Thursday, August 20, 2009

Starry, starry Coraline

Hello ladies,

As promised, I have a manicure using a design from the Coraline Stamping Nail Art Set A. Starry Coraline inhabits plate C05. I stamped her image with Konad special polish in silver. The base color for the design is Chanel's Nuit de Russie, a blue black shade with turquoise micro shimmer. The funky french was painted with Star Struck from Claire's. Placing those two brands together on my nails amused me endlessly.  




Above is the persistent face of Morgana, the store cat, awaiting treats. She had taken over my chair and sat upon it for ransom. She is an all white beauty with perfect hearing and a mutable disposition. If the word treat is uttered, she will appear seemingly from the mists. She is catching on to the spelling: t-r-e-a-t.  Morgana looks a little blurry here. Sorry about that! I loved her expression and I wanted to share. 

The application of Chanel Nuit de Russie was flawless. One slowly painted coat nearly provided full coverage and needed minimal clean up. I am used to doing at least two coats with most brands. I went with a light second. I imagine someone with less nail length could apply one coat and touch up any areas still requiring more polish to reach opacity. The color is brighter than the average blackened blue. The shimmer is so reflective it looks like microscopic pieces of turquoise foil. Of the three colors in the Chanel Moscou collection, Nuit de Russie places third for me. While I don't regret purchasing it, I wouldn't recommend it as a color worth tracking down at ebay prices. 

Claire's Star Struck was a fussy diva! It's practically impossible to paint the stars on with a standard nail polish brush. I achieved the look by swiping the glitter polish without the stars into the form of a French tip. I used the pointed end of a small orange stick (included with a rhinestone carousel) for star placement. Tweezers would be effective as long as care is taken not to damage the stars by accidental bending or scratching. I swished the brush in the polish and picked up as many stars as possible. Most of them settled on the stem. I removed each star and added them starting at one side of the nail, working across. Two thick layers of topcoat sealed the holographic stars to the nail. There's a textural feel, but no protruding star points.

I did this manicure as a zen activity after a day of errands. This is not the look to attempt while rushed. I had great fun with it and received many compliments throughout the day.

Happy painting, ladies!  


13 comments:

  1. thats gorjuzzzzzzzz i love it,the stars add that extra touch..and that cat is adorableee so cuteeee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Morgana is lovely! Your nails look wonderful, I don't think I'd have the patience to complete the look! I have some polishes like that too, where the object of envy (stars, hearts) is nearly impossible to get out of the bottle! Have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is gorgeous and worth the time you spent! And Morgana is a regal cutie pie :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Skye: Thank you! I'm glad you like the stars. I'm such a lover of kitties and all animals. I took a hilarious picture of my cat today! I hope it comes out well.

    gildedangel: Thanks so much, sweetie!

    Mary: Thanks! I am going to do my best to get a clear picture of Morgana eventually. I found the Claire's version so much more agreeable than the Maybelline hearts. Still, quite the feat to apply! I'm going to a nature preserve in a couple hours, so I am starting the weekend well. Have fun too!

    beautyjudy: Thank you! I think you summed up Morgana's total being quite well. I added you to my blogroll today. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Diana, that is one of my favorites of your very talented konads! I got a real kick out of the Chanel and Claire's combo - I have the same bottle and I had a hard time getting the stars to cooperate properly too.
    Morgana is gorgeous! She looks identical to two cats I had while growing up - mother and son, Tenille and Opie. Opie was actually short for Opimeal - my brother couldn't say oatmeal, so that's how it came out. They both had the same personality that you describe for Morgana.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Diana, I am obsessed with this one. The color choice, stamp choice, and star tips are absolutely perfect together! And I am now curious as to what the other two colors in the chanel collection were that THIS was rated last... Because I love it! :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Morgana is so gorgeous! And she looks cute making that expression.

    I find the combination of Chanel and Claire's funny too, but they match so well in the design.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nicole: Thanks! Every time I see something big, sparkly and wonderful floating in a clear polish base, I have temporary amnesia about how difficult it will be to apply. I buy it! I couldn't resist putting the two polishes together. ;) I have a special affinity with the visual of all white cats and all black cats. For a long time, I had one of each.

    Denise: Thank you so much! There is Feu de Russie (black with red sparkle) and Or de Russie (black with gold shimmer). The first is my favorite. All three really are lovely, but the initial retail price was $30 on the Chanel site. On ebay right now they are around $45 since they are discontinued. You can get a similar look with China Glaze Blk-Bila-Bong. I wouldn't call it a dupe however. It's in the same family.

    Hanna: Morgana is quite the beauty. :) I got such a kick out of photographing the two polishes side by side!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is really a beautiful manicure. I love all the stars. This isn't an application for the impatient person. I've never used anything like those hearts or stars. I admire them on others.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you, Lucy. It is kind of meditative. I would say the hearts and stars are best applied when time isn't a factor. It might be worth a try when listening to music or watching a show on tv.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sorry Diana, I've been away and catching up on posts now. Love this one - it's gorgeous; the stars are great! Morgana - great name for a cat and she's got such a loving albiet feed me now face! xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Danielle: A belated visit is still very much welcome! I am glad the stars are getting so much appreciation. I think "feed me now face" is going into the Morgana lexicon! Perfect!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by! I do my best to answer comments. I read every single comment. If you have any questions or links that are unrelated to the post, please e-mail me.

Please be respectful and avoid leaving your blog link in the comments unless requested. Refer to the FAQ if needed.