Why do kintsugi nails have gold veins marbling the design? They’re based on an ancient Japanese way of fixing broken pottery. Kintsugi literally means “golden repair”. Instead of disguising the cracks, you highlight them with precious metals. Then the fractures become part of the story instead of something shameful.
Kintsugi nails are trendy because metallic accents are fashionable and marbled nails are, too. Moreover, this technique reminds us that nails chip but can be repaired. Imperfections can become intentional decorations. And the most interesting results come from embracing what didn’t go exactly as planned.
Kintsugi Nails
Kintsugi Nail Art
We first discovered kintsugi nail art about a decade ago. A Tumblr blog introduced the technique and provided tips for re-creating the gold-veined marbled look. Here’s an image that reveals the key parts of kintsugi nails. You can see the marbled base that resembles old stone or pottery. It’s divided by black “cracks” that are highlighted by golden veins.
LDS Liner Art Black - 01
Lavis Set of Sponges & Grabber for Ombre Effect
However, that’s just one way to get the look. One nail professional explained that there are two kinds of kintsugi nails. One begins with a marbled background and adds metallic lines to mimic cracks just like the image above. The other takes advantage of chipped nails and restores them with the kintsugi technique. Either way, gold or silver veins can make the manicure even more elegant even with imperfections. If you decorate multiple nails, keep the patterns irregular on purpose.
The Easy Way to Do Gold Veins for Kintsugi Nails
Have you tried A’DOR Metallic Marble Ink? It has the consistency of watercolor paint but with concentrated pigment. It’s perfect for drawing veins on marbled nails.
What’s more, this nail art product quickly dries on its own or can be cured for a gel manicure. You can use it with acrylic and regular polish, too.
It comes with a precision brush in the bottle ready for you to design kintsugi nails.
How to Create a Marbled Background for Kintsugi Nails
You’ll need at least two polish shades for contrast, preferably tones of the same hue, like charcoal and cloud gray. For more dramatic effect, you’ll also want black polish, a precision brush, and metallic polish for the veins.
If you have a makeup sponge that you can cut up, it makes marbling the design much easier. Or you can take advantage of the precut sponges and grabber we stock.
After prepping the nails and applying the base coat, cover the nails in the lighter of the two shades. Then use the sponge to dab and blend the darker polish here and there.
Next, use the precision brush and the black polish to draw veins as if they were cracks in pottery or tile. The black background will make the golden “repair” even more beautiful. The lines don’t have to be thin, in fact, it’s best if they vary in thickness.
Then use a thin brush with metallic polish to go over the black lines. Leave a little tiny bit of black showing to emphasize the metal veins. Don’t worry if you accidentally paint over too much of the black, this is supposed to be “imperfect” nail art!
Finish with a top coat and enjoy your first set of kintsugi nails.
Minimalist Kintsugi Nails
If you prefer a barely there look, skip the marbling and pretend you have fine pottery in a sheer shade to fix. Simply add the gold or silver veins as delicately as you can. This style almost looks like lightning strikes of molten gold.
Kintsugi Tips
Dress up a classic French manicure with gold veins. This one is easy to imagine as a chipped nail repair.
What’s interesting is how the gold lines have a raised texture. If you were to use A’DOR Mirror Spider Gel, you could achieve a similar effect instantly.
A'DOR Mirror Spider Gel - Gold
Pottery Nails
Pottery nails are a beautiful trend, and they are a perfect match for kintsugi accents. Talk about realism! Here the artist added tiny golden veins as if the antique pottery pattern needed fixing up. If you look closely, they’ve even added a chrome powder glaze for an iridescent shine as if this were expensive dishware.
Chrome Nail Powder
Kintsugi Nails with Chrome Powder
Let’s imagine that you don’t have metallic polish on hand but you’re eager to try kintsugi nails. If you have chrome powder and LAVIS Chrome Matte Top Coat, you’re all set. That’s because the matte top coat will help you create narrow metallic veins on marbled nail art.
After completing the marbled base, cover the design with the chrome matte top coat and cure it. The velvety effect will remove the gloss temporarily and that’s exactly what we want.
Next, draw the veins with any gel polish, like black for example, and cure them. Feel free to use hard gel or another sculpting gel product if you like a little bit of texture.
Now use the applicator to polish the lines with chrome powder. The chrome matte top will reject the powder so that only the veins become shiny and metallic. It keeps the mess to a minimum and allows tight control over the design.
Once you apply a glossy top coat, you restore the shine everywhere.
LAVIS Chrome Matte Top - 0.5 oz
Conclusion
Kintsugi nails honor a centuries-old tradition of turning accidents into works of art. It’s a beautiful way to acknowledge imperfections and appreciate them without shame.
All nail artists know what it’s like to make mistakes or have to repair damaged nails. The next time you need to deal with nail art that didn’t go as planned or a manicure that got messed up, remember the kintsugi technique. Highlight the cracks with pride and make them part of the story.
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Source:
https://www.tumblr.com/ladycrappo/113459056091/tutorial-kintsugi-nails-heres-how-i-did-this~