Mani(s) of the week: Anniversary!

Yesterday was my 19th wedding anniversary, so I wanted to do something befitting of the occasion. I had several polishes in mind and the one that stuck out was Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air. I wanted to layer it over something since it's so sheer, so I sent my husband out to Sally's to pick me up a bottle of China Glaze For Audrey. Nothing says anniversary like Tiffany's right?

Um. Erm. Well.

The manicure, which I decided to call "Anniversary in the Air" began with a coat of Orly rubberized base, then 2 coats of For Audrey. I did thin it a bit, but found it's kindof a streaky color. Knowing I was going to layer, I left it at 2 coats.  For an accent nail (ring finger, L&R), I used OPI's Sparrow Me the Drama, a lovely pink that matched the glitter in the DL. Nice coverage, only needed one coat (again, knowing I'd layer).

This is where things started to go downhill. The glitter in this DL is gorgeous to be sure, but sparse. After 3 coats, not only did I not have enough bling for my taste, but the pale blue base was really wreaking havoc with the colors. Tiffany blue--not so much anymore, and Sparrow was turning purple.

I bravely forged on ahead and attached 3 Swarovski crystals on my left ring finger. Due to my arthritis, I can't wear my wedding ring anymore, so I wanted a little gem bling. I got this package of gems ages ago, intended for body jewelry, but never used it. I added a bit of Seche Vite (that stuff DOES DRY FAST). How do I know? Because as the gems seemed to take on a life of their own, flying out of my tweezers, the "glue" would dry. Repeat, add a few muttered curses, and then finally, success. Sort of.

I need to have the phrase "Less is More" emblazoned on my brain. Because I just felt like, well, still not enough sparkle. So I picked up my bottle of DL's Today was a Fairytale, deciding to add just one sheer coat.

Today was a disaster. When I first swatched it, it looked like silver glitter jam packed in a pretty little bottle. On my nails, a silvery/black base added a layer I was not expecting nor wanting.

Just so you can learn WHAT NOT TO PAINT, behold, proof of my insanity:

I didn't even bother to clean up my cuticles digitally.

This manicure lasted less than 24 hrs.

While watching Gone with the Wind, I cleaned off that hot mess and started again: "Anniversary at Tiffany's"

I started out again with the Orly Rubberized Base, 2 coats of For Audrey, skipping the OPI accent nails (actually I forgot and just decided I wasn't going to start over on those 2 nails again). Then I added 2 coats of KleanColor Chunky Holo in Bluebell. The tinted base on that did change the color of Audrey a little, not so much that I noticed. My sister, OTOH, used to work across from Tiffany's so she immediately pointed out that Tiffany blue was a bit more turquoise than what I was wearing.

Sisters--gotta love 'em right? I'm just glad I now can talk beauty products with her and not sound like a total dunce!! She always looks AMAZING. So I have a lot to learn ;)

The KC added a nice shimmer without being too much--as a holo, the flecks change color in different light. Most of the time it looks orange/gold but can take on a rainbow of colors in direct sunlight.

Then I added the crystals to my ring finger (another bonus--totally reuseable!) and added at least 1 coat of Seche Vite. I'm not sure how well I did since I'm feeling LOTS of tipwear, rather unusual for me after only a few days.

In any case--Anniversary at Tiffany's!

Just like manicures, marriage takes work, practice and learning from your mistakes ;)