough surface on the nail plate. In addition, small sparkles are often included in the composition, thanks to which the manicure is obtained with a gentle shimmer.

Using this varnish is as easy as using varnish for a regular glossy manicure. Additionally, you will need a base for the varnish - the first thing to do is apply it to the nails. After this, shake the bottle of sugar polish so that the grains of sand are evenly distributed throughout the jar, and only then apply the polish to the nail plate.

To make your manicure look richer and more textured, apply sand polish in two layers. And in order to slightly smooth out the rough surface and further secure the manicure, the nails can be coated with a fixative varnish.

Sugar manicure allows you to create a unique structure on your nails, and the design looks bold and attractive. In this case, decorative sand can not be applied to the entire surface of the nail. The patterns covered with sand look stunning.

The first method of applying granulated sugar to nails

There are several techniques for applying manicure, it is better to familiarize yourself with each and then choose the most suitable option. The first way is as follows:

Do a regular trimmed manicure, be sure to steam your hands in a warm herbal bath, push back and trim the cuticles, use a nail file to give them a better shape, and dry each nail plate well with a towel.
Apply a protective base to your nails.
Now scoop up a small amount of colored dye and make a couple of strokes on each nail. Most often, calm pastel colors are chosen - sand, beige, milky, soft plum, soft pink. Sometimes, on the contrary, strongly contrasting shades are selected.
While the composition has not yet dried, quickly but carefully sprinkle granulated sugar on the nail and wait until it sticks completely. According to nail art masters, 10-15 minutes is enough for this.
Next, use a hard miniature brush designed for working with nails to sweep away any loose grains of sand; if you need to make a pattern, form it.
To make a sugar manicure last longer, it is advisable to seal the result with shellac, but this technique will not work if you want a 100% velvet feeling.

Sugar manicure at home

There are several techniques for applying manicure, it is better to familiarize yourself with each and then choose the most suitable option. The first way is as follows:

Do a regular trimmed manicure, be sure to steam your hands in a warm herbal bath, push back and trim the cuticles, use a nail file to give them a better shape, and dry each nail plate well with a towel.
Apply a protective base to your nails.
Now scoop up a small amount of colored dye and make a couple of strokes on each nail. Most often, calm pastel colors are chosen - sand, beige, milky, soft plum, soft pink. Sometimes, on the contrary, strongly contrasting shades are selected.
While the composition has not yet dried, quickly but carefully sprinkle granulated sugar on the nail and wait until it sticks completely. According to nail art masters, 10-15 minutes is enough for this.
Next, use a hard miniature brush designed for working with nails to sweep away any loose grains of sand; if you need to make a pattern, form it.
To make a sugar manicure last longer, it is advisable to seal the result with shellac, but this technique will not work if you want a 100% velvet feeling.

How to remove sand varnish?

Removing sand varnish is not an easy task. To avoid damaging the nail plate with prolonged friction, manufacturers suggest generously moistening a cotton pad with nail polish remover and pressing it firmly against the nail for a minute or two.

After this procedure, the sand nail polish should be soaked and removed from the surface without any problems.

How is the sugar coating removed?

The melange powder applied to the gel polish is removed like a regular gel polish coating. But it is better not to remove sugar varnish or regular varnish with a melange rub by simply wiping it off the nail, because grains of sand can scratch the nail plate.

Editor's choice: How to do a French manicure correctly: grace and aesthetics

To more carefully remove sugar polish from nails, remember how to remove gel polish. Soak pieces of cotton pads in nail polish remover and apply to your nails, wrapping them in foil. Keep the solvent for about 5 minutes, the varnish will soften well, and you can wipe it off with a light movement without causing injury to the nail plate.

Sugar manicure design is loved not only by fashionistas for its beauty and originality, but also by craftsmen for its ease of implementation. And many nail artists collect a portfolio of their own work, and it is this design that always looks great and is very clearly visible in the photo, without creating bright shimmers.

Creating an original sugar nail design

If you are bored with the traditional technology of creating velvet nail art, then use one of the tips from beauty specialists:

The grains can be attached not to the entire nail plate, but to capture only part of it, for example, highlight the hole of the nail bed with velvet or apply it to the tip. Don’t be afraid to decorate with rhinestones - French and moon manicures require additional elegant framing.
Saving material can lead to a result that you are clearly not happy with. When working with velvet sand, you need to understand - either sprinkle it generously, or not use it at all. Don't be afraid to get your fingers dirty - the particles can be easily rubbed off and fall off.
Uneven lines, ornate patterns, monograms drawn using several colorful shades at once look very stylish and expensive.

How to make a sugar manicure original

If you are bored with the traditional technology of creating velvet nail art, then use one of the tips from beauty specialists:

The grains can be attached not to the entire nail plate, but to capture only part of it, for example, highlight the hole of the nail bed with velvet or apply it to the tip. Don’t be afraid to decorate with rhinestones - French and moon manicures require additional elegant framing.
Saving material can lead to a result that you are clearly not happy with. When working with velvet sand, you need to understand - either sprinkle it generously, or not use it at all. Don't be afraid to get your fingers dirty - the particles can be easily rubbed off and fall off.
Uneven lines, ornate patterns, monograms drawn using several colorful shades at once look very stylish and expensive.

When it’s winter outside, and the Christmas holidays are visible ahead, thoughts increasingly arise in our heads about how we will decorate our home. And girls, among other things, are looking for ways to transfer elements of the holidays to themselves. And those who want to have a manicure for all seasons will like our article even more!

More than once we have heard fashionistas say that they don’t want glitter, colors, yes, but not glitter. Varnishes are steamed to give them a matte finish, or even become matte. The use of manicure sand has become a new breath in nail art.

Manicure sand

– special powder of various colors. Sand varnish is distinguished by the size of the grains. For example, a very fine grind can give your nails the appearance of velor, while a coarse grind can give your fingers a shade of granulated sugar.

Varnish with additives is a little thicker than usual, but differs only in the structure of the coating. It is convenient to apply, it does not tend to creep onto the cuticle during coating, and besides, one layer of varnish is almost always enough, in rare cases - two if you want to give your nails a more voluminous look.