Wedding nail tutorial: 5 steps to create chic chrome heart nails for brides

Seasonal & Occasions, Step by Step

Kirsty Brown, owner of Paintbrush Nails in Stirling, Scotland: Scratch Stars Home Nail Salon of the Year 2024, shares how to create a delicate heart accent nail for a simple but sweet bridal style. She fashions it on the ring finger and reveals that it’s one of her most requested bridal nail designs.

Scroll down to check out the step-by-step.

“The same technique can be used to craft a hand-painted initial: another popular bridal nail art choice,” she notes. “Draw the initial on paper first to gain the client’s approval, before painting a light and sketchy outline using a fine liner brush and black gel paint. Add more gel paint to the brush and thicken up the lines until you are happy with the letter, then apply the chrome. My top tip is if you don’t feel confident painting lettering, practice. Don’t attempt on a bride for the first time!”

Kirsty brown initial

Step 1

Apply a base coat, colour and top coat as per the instructions of your chosen system. Lightly buff the shine from the top coat to achieve a better base for painting. Wipe with alcohol.

Step 2

Use a black gel paint and dotting tool to add two circles to the nail. These will become the top of the heart.

Step 3

Use a thin liner brush to pull the black gel paint down from each dot, meeting at a point in the middle and creating a heart. Cure.

Step 4

Burnish your chosen chrome powder (gold, silver and rose gold shades are popular with brides) onto the black gel paint using an applicator.

Step 5

Dust off any loose chrome powder and apply top coat. If the chrome is near the free edge, lightly file under this edge and apply more top coat to minimise chipping. I advise keeping a separate bottle of top coat for use with chrome or glitter, as sparkle can contaminate the product.