Trendy Glassy Red Cat Eye Nails | Step-By-Step Tutorial ❤️✨

Hey guys! Welcome back to my channel. I've received a few requests to create more long-form videos featuring beginner-friendly nail designs, and after getting some new nail goodies in the mail, I came across a set on TikTok that I've been eager to try. I think it's the perfect easy design idea. I absolutely adore cat eye nails, and this particular design went viral back in early October. But now that I have all the perfect nail supplies, I'm excited to finally give it a In this tutorial, I'll be showing you how to apply gelx nails without using the overlay method, and I'll also demonstrate how I use builder gel to add structure to longer gelx nails. Normally, I start my videos by removing my previous set, but today we're starting with bare nails because I just upgraded from my iPhone 12 to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the footage of me removing my previous set was filmed on the iPhone 12. I have noticed some issues though, so if the footage gets a little blurry at times, I do apologize in advance for that. The first thing I'm going to do is trim my fingernails a bit shorter. I like to keep them really short so that none of my natural nails shows underneath the extension, but if you're trying to grow out your natural nails, you can keep them longer. It's all about your personal preference. Next, I'm using a glass nail file to smooth them out. I prefer a glass nail file over a regular one because it's just more gentle on my natural nails. If you don't own a glass hand file, a 180 grit file works just as well for shaping the natural nails. Cuticle prep is crucial for long-lasting retention. I'm using the Sally Hansen cuticle remover. I'll apply a drop directly onto the cuticle, gently rub it in along the sides, and let it sit for about 15 seconds, and after waiting, the cuticles should be soft, and I'll use the flat side of my cuticle pusher to gently push them back, and I'll also use the pointy side of the pusher to gently scrape off any excess cuticle on top of my nail plate. I try to complete this process within a minute so that the cuticle remover doesn't sit on my skin for too long, and once I've done this on each nail, I'll wash my hands with warm soapy water to remove any remaining product. Next, I'm going to use the pink side of this small buffing block, which is more gritty. I believe it's around 80 to 100 grit, and I'm gently buffing the surface of my nails to remove all the shine. This step is really important if you want your gelx nails to adhere properly to your natural nails, so make sure not to under file, but also avoid over filing. Alternatively, you can use a 240 grit or a 180 grit sanding band with an e-file at a speed of 5,000 rpm to etch your natural nails. I prefer not to do this because I do my nails so often, and I remove them almost every week, so using a gentle buffing block works better for me. Next, I'll nip off any excess skin around my cuticle. I only clip off what's necessary. You don't have to do this step at all because it won't affect your retention. I simply just do it for aesthetic purposes. I'm using 70% ice purple alcohol in a small bottle to spray onto my nails. This helps remove any dust and oils from my natural nail plate. I'm also going to be using this dehydrator from Model Ones, which I really like because it does a great job of stripping oils from my natural nails. I like to apply a generous amount of the dehydrator and let it evaporate off of my nail plate. You'll know it's effective when your nails look a little bit gritty, and that's a sign your retention will be good. Next, I'm applying the Jell-O Jell-O peel-off base coat. However, if you prefer not to use a peel-off base coat, you can just go in with a primer instead. I'm applying a thin layer of the Jell-O Jell-O and curing it for 60 seconds. I'll do two coats of this, curing in between each coat for 60 seconds. If you're using a primer, make sure to Once you're done prepping your natural nails, you can go ahead and size out your nail tips. Today, I'm using these medium stiletto nail tips I got from Amazon. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find the link since I couldn't in my last video, but I'll try again for you guys, and if not, I'll find an alternative. I really like these nail tips because they fit my nails perfectly. They're snug and they match the natural curvature of my nail shape. If you have similar nail beds to me, these could be a good option for you, and they also come with half sizes. To size out your nail tips, pick one that seems to fit and lightly place it on your nail bed, and find ones that fit your nail bed from sidewall to sidewall. If the tip fits too tightly, you may want to choose the next size up. Since we're not doing the overlay method, we're going to do the regular Jell-X method, where the nail tip starts at your cuticle area instead of underneath. So for this method, you want to make sure that the cuticle area of the nail tip fits your natural cuticle area perfectly. This may require filing down the edges of the tip for a better fit. A 180 grit hand file works great for this. While I have my hand file, I'll also lightly etch the cuticle line to thin it out near the cuticle area. This helps the nail tips lay more flush with your natural nail, making it easier to seal the cuticle later on. This step is especially helpful if you don't own an e-file. Simply etching the nail tip where it meets your natural nail can make a huge difference compared to leaving it as is. As you can see, the nail tip fits perfectly on my cuticle, so I know this one is done and I can move on to the rest. I've got my nail tips laid out here and I'm going to set them aside for now. I'm going to use my e-file to make my life easier. If you don't have an e-file, you can use a hand file and it'll work just as well. It just may take a little longer. I'm going to etch the entire inside where the natural nail meets the nail tip. This creates some grip so that gel has something to stick to. I'll also be doing this at a speed of 5,000 rpm. And to get into these smaller nail tips, I just bend them flat and quickly etch as much as I can. While I was filing my nail tips, some dust residue got onto the Jello Jello Peel Off Base Coat, so to clean it up, I'm using some Eyes Purple Alcohol and a lint-free wipe to gently remove the dust from that base coat. Next, take out your nail glue. I'm using this one from Modellones, which requires a UV light to cure. This is typically used in gelx nail sets. I'm going to apply a thin coat of the nail glue onto my natural nails right on top of the Jello Jello Peel Off Base Coat and cure it for 60 seconds. If you only used primer, just make sure that it's dry and let it sit for two to three minutes after applying it before moving on to this step. After applying the nail glue and giving it a full cure, we can then move on to applying the extensions. I'm going to apply a thin coat of that nail glue to the edge of my nail tip and I'm also going to add a little small glob of glue onto the cuticle area as you can see here. Then I'll press the nail down at a 45 degree angle until the glue reaches my free edge. I'll quickly cure it under the lamp for 15 seconds, rotating my finger if needed to ensure that the light penetrates all the edges of the nail. Keep steady pressure while flash curing to prevent any air bubbles from forming and after applying each nail tip, make sure to give your a full cure for the remaining 45 seconds. If you plan to do gelx nails regularly, I highly recommend investing in a small flash cure lamp. I have this one from a cart and I specifically bought it because it has a pink light. I think it's really cute and I love the little white flower design. It's very convenient because it turns on automatically when you get close to it, thanks to its motion sensor. Plus it has different timer settings and it's rechargeable. It definitely makes the process of applying gelx tips so much easier. So I'll be sure to link this one down below for you guys because I know I get a lot of questions asking where it's from. I'm going to trim the tips down slightly since I'm going to be going for a long almond shape today. Using stiletto tips for this process is my favorite way to achieve that long almond shape. I'm only cutting the numbers down and I'll use a 180 grit hand file to round out the corners. Next I'm going to blend the tips into my natural nails and remove any excess glue that may have seeped onto the cuticle area during application. Since I pre-etched the tips earlier, I won't need to file much. So I'm going to make two to three passes with a 240 grit sanding band at a speed of 5000 rpm. If you don't have an e-file, you can use a buffing block or a hand file instead. But if you're using an e-file like me, just make sure to keep the drill parallel to your natural nails at all times and avoid angling it into your nail to prevent rings of fire. The final step in sealing the cuticle area is to use a bit of acetone on a brush to clean up the cuticle line and this will just create a seamless blend between the nail tip and your natural nail. As you can see, you can't really tell where the nail tip starts and that's exactly what we're looking for. I'm going to go back to using the small buffing block from earlier to etch the plastic nail tips just to give the gel something to stick to. If the surface is left smooth, the gel won't adhere as well. After that, I'll wipe off the dust with acetone on a lint-free wipe or you can also use rubbing alcohol if you prefer. Next, I'm using this builder gel I got from Model Ones. It's brand new so I'll be trying it out today. As you can see, it has a thick consistency but it's not too runny. I'm going to start by applying a slip layer which is essentially a thin layer all over the surface of the nail tip. This acts as a guide for the bead of gel. I'll dip my nail brush back in the bottle to pick up a larger amount of gel and then swipe it from side to side across the nail like so to distribute the product over the entire surface. I'll focus the majority of the product on the free edge. After that, I'll quickly flip the nail over and let the gel self-level. I'll use a liner brush to distribute the gel towards the center where the apex should be and once I'm happy with the look, I'll cure it in my lamp for at least 30 seconds before moving on to the next nail. If you're new to using builder gel, I recommend doing one nail at a time instead of multiple. Each nail has its own shape and structure and doing them all at once can sometimes make it harder to get the best results for each one. After all the nails are done, make sure to give the builder gel a full cure for at least 60 seconds. This is what your nail should look like. As you can see, there's a smooth glossy shine with no lumps or unevenness. That's the goal and we're Once the builder gel is applied, you can move on to the gel polish. I'm using a shade called Perfect Black from Madame Glam which I'll have it linked down below along with all the other products I use in this video. A black base is crucial for this cat eye nail design as it won't look the same without it. I highly recommend using a highly pigmented black gel polish or applying multiple coats of any black gel polish. For this particular gel, I did use two coats. Although one coat did seem sufficient, I did notice that it was a bit sheer in some areas on different angles so I opted for just a second coat to be safe. If any gel polish gets on your skin, make sure that you wipe it off with a brush dipped in acetone before curing. I also used a small liner brush with the black gel polish on it to carefully go around the cuticle area and getting as close to the skin as possible without actually touching it. This gives a clean and flawless look but if you're a beginner, this step is optional. Just do whatever you're comfortable with. Remember to cure each coat for at least 60 seconds or until it's fully cured in between applications. For the cat eye gel polish, I'm using this one from Born Pretty. It's the white Moonlight Cat Magnetic Gel. This particular gel polish actually came with a small cylindrical magnet which I'm showing right here. This is my first time using this specific product in a nail design. I did swatch it in a previous video and thought it was super cute and I think this gel polish looks exactly like the one in the inspiration video. I started by applying a coat of the cat eye gel polish to one nail at a time. I made sure to get as close to the cuticle as possible just like I did with the black gel polish. If you don't get close enough, you'll see a streak between the cat eye gel and your skin and it looks kind of off so it's important to kind of work the polish right up to the cuticle for a flawless finish. Next, I took the magnet and waved it along the free edge all the way to the cuticle area just like in the video. At least three passes are necessary to move that cat eye gel all the way to the edges and create that defined line. It took me a little practice just to get it right but I was really happy with the result so I cured this nail for 60 seconds to set the design. Once the first nail was fully cured, I repeated the process on the next nail applying the cat eye gel and using the magnet to move the polish in place and curing it again. It was honestly pretty cool to watch the design come together and I think that this cat eye gel was perfect for the look I wanted and it replicated the effect in the video so well. I did a similar cat eye design on my sister just a few days ago but with a different magnetic gel. The one I used on her was actually more glittery rather than metallic and it gave a much more shimmery finish compared to this one so I think that the type of cat eye gel that you use does make a huge impact and difference in the overall end result. I found that this one closely resembles the effect shown in the video sample. A cool thing about this design is that you can actually use any jelly color on top of this cat eye and you'll still get the same similar effect. For example, you could use purple or pink or orange or whatever you'd like. I chose to stick with the one in the video so I kept going with this bright red jelly from Amazon which I'll have linked down below as well. It's a very sheer cherry jelly red and I applied a thin coat to each nail letting it self level for a minute or two before curing it for 60 seconds. The directions on the bottle stated that I needed two coats of this jelly red but I found that it was alright with just one coat so I left it like this. Then finally, I topped off everything with my favorite glossy gel top coat from Koopa. I applied an even coat to each nail and cured it again for 60 seconds. And once the top coat was set, the design was complete. Remember to rehydrate your cuticles with some cuticle oil. I'm going to use this one from Blossom. This is their rose cuticle oil. It's super hydrating and it leaves my cuticles so soft. Here's a clip of my nails under my ring light. I love how the cat eye effect shifts with motion. I'll include the creator's details in the description box below so you guys can check out their page as well. This short clip was taken at the mall. There are so many tiny lights in there and my nails always look the best under them. Just look at how beautiful this set reflects under the light. Oh and don't mind my boyfriend. He wanted to be featured in the video. Thank you guys so much for watching. Please like, comment, and subscribe and I'll see you in my next video.