STEP BY STEP
Iridescent butterfly
Elaine Timcke was inspired to design this very pretty nail art look
Step 1
After the nail has been prepped and the base gel has been applied and cured, apply 2 layers of yellow gel, namely Calgel M06YE. Cure between each layer. Application is done using the Calgel flat gel brush.
Step 2
Mix your iridescent colour. For the butterfly to have a subtle difference in colour to the yellow that is used in step 1, mix a shade of orange for the iridescent wings of the butterfly. For the mix you will need Calgel M05OR, Calgel pearl shine gold P03GD and Calgel art glitter in white silver A02SL. The ratio is 60% pearl shine gel, 10% art glitter and 30% colour gel. Mix well on a laminated surface or mixing plate.
Use a nail art brush like the Calgel marble brush to draw the outlines of a butterfly with the colour gel you have just mixed. Start from the centre by drawing a short line and then follow with the top wings and the bottom wings. Do not cure.
Step 3
Use a small gel brush such as the Calgel half angular brush to fill in the wings with the mixed colour gel. After it has levelled, you can cure.
Step 4
Use a thin nail art brush like the Calgel liner brush with black liner gel (i.e. Calgel art liner gel in black A03BK) to draw thin outlines on the butterfly. You can also add feelers and a short thin line for the body of the butterfly. Cure. Apply a layer of Calgel matte top gel and cure.
Step 5
After curing, do not wipe the tacky gel. Use a small gel brush like the Calgel half angular brush to apply glossy Calgel top gel to the butterfly’s wings and cure. Finally, wipe the tacky layer to reveal the glossy iridescent butterfly on the matte nail.
Alternative colour mix recipes
On the other nails displayed in the image of the completed nails above, I used the following colour gels and gel mixes for the iridescent wings. Purple: M02PU on the nail. Iridescent mix: M07PU, P10PU and A02SL Pink: M17PI on the nail. Iridescent mix: M03RE, P18PI and A02SL Jade: M03GR on the nail. Iridescent mix: S06GR, P12GR and A02SL Coral: M10PI on the nail. Iridescent mix: S02OR, P11BL and A02SL
Elaine Timcke is the sales & marketing manager of Calgel/ Cal-Mo (Pty) Ltd.