Saturday, January 9, 2010

Elemental

Hello ladies,

My manicure today is a convergence of many elements. There is layering, a matte topcoat, two stripers, a funky french and a cosmos of glitter. Let's peruse the ingredients.

I started with Fairy Tale from the Milani Black Magic collection. Few of the colors inspired me to create Halloween nail art, so I am revisiting Faery Tale as an untried and true polish. I layered China Glaze Nova and added Matte Magic topcoat. Then I brought shine back to the tips with Nubar Diamont. I layered two Art Club stripers in Hologram and Turquoise Glitter to define the boundary between matte and gloss.





The last photo shows the matte nail with the shiny tips most clearly. You may want to click any of the pictures for a more detailed view.

Milani Faery Tale is a lovely polish containing blue glitter in a charcoal jelly base. Three coats brought opacity and built the base color closer to black. The polish seemed a little thin, but suitably increased in color with each layer. When worn alone, shades in the Black Magic collection are far more vampy and less shimmering than their bottles would belie. For me, this collection is most favored as a starting point for nail art or Konad stamping.

China Glaze Nova slightly disappointed me. I have become so indulged by these speciality polishes that my expectations are perhaps elevated beyond reason. I wanted more holographic glitter pieces in the blend and a little less basic silver. I am showing one coat. I wouldn't choose to wear Nova on it's own. I would love two coats at the tips for a glitter funky french. Nova would also be a standout over gold or copper.

The stripes were made with polishes by Art Club. I started with Hologram and layered Turquoise Glitter on top. The latter has fine glitter in a clear base. The consistency was runnier than I am used to with Art Club stripers, but I did find it workable if I kept watch on polish running down the wand. The Turquoise Glitter was a bit of a trickster.

Happy painting, ladies!

7 comments:

  1. This one is so whimsical I love the dual texture!

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  2. This is really cool! I love all the depth, dimension and texture you created.

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  3. I'm listening to 88.5 WXPN and they're playing the space age music. Your manicure looks just perfect to go along with the song. I'm imagining myself floating along looking at the cosmos. Beautiful manicure. I like the matte witht the shiny tips. Stars End is the program I'm listening to.

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  4. I LOVE the texture in this mani, it is so beautiful!

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  5. I had read about the black magic collection but hand't seen many manis done with one of them yet, I'm glad you showed us this one :)

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  6. Ooooh! *stares* Diana, you constantly amaze me. This one is a stunner! I think the name Elemental suits it too. Of course now I have that song stuck in my head - but that's not a bad thing, I love that song! :) I love the matte "base" and the shiny tips.

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  7. Evil Angel: Thank you, love. This manicure did come about through a bit of play and experimentation. A few nails on my left hand were probably confused by the change from matte to shiny and back again as I worked out my favorite combination. ;)

    ainos2: Thanks! I was really playing with what could be created by layering and altering the finish. I love glitter as a basic component, but I was curious to see what else could be done. :)

    Lucy: Thank you so much! I have been to Stars End concerts on the Penn campus. I really should go again. It was so peaceful to sit for a couple of hours and listen to swirling, cosmic sounds. I love planetary manicures during cold weather. Perhaps the stars speak to me more when the nights are longer.

    gildedangel: Thank you! Sometimes I think of polish in the same way that many people see fabric. Some colors seem satiny to the eye. It's fun to mix and match in a similar way to adding a scarf to an outfit. <3

    chocaddict: Thanks! I do have other polishes from the Black Magic Collection to share. I wanted to try some Konad looks with them. I will try to do another for you in the next few weeks. :)

    Nicole: I forgot all about that song! I haven't heard it in such a long time. Thank you for reminding me. I am so glad you like the manicure. I may have to try matte tips with a shiny base in the near future.

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