Cherry Red Mirror Chrome nails

Squoval · Mirror Chrome

Salon or steady hand

Cherry Red taken to a mirror finish, which needs a perfectly level base because it magnifies every ridge.

3 bottles: Cherry Red, Milk Glass and Oxblood. Cherry Red and Milk Glass sit a comfortable distance apart: the motif is clearly legible without shouting, which is the easiest range to freehand in. The bottles are not all the same finish (crème and sheer), so the pattern picks up light differently from the ground.

The squoval shape means straight sidewalls and a soft tip: anything built on a grid or a straight line sits truest here.

Make it yours

Pick a part of the nail, then a shade
Base: Cherry Red · Crème Open the bottle

Bottles for this nail

Tap a bottle to open it on the shelf

What you need

Base colour cured
Effect powder chrome, flake or magnet
No-wipe top keep the shine

How to paint Cherry Red Mirror Chrome nails

  1. 1 Buff, dehydrate and base coat, then cure. Two thin coats of Cherry Red, curing each one.
  2. 2 Rub chrome powder hard into the no-wipe tacky layer over Cherry Red until it stops going brighter.
  3. 3 Seal with a no-wipe top coat; wiping the tacky layer kills the effect.

Questions about Cherry Red Mirror Chrome

  • Is Cherry Red Mirror Chrome hard to do at home?

    It is the hardest tier on the site. It is doable at home, but the technique is the point rather than the colour. Budget an hour or more for a full set, and three colours means three chances for something to bleed, so cure between each one rather than working wet on wet.

  • What polish do I need for Cherry Red Mirror Chrome?

    3 bottles: Cherry Red (crème), Milk Glass (sheer) and Oxblood (crème). Plus a base coat and a gloss top coat, which every design here assumes you already have.

  • Does Cherry Red Mirror Chrome work on short nails?

    A squoval works short: you lose canvas width rather than length, so the motif just sits closer together.

  • How many coats does Cherry Red Mirror Chrome need?

    More than you would expect. Milk Glass is translucent, so the colour builds over three thin coats rather than covering in two. Stop wherever you like the depth — that is the point of a sheer.

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