NPQ Tips - Nail Foil Guide

What you will need:

- NAIL ADHESIVE: This is applied to the nail to transfer the nail foil. The most recommended is Best Glue Ever from Scraperfect. Some foil kits come with its own glue, additionally if you buy nail foil from Dollarnailart.com the foil sometimes comes with glue. These work fine as well. There is also the option of applying the nail foil to tacky nail polish.

 - NAIL FOIL: They commonly come in small rolls and are very delicate so be careful when you pick them up. They come in a huge variety of colors and the holographic designs are out of this world! They also come opaque, meaning you can't see through the foil, and sometimes sheer, meaning that your base color with show through.

Some companies that sell them are Bundle Monster and Dollarnailart.com (with a USD 25 minimum, but they have so much stuff it's worth it). You can also find them on BornPrettyStore or any other nail art shops.

There are also kits available from Color Club and Ciaté (and others) that come with a base color, foils and adhesive.  

- FLAT BRUSH: To apply the glue you will need a small flat brush. This makes it easier though some of the glue bottles come with their own brushes. Avoid using those because they can be too soft for most of what will do.

- TOP COAT:  Consider your choice of top coat even before you start as this will determine the finished look of your nail foil art. Choosing the right top is extremely important because of "antiquing". This is the reaction of the nail foil with top coat usually resulting in wrinkling and losing the brilliant holographic effect in the nail foil designs. Most top coats cause this effect, but some less so than others.

What you definitely do not want is a FAST DRY TOP COAT. This is a flat NO. You will see the nail foil shrink before your eyes.

Of the readily available NON-FAST DRY TOP COATS, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails does a good job. The antiquing still happens but it is far less obvious.

You can also choose to go without a top coat. This obviously is not meant to last long, but it is the only sure way to retain the full beauty of the nail foil and looks amazing when you do full nails.

The more exotic options include the following:

* WATER-BASED TOP COAT. No antiquing with this option. The one from Suncoat is decent.

* CLEAR GEL COAT: Also no antiquing. A coat of clear gel works marvelously but the issue with this is that you are putting the gel over glue. Don't expect that the coat will have the same lasting effect if you do foil on the whole nail. This may work much better when you are just doing nail foil accents. And obviously you have to keep in mind the removal process for gel polishes.

* CRAFT VARNISH: No antiquing. This seems to be a well-known option. Using a water-based craft varnish, mixed with water to thin it down. The consensus is that this works very well.

So there are your top coat options. Choose wisely! (Fast-dry top coat is a poor choice!)


The Technique

Unlike a lot of nail art where speed is of the essence, nail foil is an easy form of nail art. You can relax into it and take your time. The problem comes with the "finish" (read: top coat). The instructions below assume you are using glue. If you are going to use nail foil with tacky polish, you can use the same method, just skip step 2 and make sure your polish is tacky going into Step 3 (You will want to take care not to ruin the base color).

- STEP 1. You prepare your nails with your usual base coat and your choice of base color. The options are obviously only limited by your nail polish stash, you can go complimentary or contrasting depending on the effect you want. You can also just have a base coat. A complimentary color is often used if you are doing a full nail. This is because when you apply the foil you cannot fully prevent small bald spots and a complimentary color will successfully disguise the bald spots

You can do a full nail or just use the foil to create highlights. I would NOT recommend very thin strips of foil for nail designs if you know that your top coat will cause antiquing.

- STEP 2. Continue with this step once your base coat/color is completely dry. Apply a very thin coat of nail glue with your flat brush where you want the foil. It is important that the coat of glue is very thin because too much glue will cause some antiquing as the glue dries even before you apply the top coat. Second, you want it to be as smooth as possible because every ridge in the glue will show in the foil. You want to allow the glue to dry for a minute or at least until it turns clear. (With the Best Glue Ever that is about 30 seconds or as long as it takes to apply the glue from the pinky to the thumb)

- STEP 3. Cut a piece of foil big enough to easily cover your nail.

- STEP 4. Now make sure that you have the side of the foil with the design toward your nail and run you're your finger over the nail (or you can use a Qtip) making sure that the foil has adhered to your nail including the sides. You do want to put too much pressure; just enough to make sure that the foil is in contact with the glue.

- STEP 5. When you are sure that the foil is in place, gently pull on the edge. The foil should be left behind on your nail and you should have something that looks like a clear cutout on the foil sheet. Sometimes the foil does not stick and you can just go back and apply a bit of foil to that spot, but it can also be that that the glue has dried completely. You would have to reapply glue if you really want to cover up a glaring bald spot. The better option, as mentioned earlier, is to use a complimentary base color to hide the spots.

That's it!

Here is a video extremely helpful and it is probably the only video you need for the basics:
Basic Intro to Foils - Nail Tutorial by Miss80Million

Photo Credit: +Fabiana N