This acrylic orchid nail art is an abridged version of a 39-step design created by Kupa star educator Yire Castillo for Kupa Academy. With a background in watercolors, sketching, cartooning, color theory, design, and photography, Castillo brings fine art into the salon. Shades of orange, pink, and nude make his little orchid masterpiece fall-appropriate and great for all skin tones. For the 39-step demo, visit www.kupainc.com/reggie/ka_littleorchid_web.html.
1. Start by properly prepping the natural nails, gently buffing to remove the shine. Put on a nail form and apply Kupa’s Peace Prep and one coat of Kupa’s Love Primer to the nail. Using Kupa’s Divinity Acrylic System, mix equal portions of White and Natural acrylic powders and apply a small moon at the top of the cuticle.
2. Apply Kupa’s Cover Pink acrylic and continuously work the free edge to a “V” shape as it dries.
3. Apply Artfinity Colored Powder in Tangerine Dream below the dry pink acrylic and perfect the perimeter shape of the nail as it dries.
4. Continue to overlay and embed the remainder of the nail with a clear acrylic like Divinity clear powder.
5. Shape the sides of the nails with a file.
6. With a 3-D sculpting brush, create the flower using white and tangerine acrylics. The flower has two wide teardrop shaped petals. Be sure to use the product very dry. With the white, create a small ball in the center of the flower and then hollow it out with the tip of the sculpting brush.
7. Use a dotting tool dipped into a tangerine acrylic paint to create the dots on the 3-D orchid.
8. Apply UV Phoria High Gloss Gel Sealer to the entire surface of the nail for added depth and shine. Cure for one minute using an LED lamp or two minutes in a UV lamp.
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