How to: e.l.f Couture Nails

We had a fantastic day at e.l.f headquarters yesterday experimenting with some e.l.f nail polish to recreate the Catwalk nail Couture Trends for Autumn/Winter.

Our desks were decked with an array of luxurious colours to play with – we created a catalogue of looks with jet black, rich greys, royal purples, velvet reds and all decorated with a splash of golden glitter or sparkling silver! We really had a good bash at it! We even pulled out our Matte Over Coat to really give the looks an edge!

However after much debate we picked our favorite look, which was created using Elf Nail Polish in “Black, Blush and Golden Goddess”.

Check it out: 

 What do you think?

If you liked this look why not have a go at it yourself by following our step-by-step guide below.

Products we used:

·       Elf Nail Block                      £1.50

·       Elf Nail Polish in Black            £1.50

·       Elf Nail Polish in Blush            £1.50

·       Elf Nail Polish in Golden Goddess   £1.50

·       Elf Nail Polish in Clear            £1.50

£7.50 Total

Wow! A couture manicure for under £10!

Before you start.

Tip 1: Preparing the nails:

Before you apply your polish make sure you have a good canvas to work with. Cleanse your nails with a good polish remover to remove all traces of oil and old polish. This will help your nail polish last longer.

Tip 2: Buffing the nails:

We used elf’s nail block to buff our nails first. This four-sided block helps you with a 4-step nail routine to remove rough edges, file, polish and buff away dry flakes. It is a good idea to do this if your nails are ridged. A smooth, even surface will help the polish application and will give the complete look a better finish.

Tip 3: Protect the nails:
Apply a clear basecoat to your nails to give your polish an even foundation to grip on to and help protect the nails from staining.

Applying polish

Step 1: Select the colour you want to use as your base colour – and apply two even coats. Allow your first coat to dry before applying the second coat for a smooth, even finish.
Tip 4: We chose Black, but you can use whatever colour you like. Just remember the couture look for this season has a heavy emphasis on dark, rich shades!

Step 2: Once your nails are dry. Chose a colour to use on your nail tips. We used elf Nail polish in Blush.

Apply the colour to your nail tips only, don’t worry about making a perfect curve, just brush it on the tips about 1/3 of the way down. You should end up with something like this.

Step 3: Once your tips are dry you can start applying the glitter over the top to add a bit of sparkle to the finish. We chose to use Golden Goddess – this gorgeous clear coat is encrusted with specks of gold dust and glitter pieces for a holographic effect.

Step 4: Once your nails are dry, finish with a coat of clear topcoat to seal your polish and to give your nails a shiny finish.

Tip 6: Try using a matte topcoat to add interest to your finished look. We had ago by applying the elf Matte Finisher only on the ring finger for a dramatic contrast. 

Check out the pictures of all the other looks we created whilst we were experimenting:

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed it and that we’ve inspired you to give it a go!

Now please excuse us while we go show off our new couture nails to the rest of the office!

Love 

e.l.f 

x