You can thank Lady Gaga for bringing the Japanese 3D nail art trend to the U.S., or at least focusing the American public’s attention to it. Her visually stunning “Judas” music video had a unique set of specially designed nails for each outfit, and I fell in love with the velvet-look and jewel-encrusted pieces exhibited during the close-ups.
- jaskdkajdbkaslfjfa fabulous.
Materials:
- Long, fake nails in an assortment of sizes (~$6 for a pack of 100 at Sally’s)
- Polishes: Base coat, black, emerald green, top coat.
- Assortment of flat-back/hotfix jewels and crystals in red, tan, and dark brown (don’t limit yourself to the beading section. Look in scrapbooking, too!)
- Super glue (gel)
- Gold jumprings
- Flocking: black and green (available in the scrapbooking section)
- Patience.
Step 1: After sizing the nails for each finger, clip the nails to a point and file until smooth. Apply a base coat and then paint them, alternating black and green (see image above). I applied a generous three coats.
Step 2: For the velvety look, apply a top coat and then dust flocking fibers over the nail while the coat is still wet. Gently pat the fibers in place and allow to dry.
Step 3: Add your jewels and jumprings individually with super glue. Notice that on the black nails, the jewels are concentrated at the base of the nail, while the green ones have their jewels concentrated at the tips. Also notice the black nails have bigger red jewels. Keeping these factors in mind will create a much more beautiful and aesthetically interesting piece of art.
If you want to wear these out, do it! But plan your outfit ahead of time (something with easy pockets). I learned the hard way and pissed off a number of people behind me in line outside the club as I struggled to extricate my ID and card from my wallet XD
Lazy Eye D.I.Y. 