Day 17 of Crumpets 31 DC - New Tech

I have no love for this day.  More dental work, more pain, fighting kids, husband laid off, a computer that is being slower than molasses (which fits my mani) and an untried technique.  Normally I am so happy to do my nails.  Not today.  Today I just wanted to stay in bed all day.  It is warmer there....and quiet....with no expectations.  Plus I had to remove Day 15, what I think is the best mani I have ever done.  I had to say goodbye to this lovely look.

BOO HOO

So I left my nails till late with a technique that requires patience - spun sugar.  Basically you place some polish in a palette or a plate and let it "dry" and thicken until it causes those polish "threads" that you usually try to avoid with thickened polish.  You have to keep checking it, because to early and it just blobs.  Too late, it won't "thread".  I think of it like candy making, getting things to the softball/hardball/crack stages.  Once it is thick enough, dip with an orange stick or dotting tool, "place" the polish in one spot and "pull" the threads across your nail.  I really like how it looks when it is done right, like the one done by Katherine of Manicure Addict, found HERE.  Texture is my thing, and these are all about texture.

I wasn't sure what colors I wanted to use, until I realized this would be a great time to swatch a couple of Indies I got shortly after Christmas.  Be patient and I will show you what I came up with, but first I want to show you these awesome indies!  Let's start with Contrary Polish Hay Ride.

Without Flash

With Flash

This is the first Contrary Polish I have owned.  It was purchased from my favorite indie purveyor, LLAROWE.  I have a couple more coming soon, though!  The thing I like about Contrary Polish is that, unlike a lot of indies,  it's not all about glitter bombs.  Carrie produces well pigmented polishes filled with micro glitters/shimmers.  I gravitate towards these types of polishes and sooo many of hers are on my wishlist (although that list has recently been reduced :)  Hayride is from her Limited Edition Fall 2012 collection and is currently still available at LLAROWE.  It is a lovely pale tan color with gold shimmer and bronze and brown micro glitter.  So lovely and complements my skin tone perfectly.  This is one coat on my ring finger and two on all the others, without top coat.  I should have top coated, as the shimmer/glitter really pop with a good topcoat.  Click on the pictures for a closer look!

The next indie is Glitzology Sherwood Forest, obtained from Stacy's Etsy store HERE.  Now Stacy knows how to do a glitter bomb!  I got four of her beauties during a sale she had recently.  I hope to show you the others soon, but Sherwood Forest was my favorite!  I am showing it on my swatch stick because I forgot to photo it alone without the "sugar strings.

I can't remember if this is one generous coat or two thin ones.  Stacy describes Sherwood Forest this way.  "Sherwood Forest consists of sage green and holo gold glitter, along with sage green bars, emerald green hexes, holo gold squares, and brown hexes."  Now I am not a glitter bomb person, but this is pure perfection in my book!  Perfection of color and size balance.  I love it!  Here is how I used it.

I applied one coat to both my thumb and ring finger.  Although I wore this with an undie, this gorgeous glitter could probably be worn on its own with three careful coats.  Mmmm, imagine it over a delicious yellow gold polish!  Anyways, I'll stop gushing about this and tell you about the rest of it.

With two colors "threaded" and only brown to add.

Using the spun sugar technique, I applied Wet & Wild Poison Ivy, a dark shimmery forest green that ended looking more black when applied this way.  Then I added Sally Hansen Ivy League, a shimmery lime green.  Didn't even realize till just now that these both have Ivy in their names!  Ivy growing in Sherwood Forest....tee hee.  Last, I added Milani Chocolate Sprinkles, another shimmery polish, this time in brown.  The first picture above is without topcoat.  I decided to add topcoat to bring out the beauty of Hay Ride.  Mistake.

Even though I gave the "threads" at least 20 minutes to dry, adding topcoat destroyed all the wonderful "bumpiness" of this mani.  To late I realized that I had read somewhere not to use topcoat with this technique.  If I had it to do it again, I would add topcoat to the base before adding the "threads".  Check the first pic again for a much better representation of the technique.

Now that I am done with this post, I am reminded of why I blog.  I started this grumpy, discouraged and in a bad mood.  (Could you tell?)  Now that I am done, though I am not completely happy with this mani, I am in a much better mood, even smiling as I type!  Thanks for the chance to ramble away my bad mood and thanks if you actually had the courage to read this whole post after the miserable way it began!  Now go check all the other "newbies".