My first thought when I saw these was "sprinkles!". I considered trying a cupcake mani (see a version from Rins here) but wasn't feeling that confident about my freehand abilities so instead did a geometric accent nail on my Owl's Lust/Pitch Black Glimmer mani using two colors of balls.
To do this, I taped off a triangle on my nail, laid down a coat of Gelous in the open area, then picked up balls with the flat side of an orange stick and patted them into the wet polish. Then I moved the tape to do a second triangle opposit the first. The last two I didn't use tape for but just put the balls in the open areas. I pushed the balls around with the pointy end of the orange stick to try and get them where I wanted them, then covered the whole design with a thick layer of Gelous. Next time I'm going to try a different top coat, as the Gelous took some of the color off the balls, most noticeably the blue grey ones.
These balls are available on Born Pretty's site here. They cost $5.41 for one set; quantity discounts are available if you buy more than one at a time. They also have a wheel with 12 colors of steel balls for $3.33 (look in the Glitter/Fimo/Slice/Sticker section of Nail Art Decoration). Use code KARENDK31 for 10% off.
The steel balls used for this entry were provided to me for free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider, and I get to keep the products for my own use.
I hate it when companies send me free stuff!! HAHAHAHA!!! I have yet to have that problem! And I can't say I like this at all! Might be cool to have 1 or 2 dots per nail-but I'm picky!!
ReplyDeleteThis is cool, but I don't think I could do an entire finger of the little balls. Bumpy finishes drive me insane and this would push me over the edge. LOL
ReplyDeleteSo eye-catching!
ReplyDeleteDo they actually stay on the nail pretty well? Looks neat for something a little different!
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative way to use those balls! How do they are for getting caught on clothes/towels? I've only used these once for a dot in the centre of a flower and they constantly were getting caught on everything even with tc!
ReplyDeleteAmazing manicure! I love those little balls!!!! ^__^
ReplyDeleteto tell you the truth, i'm not sure if i would wear it like this...
ReplyDeleteI think they would distract me and I'd be picking them off all day! There are all sorts of cool things for nails, though, it seems!
ReplyDeletei love the mani you have on... IDK if i could stand wearing these steel balls.. I would probably pick them off right away :-P
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could stand this, I really hate any sort of thick or uneven manicures. Not sure if they'd be for me, but they're definitely different!
ReplyDeleteThey made me think of sprinkles and cookies/cupcakes when I first saw them!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would have ever thought of using them like that, super cool!
I love these nail art beads! I bought them recently and have been going kinda crazy using them =]
ReplyDeleteYour mani looks amazing, love the way you just covered your nail in it!
Fingers, I figured if I was going to try them, I might as well go all out. (Of course then my laziness kicked in and I stopped at one nail.)
ReplyDeleteMegan, I'm not much for sticky up stuff on my nails usually; somehow having the whole nail covered made it easier for me to deal with, since it was evenly bumpy or something.
Sandra, thanks!
Lindsey R, I didn't have any fall off, but I didn't wear this look for very long. If I were going to try and keep this for more than a day, I'd probably add another layer of topcoat to help stick it all together more.
mrsrexy, they weren't too bad, maybe because the whole nail was covered. I didn't try doing laundry or anything, though.
Akuma Kanji, thanks!
nail crazy, no worries--not all experiments will work for everyone. :)
Larie and Polish Amor, I was mostly distracted by how much they looked like little bits of candy--but since I knew I couldn't eat them I was able to leave them alone.
Laura, "try anything once" is my motto. Not sure if I'll get to twice with these but it was fun to play with them.
turtlechick, I usually put a lot of sprinkles on my cookies. :)
Sara, I hope someday to muster the patience to place these carefully in a design like I've seen you do!
I have had these kind of beads for a while but have yet to use them. I keep pushing them off for other designs but I will have break them out now. I love the x pattern you made with them!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of these in my wheels I never knew how to use for a design, I like your take one it, it's very different and kinda cool!
ReplyDeleteThis actually very cool. Looks great .
ReplyDeleteDid the balls stay on? I like the manicure, it is different. If I had it on I would be constantly touching the surface all day feeling the texture...lol
ReplyDeleteI sometimes love the bumpy feel these beads create. It gives that 3D feel whenever I touch my nails. Although, there are instances that they get in the way of doing things, like when I stroke my hair. :)
ReplyDeleteOh these look like fun!
ReplyDeleteThey look so pretty in their pots, like pigments. But I couldn't have something that chunky on my nails as I'd idly pick it off!
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