Nail Challenge Collaborative: Technique #4 (3D Nail Art featuring Cellairis)

Hi lovelies! Today is the first day of my new job, and I am very excited! It's going well so far, I think I am really going to like it. :)

Well, since today is the last day of September, I have my last September NCC mani to share with you, just in time! Today, the technique I chose to focus on is 3D Nails! For the most part, these sorts of nail art looks don't last on me because I admit it, I am a picker. But this one actually lasted me about a week! I couldn't bear to take it off until one of the rhinestones fell off.

Anyway! I drew inspiration from my Hibiscus cellphone case from Cellairis. Here is a close-up so you can see the base of the case is a blue glitter.

So, I started with a base as similar as I could get to the phone's base color. I forget the navy I used, I think it was an NYC, but then I added 2 coats of Nubar Star Sparkle overtop to give it the glittery effect.

From there, I went to work with my dotting tool (and sometimes just the polish brush) to try to recreate the look of the case. I used Revlon Royal, Wet n Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint, Zoya Trixie and a bit of China Glaze fairy dust on all but the accent nail. The accent nail, I just used a super thick coat of Gelous and hand placed all the rhinestones. The rhinestones are from a kit I got at Sally's. I was surprised to see that I had rhinestones in all the colors of the case - they matched perfectly! Here's the finished product!

Here are 2 close-ups of the accent nail before I topcoated over it - I so wish I had left it like this, but it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long.

So after that, I added a couple coats of Seche Vite, thinking mostly of longevity of the mani, but it kinda takes away from the finished look, I think. Oh well! I was still in LOVE with this mani.

I think this look went perfectly with the Cellairis case, I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out! As for the technique, I think I'm still figuring out what works and what doesn't. I definitely enjoy the look of 3D nails, but they aren't always the most practical or long-lasting. For an accent nail now and again, though, I'm definitely a big fan!

What do you think of these? Have you tried 3D nails? What have been your experiences? I'd love to hear below! <3
Kelly