Beauty Box 5

So, I recently spent some time with Meghann Rosales, owner of Nails Y’all here in Austin, Texas. She’ll be featured in an upcoming issue of Cosmo and I was lucky enough to do her makeup for the photo shoot. In a moment of sheer genius, if I might say so myself, I decided to leave her with some of my favorite Swagger Cosmetics pigments from my makeup kit. Here’s a little tutorial on how to create the amazingly beautiful Swagger Galaxy Nails she came up with! LOVE THEM!!!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 to 5 Swagger Cosmetics eyeshadow pigments of your choice. (For the look pictured, use Swagger, Bieber Fever, and Rad Bitch.)
• Gel polish base coat, a black, a white, and a top coat (Shellac, Gelish, Axxium, etc.)
• UV lamp
• Alcohol-based gel nail cleanser
• Lint-free wipes
• Eyeliner or eyeshadow brush
• Dotting tool (Try a bobby pin or toothpick.)
• Small square of foil
• Paper towel

Here’s how you do it:

1. Prep your nails: Trim and shape, gently push back cuticles, and swipe with polish remover to remove residue. Optional: Apply a nail prep or dehydrator.
2. Choose your favorite gel polish. (Meghann used all CND Shellac polishes.) Apply one coat of gel base coat and cure under the UV lamp.
3. Apply one to two thin coats of black gel polish (Pictured: CND Shellac in Overtly Onyx). Cure in between applications but do not cleanse!
4. Now the fun part! Carefully portion small amounts of your chosen pigments. Meghann used a mix of blues, pinks, and purples, but you can pick whatever “spacey” combination you like!
5. Dip your dry brush in the darkest color and tap to remove excess. Gently place a dot of pigment in the corner of one nail; this is the center of your galaxy.
6. Clean brush on a dry paper towel, and select another color.
7. Carefully dust the second color around the first, to create an imperfect ring.
8. Clean brush then select a third color, and feather in or around your galaxy to blend colors.
9. Repeat steps 4 - 8 on all nails to create a galaxy look that is pleasing to you. Using tiny circular motions with your brush ensures that your pigment sets into the gel and gives you the brightest pop of color.
10. Drip a small amount of white gel polish (Pictured: CND Shellac in Cream Puff.) onto foil. Dip your dotting tool into the white and create a very small dot in one of your galaxies. Repeat to create a sprinkling of stars on your space nails. Experiment with the size of your dots—a gentle hand creates the teeniest of stars. Cure to set.
11. Apply gel top coat, and cure. (You might want to wipe your gel brush between applications, to remove any renegade pigment.)
12. Cleanse the nail with alcohol-based cleanser to remove sticky residue, and viola! You’ve got yourself some one-of-a-kind Swagger Galaxy Nails!

Keep in mind Beauties, Meghann did this set of galaxy nails with CND Shellac, a UV-cured gel polish, because of the great satiny finish of the swagger pigment over the sticky gel base. We know though, that gel polishes aren’t readily available in all of your makeup bags so, Meghann suggests applying the regular polish, letting it dry until it’s just slightly tacky and then applying the swagger pigments to form your galaxies. If you do decide to try it this way, let us know how it goes!!!!

Peace, love & Swagger Nails Y’all!

XO,

Felicity