Lacy Manicure

by smith0crystal

17K12220

Intro: Lacy Manicure

Great for spooky hallow's eve!

STEP 1: Three Simple Steps

Paint your base coat and colour as usual (Use a light colour!)

While the polish is still wet, use a set of tweezers to apply your strips of lace
apply mild pressure to the lace to sort of embed it into the wet polish (I recommend doing one hand at a time)

Seal the lace with clear topcoat

Trim excess lace with small scissors or nail clippers

Apply another coat of clear topcoat!

Clipping the excess lace is really the hardest part- Each hand took about 20 mins!

You can find lace at the dollarstore or superstore- I just used fabric from an old skirt!

20 Comments

zipknitter 12 years ago

The way I removed the manicured lace was to soak a cotton ball with polish remover and let it set on the nail, after a very short time the polish was soft enough to let me pull off the lace with no problem and then I could get on with a normal manicure. I had customers who brought me pieces of lace and had me do their nails over and over until that lace was used up. Another brought in several pieces so she could rotate the looks. Sh also had me lay pieces of silk thread on in various shapes and designs. I hadn't liked manicuring much until I could start doing so many crazy and zany ideas. This was before most people started using false nails.

ironsidesnh 12 years ago

I love adding more beauty to the women I know can't wait to try this .... Awesome great look.... I'm a guy and they caught my eyes ladies!

to smith0crystal keep it up ma'am (I say ma'am because you are a great lady & a lady of great gorgeous art & beauty and beauty making) because in these times when everyone is at each others stuff

You give great gorgeous looking new looks in beauty to wear smith0crystal ma'am. 8Dbd

zipknitter 12 years ago

It's great to see the past fashions come around again. Thanks. When I worked in a beauty shop years ago we used to do these specialty manicures often during the holiday season and they would last for several days to a week usually. My trick was to measure the lace for each nail first so there wasn't as much lace to trim, put a heavy coat of the base coat on and gently push the lace into it. Let it dry and then apply at least 4 coats of the topcoat. I wore mine for up to a week at a time and that included a lot of heads being washed for my customers.

smith0crystal 12 years ago

:) Measuring the lace is a great idea, actually- the manicure would come out much neater. Can you recall how you removed this manicure? I just used my tweezers to lift the lace from the nail bed and peel it off but that really ruined my nails... Suggestions?

twrigley partin 12 years ago

What if you painted the bottom coat in a dark color, put the lace over it when "tacky" and then paint COMPLETELY over the lace with a light color. Once that second color has set up a bit, peel away the lace. I think you would have the same effect but without the trimming and snagging ?

Mauigerbil 11 years ago

Tried it. It didn't work very well, as my lace was too thin/small of a pattern for it. Maybe you should try it with a larger pattern of lace..

Mauigerbil 11 years ago

I like how you think. That is an excellent idea, and I will try it with dark blue and pink-cream!

Mauigerbil 11 years ago

Must-do! I love this, and can't afford fancy manicures (If I want anything beyond basic, I pay for it myself :{) I will try this with lace and tulle! This is so pretty!

RemarkableJane 12 years ago

I've been wanting to try this for a while and I like how your's has an almost snakeskin texture to it! This gives me some cool ideas try to out myself :)

Sawowie XD 12 years ago

ive only done my thumbs so far as a kind of trial and error but i think they turned out great... i actually cut the tule that i used before sticking it down. i did this by using blue tack to stick it to my nail and trimming it back, and i have to say this made it alot easier. also i dont know whether it was because i was using cheap nail polish or if i hadnt let it dry properly but when i put the clear coat over the top the edges kept lifting up. i eventually got them to stick but on my right thumb ive actually glued it down and im hoping itll come off easy enough.
great idea by the way, i cant wait till formal when im going to show it off because this design matches my dress XD

stripedstarfish 12 years ago

i dont know how long this would last me, but i think i'd try it by painting directly on the lace and setting it gingerly on top of a dry base coat and then removing the lace. i would think the wet paint would transfer to the nail. it might be a bit fidgety to do successfully, tho. thanks for the inspiration.

dahut 12 years ago

This could be used to add fish scale patterns to fishing lures, like plugs and spoons. There are other methods to do this, but it cant hurt to have another!

BWP 12 years ago

Love this, will fit perfectly in with fancy dress xmas do, I'm a victorian lady, thanks for the idea :o)

banzitothecheeto 12 years ago

I did this last year and it didn't turn out very well. It snagged on everything and just look awful. Maybe I just didnt have the patience to do it properly, or used the wrong type of lace... I just know I will never do it again... Good Luck!

smith0crystal 12 years ago

I think the trick is to go over it a few times with a pair of nail clippers to trim away any loose threads. This manicure lasted me a solid three days, even through work.