Pictures after the jump!
For this combination, I used Revlon "Perplex" and Essie's "A Cut Above" from the Luxe Effects collection. The combination is so pretty (and glittery. drool.)!
This picture was taken in natural light, the morning after I did the manicure. I tend to leave the messiness around my cuticles and tips when I finish doing my nails. Allow me to explain!
I work in general contracting & construction management, and handle a bunch of materials (tile, metals, etc.) on a daily basis (not to mention paper). I also train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, and both of those require a lot of handiwork as well. Case in point - my nails don't stand a chance!
I've found that if I leave some of the mess around my nails, that is the first to chip off, instead of my manicure. It's a little added protection against my life, so to speak. By the time the first day of having my nails polished comes to an end, the majority of the mess is gone and my nails look pretty good. Pictures of that are below.
The formula on Perplex turned out to be a little tricky for me. Though on the first coat is was nearly opague, this polish seemed both runny and thick at the same time, if that doesn't sound like too much of a contradiction. I found that I really had to load the brush up with color to completely cover a nail. Otherwise I got a streaky, draggy mess. But if there was too much polish on the brush, it kept running no matter what I did to clean it up. It dried relatively quickly though, which is a plus.
The vibrant purple shimmer that is noticeable in the bottle did not translate onto my nails, to my disappointment.
A Cut Above applied well. This glitter was the only one out of the new Luxe Effects collection that I didn't have a close match to already, so it was the only one I picked up. The glitter spread really nicely for the most part, except on my middle finger, and I didn't have to move it around to distribute it evenly. The coppery tone of the pink is gorgeous. A great glitter polish indeed! I have some ideas for it when spring time rolls around...
Indoor fluorescent light, no flash.
See how much cleaner the manicure looks today?!
I lost a couple of pieces of glitter and some length on my ring finger last night thanks to jiu-jitsu. But overall, this held up pretty well. The fluorescent lighting really captures the dustiness of Perplex, though the natural light picture is the most true-to-color.
As a base coat, I first use Sally Hansen Diamond Strength treatment on my bare nails, then top that off with CND's "Toughen Up!" Base Coat. Two coats of Perplex, one coat of A Cut Above, and then one thick coat of Diamond Dry top coat. I added an extra coat of Diamond Dry last night as well.
This picture makes Perplex seem very purple, almost similar in tone to OPI's Grape, Set, Match! The glitter seems a bit more pink here as well.
Please forgive the quality of these photos, they were taken with my EVO (which does a decent job, for the most part). I'm too lazy to carry my camera around.
That's all for now... I hope you enjoyed this!
I am really liking the layering. I do the same thing with leaving the mess around the cuticles-after a few hand washes/normal activity it kind of cleans itself up.
ReplyDeleteAlso I finally found a good top coat that helps prevent chipping-I got it in a french manicure set from Riteaid. Brand is Nailene, Acrylic strong protecting topcoat. The only polish it doesn't help to stick around is sinful colors-have you had issues with that brand chipping??
I do have issues with Sinful sticking on - particularly the shimmers. The colors that finish matte tend to hold on a bit longer. There is a similar acrylic top coat from Sally Hansen that did nothing for me, despite hoping against hope it would work. I will give the Nailene one a try!
ReplyDeleteI got Diamond Dry from Sally Beauty Supply as a "free gift" since I had bought another polish that same day. I'm really pleasantly surprised at its results. Very shiny and not too thick, glides over the nail easily for a nice smooth finish. It's a little pricey at $8-9 depending on where you buy it, but it's definitely salon-quality in terms of keeping the manicure fresh.