Alternative to Full Coverage Rainbow Glitter Mosaic

Let me start off by saying thanks to everyone for being so supportive - in general but also for my crazy glitter mosaic I did on Saturday.  I didn't get a single "Ain't nobody got time for that" gif!  I understand that not everyone has time for quite that intense a glitter mani so I thought I'd put something together that uses the same glitter, but takes significantly less time to do.  I managed to get the whole thing, from base coat to top coat - ON BOTH HANDS (OMG) - done in under an hour.  Let's take a look, shall we?

I've done a mani like this before but I wanted to use the same mix of matte and metallic glitters I used in my last post.  To start, I did the usual base coat and two coats of colour, using Essie Protein Base Coat and Rimmel Black Satin respectively.  Then, using my usual technique, I just painted a stripe of my cheapest top coat and, starting on the left, laid down a row of rainbow glitter.  If you look carefully, you'll see that your hexagons will rarely be perfect but will be elongated, ever so slightly.  If you line up the longer sides together, they'll sit nicer.  Finish off with a coat or two of a top coat like Seche Vite and you're good to go.

 

The Verdict: I got this finished in under an hour which is marginally more reasonable than taking most of a weekend day.  And now you get rainbow laser nails!  The trick, of course, is finding the right glitter but you can do this style with just about any colour or size glitter, as long as it's lined up properly.  This glitter I bought from Impulse Co on Etsy but I'm sure that any pre-mixed little pots of glitter you find on Etsy will do. Yay glitter!

The Other Hand: THE SAME, BAM, DONE.

You Know What This Glitter Polish Needs? MOAR GLITTER

Since I've been busy doing my nails for Revlon (I love saying that, even if it is just for their Tumblr), I haven't been able to do as much glitter stuff as I'd have liked as they didn't send me any!  I'm just going to have to make up for it now by taking an already very sparkly polish, Floss Gloss Stun, and add mega sparkly glitter allllllll over it.  IT'S SERIOUSLY SO SPARKLY.  LoveNailz does the best glitter.  

I had a little trouble finding the right base for Stun as I didn't want to have to do too many coats to get it opaque.  I tried a few polishes but Revlon Gold Coin ended up being the best.  When working with a glitter polish, sparkly foil polishes make good underwear as they're opaque but still sparkly.  Once done with two coats of Gold Coin, it was on to two coats of Stun then glitter on the top using my usual technique.  As usual, I laid a column down the middle of my nail then built out each side.  This is pretty quick - under an hour - if you concentrate!  SO SPARKLY.

The Verdict:  I just....love glitter so very very much.  So much I'm posting both videos I took today because just SO SPARKLY ow my brain :( :DDD :(

Yeah, I caved and now do Instagram too.

The V

Urban Outfitters Cherry Tomato with Blue Glitter Dots!

It may sound a bit excessive but I don't feel totally set for a day if my nails aren't a bit crazy.  It's mostly because I like the attention.  If I don't have a ton of time, and I don't have a specific polish in mind to try, I'm going to do glitter dots because it's surprisingly fast to do.  What I'm about to show you I got done from base coat to top coat in about 45 minutes.  

This looks complicated but let's break it down a bit.  Start off with a coat of base coat - I'm currently using OPI Nail Envy because I heard good things about it and so far, so good, my nails are holding on with no breaks, which is nice.  Next, three coats of Urban Outfitters Cherry Tomato, my current favourite red.  Look how cool it is.  Such a good red creme.  Now, the glitter.  I got this blue holographic glitter off ebay a while ago and it's still my favourite.  If you search for "holographic glitter" or "glitter hex slice" on ebay, set it to lowest price including shipping and "Buy It Now", you'll find some good stuff for cheap.  I applied a full coat of a slow drying top coat, tipped some glitter into the lid of the container, and went to work with my orange stick.  I found that I could get a full nail done before the topcoat was too dry to be adhesive.  Start with a row down the middle of your nail - make sure these are the ones that are spaced evenly - then build out either side.  Do for all your nails and you're done!  After a top coat.  

The Confession:  I suppose you're wondering what my other hand looks like.  I kinda cheat a bit here, mostly because I'm left handed and my lightbox is set up only for my right hand.  My nails are short on the left hand, and I don't usually do a full glitter thing on them.  In this case, I used the same three coats of Cherry Tomato, then just sprinkled the blue glitter on.  You can't tell from a distance, I swear.  If anyone exclaims over your nails, just show them the good one!  DONE.

The Verdict: I've done this colour and glitter combination before and I did it now because it look really good.  From a distance it could almost be purple but close up it's contrasty and sparkly.  Works for me!

Egyptian Glitter Chevron Nails!

Time again last night for the Reddit monthly meetup so of course I'm going to do super sparkly nails to maximise the amount of attention I can get from the occasion.  I had some gold and black glitter sprinkled on a piece of plastic for some reason, so that was the winner candidate.  And blue too because it was there too.  Let's go look at this, shall we?

In case you can't tell, I'm a bit obsessed with Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet.  I've used it so many times because it's such a great blue.  I started with the usual three coats - it only really needs two but I like a thicker base for the glitter.  Starting with my thumb, I painted a stripe of top coat down the middle of my nail and laid down the first column of glitter, alternating between the three colours.  I then built out either side, using the same technique.  Two coats of Seche Vite and done.  

The Verdict:  This mani was a success last night and that's all I ever really want.  It's sparkly and didn't take that long to do.  I was able to do my right hand from go to whoa and paint my left hand, sprinkling the same glitter over the wet polish, in under an hour and a half.  Totally worth it, in my book.  And sparkly.  

Review: Nails Inc Baker Street with Rainbow Bar Glitter!

Ok so I love blue polish the mostest but never got around to getting Nails Inc Baker Street until Friday.  That's silly of me cos it's the most perfect cobalt blue that my camera doesn't even know what to do with it.  *I* know what to do though!  Bar glitter stripes!  I heard you like stripes so I put stripes in your stripes, etc.  

What I love about this isn't just that it's sparkly, but if you keep the bar glitter away from the edges of your nails, it actually doesn't stick up and catch on things.  I did the usual - two coats of Baker Street - then went to work with very thin layers of top coat.  You have to be careful with this kind of narrow glitter.  It's very easy for it to sink in and not be even.  Add your top coat and you're done.  This didn't even take that long.  I found I could do half a nail in each application of top coat.  Yeah rainbows!

The Verdict: Bar glitter is always one of those things that looks awesome but is a complete pain in the ass other wise.  So yay it wasn't a pain! And is rainbow and sparky!  Woo! Oh and yay Baker Street, totally worth it, even though Urban Outfitters Blue Velvet is close.  Yeah!