This Trick Is the Secret to Chrome Nails Without a Trip to the Salon

Hailey Bieber’s glazed donut nails and skin have become the model’s signature look; not only does her Rhode Peptide Glazing Fluid ($29) fly out of stock time and time again, but she’s created a major manicure movement. The model put her stamp on the frosty white manicure, spawning countless how-tos and copycats. She's also given us a taste of strawberry and chocolate glazed nails and layered the molten chrome over neon colors to mix things up with the seasons.

Bieber’s glossy glazed look comes courtesy her manicurist Zola Ganzorigtn, who shared that OPI’s Funny Bunny Nail Polish ($14) and Tin Man Can Chrome Powder are key to the original pearly white style. However, you can only get chrome powders at the salon, so unless you have a shimmery white shade in your polish arsenal already, you can’t exactly channel Mrs. Bieber at home. Or can you?

The Hack

Former Cosmopolitan beauty director and beauty expert Carly Cardellino shared a super easy hack for Hailey-esque chrome nails without heading to the salon for chrome powder. All it takes is a quick stroll through your eyeshadow palette collection.

Cardellino posted her glazed nail hack to Instagram Reels, sharing that she uses eyeshadow in place of chrome powder for a shimmery look like Bieber’s now-signature manicure. Cardellino applies a Chanel basecoat and a now-discontinued pale pink shade from Givenchy Beauty to set the stage, then applied a Pat McGrath Labs shimmery duochrome shadow (get a similar look with this palette) over the top with a brush. And that’s it—a subtle shimmer with a frosted texture that looks similar to Bieber’s pearlescent manis in just a few steps.

Obviously I had to test out Cardellino’s method for myself, even though I was dealing with a major broken nail on my left hand. (Why does that always happen right before you’re set to try a new manicure?)

My Review

I prepped my nails with OPI’s classic Nail Envy in place of a base coat, then applied two coats of Londontown's Kur Illuminating Nail Concealer ($20) in white to mimic Bieber’s go-to hue. When my second coat was still slightly tacky, I brushed on a combination of two shadow shades from my stash: an ancient Kylie Cosmetics shade from the original Kris Jenner palette, Haters (a diamond gray), and Colourpop’s Pressed Powder Shadow ($5) in Now & Zen, a shimmery, super icy yellow gold. The Kylie shade didn’t give me quite the coverage I desired for a glazed effect a la Hailey, but the second layer of Colourpop did the trick. I applied my shadows with a fluffy, slightly tapered Real Techniques #402 brush ($8) because it gave more coverage than a smaller shadow brush, and made sure to load the bristles with shadow for an even coat. 

Once I’d applied shadow to each of my fingers, I sealed it with Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat Activator ($8) for super shine. The final result wasn’t quite as glazed as Hailey’s chrome nails, but it’s a fast, easy way to get the look from the comfort of home. I even put the manicure to the test, and the look lasted, chip-free, through taking a Peloton class, making meatballs and cleaning my kitchen. I may not be a supermodel and skincare brand founder married to one of the world’s biggest pop stars, but at least I can pretend I am via my manicure.