Thursday, October 18, 2012

One minute random idea becomes an early holiday!

I ended up with this in one minute after not being able to come up with a Halloween/Fall designer for 20 minutes.

My friends said this is their favorite so far.


Base: OPI Pearl of Wisdom
Top:  OPI Serving up Sparkle
Tip:  OPI DS Radiance


OPI Pearl of Wisdom has a natural shinny light/pink aura that works really well with silver color.

OPI Serving up Sparkle so far makes my favorite glitter.  Unlike the pictures you might find on search engine, it gives you the perfect amount of sparkle, and you can always layer it for effects.  Plus, this sparkle looks really good on its own, and it goes on any color to enhance the look without overpowering.

The nails already look good with just OPI Wisdom and OPI Serving up Sparkle.  It was just a personal preference to add on tips.

Instruction
  1. Apply base coat
  2. Apply one coat of OPI Pearl of Wisdom over the whole nail.
  3. Apply OPI Serving up Sparkle over the whole nail. (One coat is enough )
  4. Apply OPI DS Radiance on the very tip of the nail 
    1. Only apply a very very thin line.  The previous 2 coats hide the nail line well, and it won't be visible.
    2. Only make sure the line is even.
  5.  Apply the top coat

    and you are done!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Tested an idea from another blog

I came across the blog OPI Last Friday oops, I did it again.  It looked very tempting to me, so I went out and grabbed all the colors.

Unfortunately, it didn't come out as expected.  I will have attempt again sometimes in the future (most likely with different colors) to see how it can be improved.  In any case, this is what it looks like, how I did it, and some struggles/challenges.



Tip: OPI Ogre the Top Blue
Layer: OPI Last Friday Night
Glitter top: OPT Serving up Sparkles

Instructions & Tips


1.      Apply base coat
2.      Myth => The original instruction said to use a navy blue for tip base and then use OPI Ogre the Top Blue as another layer of tip base.
Challenge
=>  OPI Ogre the Top Blue is a very solid color.
-- It's very hard to get it painted on very thin over navy blue and still maintain the oval shape
-- For short nails, there's not enough space to work the layers
Verdict =>
-- Skip the navy blue base. 
-- Paint OPI Ogre the Top Blue as French manicure (as light as possible, but still maintain the shape) on the tip
3.      Paint a natural color (OPI Passion is used here ) over the entire nail
Tip =>  If you want the blue to blend in more, put more natural color on it, but definitely no more than 2 coats.  The nail polish would be too thick.
4.      Myth => Put OPI Last Friday a little above last tip line, use 2 coats
Challenge =>
-- If instruction is taken literally, it’s not possible to blend the color in – it’s too light. 
-- If looking the picture carefully, two layers are one above another.
Verdict =>
-- Paint one coat OPI Last Friday up to ½ or 1/3 of the nail from end of the tip
-- Paint the second coat slightly below and to the end of the tip
-- Dab the third coat lightly on the French manicure line
5.      Apply OPI Serving up Sparkle over the whole nail
6.      Apply top coat and dri-drip – the coat is very thick, and the dri-drip will need to be applied the second time after 10 minutes.


Another classic color for french manicure

This was done on 09/27/2012.  



Tip:  OPI Purple with a purpose

Base:  OPI passion (optional but it was applied in this picture)
Glitter:  OPI Serving up Sparkle

Instruction and tips

  1. If you don't know how to apply french manicure,  you may reference to my other entry on Classic Color with a twist.
  2. Apply base coat
  3. Apply OPI purple with a purpose at the tip.  This purple is very shiny and beautiful.  When looking at it alone, it takes away all the attention of the nail and gives a very clean look.
  4. (Optional) Now,  you may apply OPI passion over area above the tip.  Once you apply it, it would make purple less shiny and looks slightly warmer.
  5. (Optional) Apply OPI Serving up Sparkle over area above the tip.  I like it to slightly even out the attention on the nails, and it doesn't take away the clean look like OPI passion does.
  6. Apply the top coat and it's done.