The Pulchritudinous Julep Cleopatra

There is snow on the ground here in Minnesota, so it's official, winter is here.  How did that happen?  It seems to have snuck up on me this year.  October flew by and Christmas will be here before I know it.  I have so much to do today, but all I really want to do is snuggle up in my big bed entombed in blankets and sleep the afternoon away.  But, you, my lovely readers, come first and then....maybe....a little nap.  Hell, vacuuming can wait!

Today's prompt for the CNT 33DC is "Pattern in your wardrobe".  I knew what I wanted to do, and then my Oct Julep Maven box came with the pulchritudinous Cleopatra tucked inside.  Yeah baby, look that word up!  Urban Dictionary says, "When someone uses this word a shooting star falls from the sky, a phoenix is reborn and an unicorn mates."  Needless to say, plans changed, as they so often do.

This simple little lovely was inspired by a top that I love to wear.  Not only is it comfortable, but also flattering and I always get complements when I wear it.

Yes, when I swatched Julep Cleopatra, I immediately wanted to use it for a challenge mani, so I looked through the prompts and decided what it would work best for.

Occasionally I run across a polish that actually makes me have certain feels when I wear it.  Cleopatra is one of those.  Somehow I am more bold and self-assured with her.  Here she is in her unadulterated glory.  This is three coats of Julep Cleopatra, although two would have been plenty, I just wanted that smooth rubbery finish to stand out.  Isn't she beautiful?  I never would have guessed that I would be so head over tips in love with such a simple polish.  No depth, no shimmer, no complications, just a striking rubber looking finish.  I felt like I was wearing latex on my tips.  I suppose she speaks to my inner dominatrix.

Here is the drawback to Cleopatra, she is a fickle mistress.  This is three days wear.  Her rubbery finish has started to shine and deteriorate.  You can even see some cracking where my rocky mountain nail ridge is on my middle finger.  If I were one of those people who wears a polish as long as possible, this would be a drawback, but luckily I am not :).  I think the wear on this is partly because of a lack of top coat and you can see that this is not chipping, just "erosion".  I am really rough on my nail tips since I type all day and often use them to do things I shouldn't, like pushing phone numbers.  I think if you wanted to wear this longer, another thin coat half way through the week would cover all sins, like a good dominatrix should, and extend your wear a few more days.  I love her anyways and feel she is worth the extra care.  Alright, enough crushin, lets get on to the art.

 I really love the combo of white and brown in this pattern, so I double stamped with Konad White, Milani Teddy Bear and Konad M5 (my very first stamping plate, by the way).  I had to experiment on my polish pebbles to find a brown that would show up well on the black without the help of a top coat.  I wish I could have found one that leaned a bit more yellow, but I still think it turned out pretty good.

  









 Here is an idea of the full pattern on the fabric.  What do you think?  Do you like Cleopatra?  Is she worth the short wear time?  Let me know your feels :)

As always, thanks for looking, pinning and commenting!
Tina