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Gold Leaf Nail Tutorial by Debbie Page-Wood

25 July, 2016 - 09:57pm by - First Lady | 16 Comments

I’ve received so many wonderful comments and compliments via the Photo Wall from various BR Ladies, so when Nat asked me to consider writing a nail art tutorial for BR, I didn’t even hesitate … the only problem was (as usual), trying to decide what I was going to put on my nails next!

I chose to go for something fairly simple that most of you should be able to recreate at home with traditional nail polish, even though I did this using gel.  I’ll do the steps for both types of polish.

You’ll need the following: 

  • Nail polish remover
  • Lint-free wipes or cotton pads
  • an Orangewood cuticle stick or cuticle pusher
  • 180-grit buffer or a buffing block (the ones with 4 different sides)
  • a nail file
  • Base coat
  • Two contrasting nail polish colours of your choice
  • Gold Leaf foil
  • Top coat
  • a mini striping brush (small paintbrush or clean eyeliner brush)
  • a pair of tweezers
  • Cuticle oil
  • Hand cream.

 

When painting your nails, the correct preparation of your nails is key to getting perfect polish. Begin by removing any old nail polish and then cleanse your nails well with a cotton pad soaked in nail polish remover to remove any natural oils on the nail plate.   Don’t soak your nails in water before painting them, as they will absorb water and this will compromise your polish and cause it to crack once they start to dry out.

Shape your nails to the desired shape with a nail file and brush away any excess dust.   Gently push back your cuticles using a cuticle pusher or orangewood stick (orangewood sticks are available from Dollar stores or in beauty section of your local department store) and use the sharp or pointy end to gently remove any cuticle residue left over on the nail.

Lightly buff the entire nail surface with a 180 grit buffer (this is usually the rough side on a buffing block). Do not use a nail file as its too rough and it will damage your nail. Brush away any dust. 

If you’re using gel polish, skip this step.  A smooth, shiny surface is the perfect canvas for traditional nail polish, so use the other sides of the buffing block and buff your nails to a shine. 

Cleanse your nails again with nail polish remover to remove natural oils that will have come to the surface of the nail.  Apply a thin layer of base coat and cure it according to the instructions on your lamp (for gel) or wait for it to dry.

Apply a thin coat of your chosen base colour (I’m using grey) and make sure to cap the free edge (paint along the very tip of your nails - see pic below).  Cure or wait for it to dry.

Apply a second, thin coat of your chosen base colour and cure or wait for it to dry.

Using a mini striping brush, small paintbrush or clean eyeliner brush, dip the brush into your second, contrasting nail polish colour (I chose to use white) and paint thin, random squiggly lines across your feature nails.  Cure or wait for it to dry.

Make sure all the doors and windows are closed and slowly open the pot of gold leaf foil.  The slightest hint of a breeze will send this stuff flying everywhere!  (I learnt this the hard way!)  Take the tweezers and gently pull out small pieces of foil and stick them randomly into the sticky inhibition layer (gel polish).  If you’re using traditional polish, you’ll need to apply a very thin layer of top coat and stick the foil onto that while it’s still tacky.

Apply your top coat over the foil (capping the free edges) and cure or wait for it to dry.  Finish off your manicure by rubbing cuticle oil onto your nails, cuticles and skin around your nails.  Cuticle oil applied daily will nourish your nails and help your polish to last longer by keeping it flexible.  Apply hand cream and you’re done!

Thanks, BR, for letting me send in a tutorial.  If anyone recreates this, I'd love to see the pics!

Thank you so much Debbie - we can't wait for the next one ;)

Check out Debbie's portfolio and blog debbiepagewood.com and follow her Facebook and Twitter.

Would you like to feature as a guest blogger, (and expose your blog to tens of thousands of thousands of Beauty Lovers) right here on NZ's largest beauty website?  Simply drop us an email linking us to your blog and we'll be in touch :) 

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Comments

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2nd August, 2016

Awesome! I wouldn't have the time or patience to do it haha

1st August, 2016

So pretty and elegant <3

30th July, 2016

This is gorgeous. I love the gold against the grey! I'm picturing it now with rose gold too, and a more dove/lavender grey.

27th July, 2016

I love these nails! I really enjoy seeing your crations on the photo wall xx Great inspiration :)

27th July, 2016

These nails are so cool. You're very talented "Debbie" (you'll always be Silvene to me! ;-p ). I really like that you did this so those without the gel polish set up can do it as well!

26th July, 2016

Such a talent. Thank you for sharing your tips of the trade, when it is broken down step by step it makes it achievable for us.

26th July, 2016

Great tips and talent for creating such pretty nails. Serious nail envy here.

26th July, 2016

Fantastic article! This is a user-friendly guide to getting professional looking nails like yours (I can only dream!). With regards to the nail file, what about the ones in the nail salon? I get mine erm shaped (no polish) and they use the buffing block plus a nail file?? Still not ok?

26th July, 2016

Fantastic details - love the important information on prepping the nails before painting & so glad you mentioned the handcream at the end as well.

26th July, 2016

Pretty design. I also like her nail art. Sometimes I do follow her some basic nail art.

26th July, 2016

Thanks for the compliments, ladies! If you've seen a pic somewhere and would like me to do a nail art tutorial for that look, please feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do. I'm open to suggestions for my next BR step-by-step nail art tutorial. :)

26th July, 2016

This is lovely and really clever -very sophisticated look and I love it.

26th July, 2016

beautiful design

25th July, 2016

I love your nails. I was just looking through some of your pics (hope you don't mind) to see if I could try and recreate a look. Im just waiting for my to grow out a bit more. Thank you for sharing your tips with us.

25th July, 2016

Nails look lovely as usual :) I wish I could do nails like that, but nails are not my forte.

RamblingRose
26th July, 2016

Thank you, I definitely don't mind you browsing through my pics (there are lots more on my Facebook page). I post my photos in the hopes that they'll be a source of inspiration for someone :)

RamblingRose
26th July, 2016

Thank you, Qweenkaren.

RamblingRose
27th July, 2016

It's fine if they're using the nail file to shape the tip of the nail and to get rid of any rough edges but a file should never be used to file down ridges or to buff the nail plate.

RamblingRose
27th July, 2016

Thank you, Shaz. I didn't really see the point of doing a &quot;gel-only&quot; tutorial, since it would exclude a lot of ladies on BR instead of encouraging them to try something outside of their comfort zone!

RamblingRose
27th July, 2016

Thank you, Amy. Your make-up pics on the Photo Wall are an inspiration, too!

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