The mighty quest for Mirror Chrome Pigment Powder

Hi folks!

Update!! Check out my mirror chrome powder comparison here for part II!

So the past few days the nail world was hit by a few mysterious videos that showed how a powder/pigment applied to nails had a perfect mirror-like chrome effect. I was instantly mesmerized and started to investigate: How does this work? Here is the original video that I stumbled upon:

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Can't. Stop. Watching. Chrome. Nail. Videos. 😍 Repost @elaineenail #nailsmagazine #chromenails #mirrornails #pigments #powderpigments

A post shared by #NAILSMAGAZINE (@nailsmagazine) on Jun 13, 2016 at 4:57pm PDT

Isn’t this beautiful?

I found out that this pigment can only be applied to gel nails / UV nail polish. I found a german shop that claimed to sell Chrome Pigments and that also had a video up that looked promising. So after contacting them about how exactely it works, I ordered a black UV nail polish, 3 different chrome pigments (white, gold and arcitic white) and a Speed Shine Top Coat from Trendnails Lac & Go. One of their videos explains how the chrome effect works, but to be honest the outcome of the effect in that video never really convinced me. Another video shows very briefly the effect of their chrome pigment and that one made me curious as the effect looks gorgeous in that video.

A few days later the package arrived and I couldn’t wait to try it out. I did everything like they explained in the video, meaning the following steps:

• (Buff and prime nails (I didn’t do that as I tried it on a swatch stick first))
• 1 coat of black Lac & Go (A1-02)
• Cure for 2 minutes
• Apply Chrom Effect Pigment with a soft brush and work into the nail
• 1 coat of Lac & Go Speed Shine Top Coat
• Cure for 1 minute
• Apply another coat of the Chrom Effect Pigment with the brush
• 1 coat of Lac & Go Speed Shine Top Coat
• Cure for 1 minute

I videotaped everything so you can see the application. I’m sorry for the blurry pictures, but my video skills are very basic *ahem*. Here are 3 videos – one for each pigment:

 

The thing is, I like the effect, but it is not as strong as I had hoped. The Chrom Effect Weiss (white) worked pretty well. But to be honest, it is not a real mirror chrome effect. The black has a very nice shine to it, it looks like a dark antharcite chrome effect, but nowhere near silver chrome. Gold did not stick very well on the first coat, but the second coat over the Speed Shine Coat was ok. It achieved a blackened golden sheen – again, nice but not what I had hoped. Same with the Arctic White – the first coat didn’t really stick to the nail, the second coat after the Speed Shine Coat was better again. It left a nice cool-toned blue-ish sheen. Here are the results of all three pigments:

 

Bottom to top: White, Arctic Silver, Gold

We are getting closer, but this is not what I was looking for. I ordered a few more pigments from Aliexpress but it will take a while until they arrive. In the meantime I think that the demand for these chrome pigments will explode and a lot of shops will try to sell their stuff. I will keep you updated and keep my eyes open for the “real deal” – so I hope that not all of us have to spend ridiculous amounts of money for some louche expensive pre-order or “wannabe-chrome-pigments” like the ones I showed you today.

If you found something that works for you, I’d be more than happy to hear about it!

PS: But for what it’s worth: The Trendnails Lac&Go UV polish system seems to be really cool. I’m very happy with the black UV polish I bought from them, very easy application (1 coat) and no problems on my nails – and it feels like it will last for a long time without tip wear or chipping. I thought this would be worth mentioning 🙂