Transcription
[Music] [Music]
Hi guys, welcome back to my channel, or welcome if you're new here. Today, I'm going to be showing you guys how to do a full gel set. This one, I'm particularly excited for because I'm going to be trying now a new shape. So, so far, I've always done stados or almond or like coffin. I've done coffin before, but I've never done square nails. I've been scared to try it because it only suits certain types of people with a certain type of vibe, but I'm actually going to do it today. I'm actually going to do a square.
My nails are looking really rough right now. Um, I, if you guys have been watching my videos for a while, you know that I use peel-off base coat, and this is a perfect example. This is two weeks after applying them. Already, one fell off. It started lifting a couple days ago, so this is how they look like two weeks after. And this hand, surprisingly, are still on. No liftings with the peel-off base coat. So, just to show you guys how they work, because I get a lot of comments asking me how long my sets last if I do use a peel-off base coat. And the reason I use a peel-off base coat is because I do my nails every two weeks, and I don't want to have to do a whole removal. So, you guys will will see how I remove these with the one kill gel remover oil. It's very quick and very easy and very smooth and damage-free. So, I'm going to show you guys how to do that. But if you guys want your nails to last up to four weeks, then continue watching because I will give you so many tips and so many hacks on how to make your retention game really strong and get the perfect, long-lasting, beautiful nails. We're going to be doing that today. And I still have not decided on a design, but I'm sure it will come out perfectly because I always do this. I always leave the design up to the last minute because I have like 10 different inspos that I want to do, but they're all different styles. So, I am thinking something with like chrome or something like that since we're doing square. But yeah, we're going to remove this set and then, anyways, without further ado, let's get into the video.
So, let's get started with removal. And I'm, I'm going to apply the one kill gel remover oil and remove my extensions. The reason I'm able to remove it super easily within 5 to 10 minutes is because I used the peel-off base coat underneath. And if you didn't use a peel-off base coat, then you need to do a whole acetone removal or drill off the whole product with your e-file. And since I do my nails every two weeks, I don't want to have to do a whole removal because that takes around 30 minutes per hand, so it's a lot of work and I don't want to do that.
So, now I'm going to go in with the sanitizer, um, nail sanitizing. This is just alcohol, by the way, very concentrated alcohol. And I'm removing all the oil and dust off of the natural nail plate. After you've done that, you want to trim your natural nails. Um, if you guys want to grow your natural nails underneath the extensions, please, there is no in, like, there, it doesn't affect your extensions at all or your retention. I think a lot of people misunderstand and think that they need to always cut their natural nails short, which is so not true. You can always keep your length, but I'm just cutting it for my personal preference. And then I'm going to go and shape them to smooth the edges.
Now I'm going in with a buffer to buff lightly and gently my natural nail plate. This is really important for retention. If you guys want your gel X sets to last four to five weeks, then you cannot miss this step. And make sure you go into each corner to make sure everything has texture. This way, the nail glue or the gel nail glue has something to grip onto when you apply your extensions. And usually, when my gel X pops off in a week or two, this is usually the reason why because I didn't buff enough. But you should be very gentle. It should just be scraping off that shine, the first layer on your natural nails, and it shouldn't hurt at all.
Now I'm going in with the alcohol again to just wipe off the dust. And this is, this step is very optional. I'm just going in with my e-file at around 4,000 RPMs with a cuticle bit to lift up my cuticles so I can trim them a bit more easier. Um, also, this is a process to remove the cuticle, the dead cuticles, um, that are stuck on the natural nail plate. And usually, if you are still struggling with your sets lifting after a week or popping off, this could be another reason why because when there's something like dead skin on your nail plate and you put glue on top of it, it's going to interfere with the whole process of the glue. So maybe I would recommend you guys to try this out and really take care of your cuticles. And I know that takes skill and practice, but with enough practice, you can do this very safely. Just be very careful with the cuticle nipper to not cut yourself.
Now I'm going to spray that same alcohol and scrub the natural nail plate to clean it up before we go into the application.
[Music]
I've mentioned this in my other videos, but I've used the Model Ones dehydrator for so many years now, and I've had no issues with it. So, basically, what dehydrator does is just dehydrates the nail, removes all the oil, so nothing interferes with the glue or the base coat that you're putting on. So, this is the Jello Jello peel-off base coat, and I'm going to apply a very thin layer. And again, like I mentioned before, if you guys want your nails to last up to four to five weeks, then instead of doing this step, please replace the peel-off base coat that I'm putting on with the gel nail glue or any kind of base coat that you have and cure that for 60 seconds.
I always, always use the Aprés Gel-X extensions. These are my favorite, and I think it just saves you so much time from shaping because Aprés just gives you the perfect shape from the very beginning. So, I'm using the square sculpted medium, I think. And I'm just choosing my size. Make sure, make sure that your sizes are fitting and not too big or not too small. And if you don't have the right size, then just choose the bigger one and file the side sides with a nail file and customize it because it's really, really important that you choose the right size. If the extensions itself don't look fitting to your natural nail, then the whole design is just going to be thrown off. And this, you want to make the extensions look as natural as possible and as seamless as possible. So, you have to really, really be careful with sizing. And I think this step is so underrated. I think a lot of people just neglect the shaping and the extension quality itself, but if the extensions are top-tier quality, everything else will go as smooth, smoothly, smoother. So that's my biggest advice to you guys. If you're just starting out, invest in really good quality extensions. And my number one extensions, my favorites, are Aprés, of course. So, go check out their website or go check out my Amazon storefront because I have everything linked down below.
Now, after you've cured 60 seconds the whole hand, I'm going to go in with my 240 grit sanding band. Again, if you guys don't have a e-file, you can go in with a nail buffer to buff the surface of the extension. This also helps with retention when it comes to applying your design on top. So, if you don't want to have your gel chip within the first two or two or three weeks, then please don't skip this step. Just to make the shape more crisp, I'm going to go in with my nail file and just file the bottom to make it really sharp and square. And I always do this with any extensions. I, I just go in with a nail file to make it crisp because once you do the design, you kind of lose a bit of the shape because you put so much stuff or gel on top of it. This is just something I like to do. And of course, I go in with my buffer as well to smooth the sharp edges so I don't cut myself or injure myself accidentally.
This is actually my favorite step of all time. I'm going in with some acetone with a brush and applying it around the cuticle where the extensions meets my natural nail. And this step makes your nail extensions last so, so long because you're melting the plastic basically onto your nail and it just blends it all together.
And now I'm applying The Beetles base coat. I always use Beetles when it comes to top coat or base coat or even nail glue sometimes. I use the Beetles one. I really like Beetles, and I have a bunch of products on my Amazon storefront as well. And I'm going to apply a very thin layer and cure that in the big lamp for 60 seconds.
Now I'm going in with a nude base coat, specifically the OPI Be My Sole shade. This is my favorite shade. If you guys have been watching my videos for a while, you know I always use this in every single video. I don't think there's a single video that I don't use this. But anyways, I'm going to apply a very thin layer and cure that for 60 seconds. And you guys can see I go in with the brush and a little bit of acetone to clean up around the cuticle wherever you like mess up and put the gel on, please clean it up before you cure it.
And now I'm going in with the red gel polish, also from The Beetles. This is actually from the Valentine's collection. I made a video on this collection, um, a few weeks ago, so if you guys can go check out the video for that as well. And this beautiful red shade, I'm in love with it, I'm obsessed with it. And I'm just cleaning up the edges. And I like to go with the my finger around the edges to slim down and just take off any gel that makes the nail look really bulky. And the amount of layers that you want to apply for the nude base is completely optional. I just like it when it has a bit more pigmentation and when you can't see your natural nails underneath. I just like it to be very, like, very solid nude, so that's why I go in with three coats of the nude shade. And the first two coats I'm using the OPI nude, but then the last coat of nude I'm going in with the Beetles nude color. And you guys can really just mix your gels and see what the perfect nude color is for you because I know every single skin tone has every, like, has different colors that matches to it. So, and then now I'm going in with with one more coat of the velvet color and curing that fully for 60 seconds into the big lamp.
So, this is my favorite part. It's time for the design. And I'm using my airbrush to create this ombre effect on my index finger. And I'm just doing a test run on the lint-free pad and then gradually doing that design onto the index finger. And this is kind of challenging for beginners, so I recommend practicing before doing this. And always, always clean up around the cuticle with some acetone or alcohol before curing it, or else if you just leave that gel onto your skin and cure it, you can get some infection or allergic reaction to it. So, please be careful with gel on your skin. Don't get it on your skin. And I'm going to do the same kind of ombre effect on the pinky finger.
Now I'm going to go in with some matte top coat to mattify the nail. Usually, some people just buff the nail and then wipe it off with an alcohol lint-free pad, but I just find it easier to do the matte top coat. And while I just applied that on the ring finger, and now I'm moving on to my thumb. I'm kind of all over the place when I do my nail, nail. I just multitask and I jump from one finger to the other, so bear with me. I'm just doing a French nail design with that same shade of red I used on the index finger. And I'm going to apply two coats of this and go in with the red shade again just to make the lines even more crisp and the color even more pigmented. And each coat, whenever I talk about coats, you guys, I mean like coats of gel coats that you cure. So, every time you cure something, that's one coat. So, when I say two coats, you want to do one layer, then cure that for 60 seconds, and then do another layer and cure that for 60 seconds. So, do it twice, and that's what I mean by two coats.
I'm going to do an animal print design. And I've done this a couple times on my channel, I think, so you guys know how it goes. I'm just using a very sheer orangish shade, putting that on half of the nail, and then using like an ombre brush, I'm going to do the ombre design and cure that once in the lamp. Now I'm grabbing some blooming gel, applying a thin, again, on that part that I just put the orange. And you want to use a dotting tool with some regular black gel polish and dot that around everywhere. You don't have to be very, like, perfect with this part because you want it to look natural. So, just spread that dot around into kind of like a French shape and let that sit for a few seconds to let it bloom. And then once you like it that way, you can put it into the lamp.
And now I'm going in with some hard gel. I'm using a water, water hard gel, I think it's called water hard gel. And I'm going to make this circular design. And you guys will see what I'm doing with this, but I'm just going to do a 3D design with the water gel. And again, I'm using the same brush I used to do the French nail design. You have a lot more control with a longer brush, so this is my favorite brush of all time. Using the Beetles black gel polish, I'm going to go around that 3D nail design that I just did and fill every space with some black polish. And the reason I'm using black is because I want to chrome it later on with some gold, and you guys will see that as well. I think any kind of chrome designs are something that I really struggled with for a long, long time. It's really hard because every single gel, every single chrome powder works differently, and you have to kind of learn quickly and adapt. So, what I usually just do is always matte top coat, and that's why I applied the matte top coat because when you chrome it, when you chrome the black parts, you don't want the chrome to stick on anything else but the black. So, that's why you want to either buff it and sanitize it or use a matte top coat like I did and isolate the chrome. And then on top of that, you can do any kind of design and apply black polish onto it. Then when you put the powder on top of it, that's the only thing that the chrome sticks to. But again, like I said, every single product, every single, like, gel or chrome that you use has some different function or different chemicals into it, so you have to learn how to use it quickly. But usually, this technique works on any kind of chrome unless it's like a very different kind of brand, then I recommend just researching another way to isolate the chrome.
Right now, I'm showing you guys another chrome design. I just applied some matte top coat onto the thumb, and you guys can see it's mattified. And then I'm grabbing the black polish to create this design. And then you want to cure that for 60 seconds after you're done with the design. And then on top of that, if you chrome it, it just sticks to the black parts. I always get asked what brand I use for my chrome, but usually I just get it randomly on Amazon or on Shein, so I don't really know the brand of it. I don't think it's any kind of brand whatsoever, but it does the job, so that's why I'm just using this kind of tool to rub it all in. You can use your finger as well to rub the chrome in. Make sure you rub it in very well into the black polish. And it might look like the powder is everywhere, but I'm going to grab some kind of sponge and or a brush, you could use, and wipe off the chrome from all the other areas.
Now I'm going in with the water hard gel again and doing a 3D design on my pinky finger. And this is really hard to explain with words, so you guys can just watch and see how I do it with the liner brush. I think that's it for the hand-painted design. And let me know if you guys think this is really advanced and really hard because the rest is just applying the right charms and like putting your frosting on top and then top coating it. And I'm also doing like this cross necklace, um, pattern on the index finger, which I think is so, so cute. Let me know. This is kind of how it goes. And if this was really advanced that no one could do it, then there's no point of me teaching you guys how to do it. So, let me know if these kinds of designs you guys are interested in or you want simpler ones. I really want to know what you guys want to see from this channel, so just feel free to comment down below.
And once you've applied the charms, I will top coat the whole design with the CCO non-wipe top coat. Make sure you get every single inch. And after you've top coated it, you can file it and crisp the shape up and just do your own thing with it. And that's the end of the tutorial. That's the end of the design. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I hope it was helpful and insightful. And I, I hope that I did a good job explaining each step. And if you guys want to see more videos, please subscribe. Please like. And see you guys in my next video.