I started with one coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat. I then painted my middle finger with three coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. This colour was not easy to work with, and even with the three coats, I wasn't really happy with the coverage but, because I was going to put a transfer on those fingers, I decided to leave it on.
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Next, I painted my thumb and pinky nails with 3 coats of MUD Deep Blue Sea. I found this polish to be very, very thin, and even with 3 coats it was still very patchy, so I decided to cover it with glitter (details below). I followed this with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Luminous, which I can honestly say I have fallen in love with, to my index and ring fingers. It went on like a dream, and if I'd been putting anything else on the nail I could have just used one coat, but decided to do 2 because I wanted it to look great! The colour is so rich, and one of the most beautiful reds I've come across so far in my nail art journey. I know I will be using this again and again, if I can continue to get it once my bottle runs out. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any on sale.
Now to the glitter, Avon Opal, which I'm absolutely drooling over. The photo doesn't do it credit, because it is the most amazing clear-based iridescent glitter, which really looks like you have placed shards of opal all over your nail. One coat was all I needed to get this much cover, and the glitter is right through the polish and hadn't sunk at all, so I didn't have to go fishing for it. The finish was a bit rough, but a good thick coat of top coat soon fixed that. I think I'll be buying some more of this next time it's on special at Avon, just in case they take it off the market. I might even buy two bottles, because I think I'll be using this one a lot, it is just sooooooo beautiful!
I then covered all my nails with one coat of OPI Top Coat, which is still my top coat of choice. Then I placed a transfer of the Australian Flag in the shape of a heart to each of my middle nails. This was my first time using transfers, and I actually found these easier to work with than stickers, because stickers have got a habit of grabbing on before I have them exactly where I want them. They are just so sticky, but I guess I'll get used to them after I've used them more. I have lots of both transfers and stickers, so will be using these a lot in the future. I then applied one more coat of OPI Top Coat to my middle fingers over the transfers, which actually caused a bit of a disaster. On my left hand, I was a little heavy-handed with the brush when applying the top coat, and the colour smudged. On my right hand, the one in the picture, of course, I just sort of waved the brush over it with a rather thick glob of polish on the brush, and it turned out fine. So, another lesson learned through trial and error. And, you know how the saying goes, one should learn something new every day or it has been wasted. I've certainly not been wasting my manicure days, I can assure you, because I learn something new each time I do a new manicure.
I have been inundated with new polishes this week, but haven't yet got any photos of them, so can't show them to you yet, but I will as soon as possible. They all turned up at the same time yesterday (Tuesday) - some were brand new Indies (YAY!!! Finally got some!), some were mainstreams I'd ordered online from BuyInvite last month, and the rest were from someone destashing, which only cost me postage. I can't thank her enough, because she ended up sending me 13 polishes, and I was only expecting 6 or 7. If she reads this, she'll know who I'm talking about, so thank you so much, Brianna.
I finally got my Konad stamper yesterday, too (the postman was overloaded with packages for me - 6 all-up for the day), so I might try experimenting with some stamping again and see how it works. I hope it does, because otherwise I'm giving up on stamping forever. There are so many other wonderful things I can do with my nail without resorting to stamping, so it really won't be a loss. I love the look, though, and I've got some wonderful stamping plates, so I'm going to give it one more try.
Well, that's it from me for another week. I hope you'll come back and visit often, or even follow me through G+ or email, because I've finally worked some more of the gadgets out for blogging on Blogger, so more learning as I go. I'll work it all out eventually, and hopefully my hubby and I will be able to get some better results with our photos, too. We're still trying to figure out the best place in the house, or outside, to take them, and what to use as a background.
So, God bless you, and have a wonderful week!
Hugs
Christine
(Please check out my other blog below, too.)
Words of Life and Hope
http://wordsoflifeandhope.blogspot.com.au/
