It’s been a while since I added rhinestones or glitter or any 3D elements to my nails. To be honest, these are a bit of a pain to remove and definitely a pain to secure. Really, the only way to secure them properly is with special nail glue (feels more like superglue). Sometimes I’ll still loose bits during the week, but if I don’t and they survive until I change my nails, that usually means that removing them with regular remover is pretty much impossible and I just need to pry them off my nails by force which can be painful. An easier though less secure way is to use topcoat. The idea is to place a good-sized drop of topcoat onto the location the 3D element will go and add it on while the topcoat is still wet. A layer or two of topcoat on top will help it stay even better, but will decrease the shine if it’s a rhinestone. This is why on the very rare occasions I will add Swarovski crystals to my nails I will use that painful superglue-like nail glue since adding a layer of topcoat on them decreases the shine to the point where the extra cost is basically useless. With regular rhinestones like I have in this manicure, it doesn’t bother me as much and the decreased shine is worth it if it means keeping my rhinestones attached until I decide to take them off and the removal process being relatively pain-free.

After this rather long-winded explanation of 3D nail art, let me move on to the manicure itself. This is another fruit-themed manicure. All my fruit decals are actually ones I got within the last 6 months or so which is why I’m really enjoying them right now. Almost all the decals I owned used to be floral so I like my newly acquired variety. I paired three sets here, one with the sliced watermelons, one with the smaller round ones and one with the watermelon drinks. I like the common theme that still allows for variety and I decided to make my statement nail a line of red rhinestones to add a bit more texture and sparkle.

Thank you for reading. Be kind. Be you.

If it speaks to you, I used:

China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat, here

China Glaze Fast Forward top coat, here

Fruit nail decals, similar here and here

Drinks nail decals, the ones I used are part of set 14 which also includes some of the fruit decals here

Red 2 mm rhinestones, here

Essie ‘Ballet Slippers’ nail polish, here

Color Club ‘Fashion Moment’ nail polish, here