Having a few holiday gatherings to attend this week, I was inspired to try another version of gradient nails. For this manicure, I used Orly Meet Me under the Mistletoe (an old polish I have had for years) for the base color followed by OPI Animal-istic and Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! at the tips. I finished this look off by using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and my new stamping kit I picked up from Rite-Aid (I believe it is called Salon Express).
The Orly color is a green glitter gel. It is an old polish, but its consistency was still perfect. That said, it was a bit streaky and shear, so it took three coats to get the opacity I was looking for. I used one coat of OPI Animal-istic sponged on from the tips up, and I layered 2 coats of Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! sponged on over that (from the tips up). The Sally Hansen Gem Crush is a red glitter that looks like it would cover to full opacity in just 2 coats. I am going to have to try it on its own. It looks rather close to a red glitter polish in the OPI Muppets collection, but the silver glitter bits are smaller than the OPI version. For a finishing touch, I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the stamp. Snow me white seems to be a perfect opaque white cream that would work great on its own or for french tips or nail art.
I am quite pleased with the outcome, and I did receive a lot of compliments on this one.
Remover used: Acetone glycerin mix.
Nail prep: Rubbing alcohol.
Base coat: Orly Bonder.
Color: Three coats of Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, one coat of OPI Animal-istic sponged on at the tips, two coats of Sally Hansen Gem Crush Cha-Ching! sponged on at the tips, Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the stamp.
Top coat: Seche Vite.
Wear Report: TBA, but I did have some edge wear the same day I painted the nails. It could be simply due to how thick the polish was and the fact that I had to play some reindeer games at a holiday party that involved stuffing balloons into some pantyhose. Update: This polish began to chip pretty well by day #3. I touched it up. On day #5, it chipped again, and again I touched it up. On day #7, it began to peel off in sheets, so I removed it. I would say the wear was average, but again, I am not sure if that is due to the different base coat or how thick I had applied the polish.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
