Friday, July 5, 2013

NOTD: Independence Eh?

*Disclosure--I purchased the following polishes*

I'm running a bit late posting this--in fact, I didn't finish the manicure until the wee hours of July 5th. It happens lol.

I had planned the polishes I wanted to use beforehand, however. One of my *favorite* Indie brands: Girly Bits. I love Pam's creations so much, I have every single release in my collection (and a few backups). The name grabbed me right away, but how could I resist a polish with a crystal rhinestone on each bottle? Bling ON Bling. And the polishes are divine as well of course ;) While Pam has changed the label (and no more extra bling) every polish continues to be fantastic.

The irony is not lost on me, using a Canadian brand to celebrate our nation's independence. I couldn't resist using that when naming my post (my husband and I bonded over puns, the basis for our 20-year-long marriage)

Of course, Star Spangled was the first color I chose. It's a royal blue and red glitter in a blue jelly base. The glitter is very small, so it's not bumpy or gritty. I used 2 or 3 coats; it dries a tiny bit matte, so some topcoat really makes it sparkle.

I applied that for my accent nail and then looked at the remaining polishes to try and suss out a design. I have seen a few manicures that are a twist on the traditional French manicure--a design that covers the nailtip, but leaves the nailbed clear--so I decided to give it a whirl.

Here's the one that really captured my attention, from Chalkboard Nails


I freehanded the French tip with 2 different colors--Rogue, a ruby glitter in a clear base; and Denim Diva, a soft deep blue with a hint of shimmer. I only needed one coat of Diva, but needed a few coats of Rogue for better coverage. I don't think you could build this up to full opacity without using at least 3 coats.

Diva is a nice compliment to the blue in Spangled and it really reminds me of a well-worn pair of blue jeans. Rogue's red sparkle is dazzling and rich.

I was going to tape off the tips for the next part but it was still a bit wet (insert quick patch up). I added some quick dry topcoat to seal them and went ahead with more free-hand work (whoa!)

I used 2 similar glitters over my clear nailbeds--Canadian Eh? and Viva La Revolution! Canadian Eh? is for the celebration of Canada Day (July 1), and Revolution is for Bastille Day (July 14). Both have red glitter and white matte glitter with a bit of sparkle, Revolution adds blue hex glitter; each represents the colors of their flags. To my eye, they are both the same with the exception of the blue glitter. I used the dab method to distribute the glitter across the nail bed. I added another layer of quick dry topcoat to finish it off and smooth it out.

I am absolutely IN LOVE with the way the glitter looks over the nailbed. I can't quite describe it, but it looks so cool, the glitter suspended in the clear coats. It sparkles and hovers every so slightly off the nail. How would you describe it?

Here are the "vintage bottles", with original labels and crystal:






Hope you had a great holiday!






2 comments:

  1. Great choices! I love that you were able to incorporate all three of the July Calendar Girls! And of course I love the pun!

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    1. Thank you so much Pam, high praise coming from you :) Glad you came to visit!!!

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