Lots of Layers

After a day at work my nail tips are usually worn, a hazard of having them rubbing against fabric on a constant basis.  While usually I will just change my polish every other day, there are times when I end up with a manicure that I either really like and want to hold onto for another day, or time just won't allow for a full polish change.  Sometimes it's a matter of I really liked a mani I did previously and want to try improving upon it.

This time it's the latter.  I really liked the way my Essie Luxe Effect polishes looked over the black cream and wanted to see what I could do with them.  I applied the polish but then didn't get around to the improving upon part for about a day.  By that time, I had very significant tip wear on my right hand as well as some pretty big chips on a couple of nails.  I needed an upgrade.

I ended up just using more of the Wet n/' Wild black creme to cover the bare spots.  From there I took OPI's Super Bass Shatter and applied a medium coverage coat over all of the nails.  Can I just say how much I love the color!  In the bottle it looks very similar to The One That Got Away from the Katie Perry collection but the shimmer doesn't separate like it does with TOTGA.  I didn't use the Luxe Effects for the patching because I figured it wouldn't be that noticeable one way or the other once I got the shatter on.

Once I'd achieved "shatter"  I took some Orly Sec n' Dry and applied it just to seal things (and because it was handy and I need to use this bottle up.)  Since it's a thinner top coat it doesn't level out at all but did help to seal everything, I've noticed that a lot of my shatter polishes tend to to be heavy drinkers when it comes to top coats.  Lastly, I applied a two coats of Seche Vite.  It smoothed over everything beautifully.  I did apply a butterfly sticker between coats on the middle finger.

So all told, I have anywhere from 8 to 10 layers of polish at this point and it's worth every one.  I love how this looks, almost more than I did the original look, I think that Super Bass coordinates with and sets off the Luxe Effects beautifully.  The Luxe Effects peek through with flashes of gold, orange and green, be still my heart!

What do you think, a winning combination?

Thank so much for stopping by and reading, leave me a comment telling me if you liked this look.  Until next time, take care!

Luxe Effects Fix

Like everyone else, when I saw the flakies that Essie put out in their Luxe Effects collection I ran, not walked to purchase my own bottle of Shine of the Times.  While not being as impressed with the minute gold flakes that is As Gold As It Gets, I later returned to purchase it.

I am so glad I invested in both of them because they make for a spectacular manicure.  I started off with two coats of Wet n' Wild black creme then I applied two coats of As Gold As It Gets over all of the nails.  I could have called it good at that point, but I wanted a little bit more color on a couple of nails for accent.

So I took Shine of the Times and on my ring and index fingers, applied a thick coat over the top of the other two polishes.  It turned out just amazing. 

Shine of the Times glows like a beetles wing with orange, golds and delicious flashes of green depending on how the light hits it.  As Gold As It Gets reminds me of some of the pictures of deep space I've seen where the stars are so densely packed it's hard to tell where one starts and the other ends.  While it's not as flashy as Shine of the Times, it's quite simply beautiful.

 

Both of these polishes applied smoothly and evenly, the formula is thicker than most polishes and it's almost gel like consistancy reminds me slightly of Kleancolors formula.  While they are both dry quite smoothly, I applied a thick coat of Seche Vite to expedite drying and add a high shine. 

I love how these turned out and frequently catch myself staring at my nails.  What do you think of this look? 

Thanks so much to all of my readers, until next time, take care!