Easy Sheer Color Nail Polish Tutorial

Oh My Gel
by Oh My Gel
12 Materials
$10
30 Minutes
Easy

Some people struggle with sheer polish because it can be hard to get an even texture, especially around the edges.


So, today we’re going to go over polishing to perfection with sheer color nail polish.


Follow along with this step-by-step tutorial to achieve the perfect sheer gel nails with me!

Tools and materials:

  • Nail file
  • Cuticle clipper
  • Buffing block
  • Base coat
  • Nail lamp
  • Sheer nail color
  • Striper brush
  • Fine white iridescent nail glitter
  • Soft nail brush
  • Cuticle oil
  • Dappen dish
  • Flat angled or oval gel brush
Base coat on nails

1. Clean up your nails and cuticles

Trim your cuticles, file and buff your nails as needed. My first major tip is to make you clean up your nails before painting. Any bumps or debris from buffing will be seen through the sheer polish.


Also, if you have defined ridges in your nails, fill in with more base coat where needed, still applying it thinly before curing.


2. Apply a base coat and cure

Apply a thin base coat so that the sheer nail polish sits on a smooth layer. Then cure it under the nail lamp.


3. Apply a first coat of sheer polish and cure

Paint on your first layer of sheer gel polish with a small amount on the brush.


This is important with sheer polish, especially when working with small nails. The idea is to avoid excess polish spilling over to the cuticle.


Grab the polish from the opening of the bottle instead of dipping it all the way down.


Start with the brush somewhere in the middle of the nail and push the gel to fill in the nail. 

Applying sheer polish

If you paint on too much polish to a nail, remove any excess polish from the brush and use it to carefully pull the excess away from the edges.


Alternatively, use a striper brush to remove the extra polish. I prefer the striper brush because it’s easier to control.

Tidying up polish

Continue to paint all the nails and remember that with sheer polish, it’s always better to start with less polish to avoid streaks.


Also, heavy polish tends to slide while you rotate the hand to paint the other nails.


You can always add more if you need, but the idea is to still see through to the nail bed. When you’re finished with one coat, cure those nails.

Applying sheer polish

4. Apply a second coat of sheet polish 

Just like before, apply a very thin coat for your second layer of polish.

Applying sheer polish

Just look how smooth and even these sheer nails are looking!

Sheer nails

5. Apply glitter and a top coat

If you like, apply a fine, iridescent glitter using a dry soft brush, right on top of the last sheet coat while it’s still tacky.


You’ll see that all the white falls off, leaving just the iridescence. 

Adding glitter

Then, seal in the glitter with a clear top coat and cure.

Adding top coat

Rub cuticle oil on your nails and then wipe off the excess with a paper towel. 

Applying cuticle oil

Here’s the final look of this really cute, sheer manicure that we twisted up with some fun, iridescent glitter.

Sheer color nail polish

Bonus hack: If you don’t own a sheer polish but want to achieve a similar look, all you need is your desired shade plus a clear polish.


Put a small amount of clear polish beside a bit of the colored polish on a dish. 

Nail polish in dish

Grab a tiny bit of the colored polish on a striper brush and transfer it to the clear polish, mixing them together until blended to the sheer shade that you like. 

Mixing

When applying your DIY sheer color, you’ll need a flat angled or oval shaped gel brush since you won’t use the brush that comes in either of the polish bottles.


Then just follow the tips from above for the perfect sheer manicure!

Sheer color nail polish

Sheer color nail polish

I hope these tips and tricks will encourage you to try sheer color nail polish.


You can personalize your sheer jelly polish with foils, glitter, or keep them more natural. For another tutorial just in time for spring, check out this lime green French manicure.

Suggested materials:
  • Nail file
  • Cuticle clipper
  • Buffing block
See all materials

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Comments
Join the conversation
 2 comments
  • Terri Terri on Apr 10, 2023

    Do you need to put oil on BEFORE and AFTER?

    • Dawn Dawn on Apr 18, 2023

      You only apply the cuticle oil after the manicure.

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