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Saturday, 9 March 2013

Subtle Springtime Fishtail Manicure

It isn't spring yet. Not quite yet. But the week of the 18th, it'll warm up a bit! And then we'll enter Slush Season, which is the precursor to Spring! (I will admit, I am not fond of spring. I'm fond of early summer. Spring is more of an exercise in mud, defrosted dog poo, dead lawns, half-decomposed leaves, garbage everywhere, and potholes that can blow your tires.)

That aside, I thought a muted appreciation of the soon-to-be change in season was in order.

Na naaaaah!


For this manicure, I used the fishtail manicure technique, as devised (or at least perfected) by Sarah at Chalkboard Nails. I love this look on square or squoval nails; the combination of straight and curved lines is very aesthetically appealing. It's also pretty straightforward to do-- check out her video tutorial-- so, a laid-back manicure with visual punch!

I started with a base of Jacqueline, which is a polish that is a strange mix of thick and streaky. BUT it's also gorgeous, and worth the effort. I might thin it for next time; in general, though, leaving time between coats should avoid cuticle drag. I then painted on two coats of The Way I Am, which is stunning and I think I'll need to buy the full size of it (I only have the mini right now). After that, I painted on two coats of Hellebore, which is perfect for this use because it's very glitter-dense, so it gives major impact without having to goop it on. I chose to pair these two greens because they're fraternal twins! The Way I Am is the introvert and Hellebore is the extravert; both are greens with fuschia accents. (It's hard to see the pinkish sparks in Hellebore from my photos, but trust me, they're there). I then topped it with Glitter Food to smooth out the layers, then topcoat, and done!

And now, because I took a butt-load of photos, I will leave you with all of them! Think of new spring grass and itty bitty wildflowers. :)

























And I leave you with this cell phone picture; I found that the reduced quality / slight blurriness helped to better show the sparkle smorgasbord that is Hellebore.




I think I'm going to try a Real Life Floral next! Lucy's Stash has me all fired up about it (though I am nowhere near her skill level, holy moly). We'll see!

Polishes used:
Zoya - Jacqueline
Contrary Polish - The Way I Am
Cirque - Hellebore
Nail Pattern Boldness - Glitter Food
New York Color - Grand Central Station (top coat)


J.

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