null

Nail Art Series with Sarah Marr – Episode two: FOIL

13th Sep 2024

Our Lead CND™ Education Ambassador, Sarah Marr, will be hosting a nail art masterclass every Monday for the next four weeks. Each week, Sarah will focus on a different nail art category and detail how to create multiple nail art looks.

In this blog you'll find images and step-by-steps for the looks covered in the webinar.

9th September: FOIL

Foil, alongside glitter is the most simple but effective nail art medium to add into your salon. Not only are they inexpensive and the cost per service exceptionally low, but they are also incredibly versatile and easy to apply.

CND™ SHELLAC™ has the perfect top film for application of foil, whether you choose to scrunch it, press it or apply as full cover the inhibition layer provides an ideal amount of tackiness for foil adhesion without the use of a foil gel.

Scrunch Vs Press

How you apply the foil will give you a varied look, scrunching will add a more shattered and fine foil to the nail and pressing will give you bigger chunks and a bolder metallic look. CND™ SHELLAC™ Lilac Longing with Lecente Bouquet Foil.

Pink foil nails using CND and Lecente

Why only have one colour when you can have lots!!

One foil will be impactful but more than one will give even more dimension and colour. You can scrunch or press to change the look of the finished nail. CND™ Shellac Beau with Lecente Foils CornflowerEternal LoveBouquet and Purple.

Multi colour foil nails using CND and Lecente

And it doesn’t need to stop with just foil, you can add glitter after your foil application for a sparkly multi-dimensional nail look. Press your foil on and then apply glitter to the exposed areas of your SHELLAC™ colour.

CND™ SHELLAC™ Tutti Frutti with Lecente Lime Spangle Foil and Lecente Pink Silver Metallic Iridescent Flakes. The pop on the right is finished with CND™ Matte Top Coat

.Pink and green foil nails using CND and Lecente

The best top coat for finishing nails with foil on it is CND™ Shellac Original Top Coat to provide long lasting wear and shine. Matte top coat can also be used to create a completely different finish.

For full cover foil, CND™ SHELLAC™ Black Pool is the best base due to the pigment. Curing your second layer of Blackpool twice on button 2S in the CND™ LED Lamp will provide optimum tackiness of the inhibition layer and make full coverage easier to achieve.

After laying the full cover foil over the nail, use a lint free pad to rub over the foil to make sure it is thoroughly adhered. We use a lint free pad because rubbing the foil with a gloved finger creates friction and moves the foil around creating gaps in the full coverage. If there are any gaps after lifting the foil film then gently tap over to fill these.

To ensure your top coat adheres to the free edge of the nail, use the 1200 grit side of a Koala Buffer to gently remove any foil stuck to the sealed shellac on the free edge. This will help to avoid any service breakdown or top coat cracking in this area.

CND™ SHELLAC™ Black Pool (with second layer cured twice), Lecente Gold Stripes Foil.

Black and gold tiger print nails foil nails using CND and Lecente

You can create so many different looks with only a few foils, by adding glitter, matte top coat, stamping or free hand embellishments you can offer clients loads of options without a big investment in products. When we are busy in salon, we don’t want nail art that takes ages unless we are in a position to charge substantially for it. Applying foil is quick but super effective so you can still run on time but your client leaves with something fabulous!

mermaid nails foil nails using CND and Lecente

This mermaid nail is created using the steps for full cover foil - I’ve used Lecente Purple Kaleidoscope Foil over 2 layers of Black Pool. Followed by a YOURS: Stamping plate called Trendy Netting and Yours silver stars stamping polish. The foil alone is stunning, but the stamp just adds another element that would ordinarily take time if doing it free hand.

We hope you enjoyed these looks and use them as inspiration to come up with your own creations! Tag @mamadoesnails on Instagram or Sarah Marr on Facebook to share your creations with Sarah! She loves to see them.

Also, make sure to join the other classes in the nail art series for more tips and inspiration. Remember to register, even if you can't join live, as only those registered receive the recording to watch on demand. We'll see you there!

STAMPING - Register Here

HAND PAINTING - Register Here

Login / Create Account