The winter 2022 manicure trends herald the return of the chrome finish, we loved them years ago and couldn’t wait for them to be back in fashion. They are called in various ways: metallic nails, chrome nails or metal effect nails, but the conclusion is always the same: don’t be afraid to shine.

Rock manicure for rock souls

Chrome nails are the rock touch you were waiting for. A daring nail art for those who are not afraid to face their own reflection, in the mirror or on the fingers. This winter, hands abandon the matt effect and unleash their radiance, brightening up even the simplest outfit. The arrival of this finish has been anticipated by influencers around the world such as Hailey Bieber, model and wife of international pop star Justin Bieber. The American fashion icon has already tested metal nail art on numerous catwalks and at multiple events she has accompanied her husband to, playing with different colours for each occasion. At first, she sported an emerald green metallic finish (or bottle-bottom green, depending on the mood). Lately she has been sporting a chrome manicure in more natural tones, such as white or pink, for a rock and romantic result at the same time.

Pay attention, don’t confuse it!

Caution though: chrome does not mean glitter. Please don’t confuse metallic pigments with glitter, it’s a totally different look. Chrome Nails are not sprinkled with glitter, their finish is shiny and it creates unique plays of light. As they already have a flashy impact, it is advisable to don’t overdo with rhinestones, glitter or stickers.

This finish emphasise the colour applied, which is why it is important to choose the most appropriate one. Silver and gold are certainly the tones that lend themselves best to this finish, however, it might be a bit too much for a meeting with the boss. We recommend keeping these solutions for New Year's Eve, with such precious colours for your futuristic nail art you will surely be the queen of the party, but we know that you will change a thousand other ideas between now and 31 December so you might think about the current manicure. You don't have to wait for special occasions to celebrate, every week-end can be a good opportunity to be the queen of the runway and your hands will have to be up to scratch.

How to match chrome nails

The perfect matchy-matchy look? Metallic black combined with a total black outfit, to give light without necessarily resorting to other colours. If you like to immortalise the highlights of your life and your smartphone camera is always on the lookout for the perfect story for Instagram, with the metal effect you can photograph your reflection on your fingers. Egocentrism? We prefer to call it 'self-love'. Abandon any shame or fear, make your hands a mirror and have fun dominating the scene.

Our suggestion to encourage your triumphant entrance is to alternate metallic nails with classic ones to give a touch of whimsy to a simple look. If you love the "pure metal" effect, you can do a multi-coloured manicure to dazzle everyone with such a play of light that people will be competing to mirror themselves on your hands. Metal finish also help to enhance a sober outfit, they can be elegant if done in the timeless combination of gold and bronze. Black and gold together will also be a hit, in which case we suggest avoiding sequins not to create a stroboscopic effect. Be careful when applying: chrome is unforgiving, there is no glitter to camouflage everything, every imperfection will be noticed.

How to make metal effect

At PassioneNails we did a first coat of black and cured it, then we applied ultra gloss and polymerised this second layer as well. The third step was the fun one: we spread the chrome pigments on the nail bed silicone brush and then removed the excess powder with fan brush and finally polymerised everything. We sealed the nail design by spreading and curing the ultra gloss.

We hope you got that if you were thinking of spending the season with a sober manicure, you'll have to shelve the idea. Take the opportunity of this trend to experiment with futuristic looks, go outside the box, discover more captivating nail design. Once you will try metal effect nails, you won't be able to do without them.