Not So Pretty Things...

Good morning!!  I got a couple things accomplished last night, a wearable manicure not being one of them.  I'll start here. 

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Bubblegum.  Sometimes you see things on other bloggers and they're so great that, even if they're not your style at all, you run out like a lemming and suddenly you've got a polish you really don't know what to do with.  Here's what I thought looked so awesome.  I have neither the cute little Dollish Polish topper nor the patience to acquire it, and after one horribly misguided attempt back in March to recreate it in some fashion (and a really mean comment on pinterest) I just wasn't sure I'd ever use it again.  

But you know how it is, you can't just throw something out, at least not until you've swatched it properly, so here it is.  Mission accomplished.  And I don't feel too bad about tossing it, because it had clearly leaked a little before it left the grocery store, and by last night it was a thick, gloppy mess.  Not a bad color, though; however, I won't be repurchasing.  

Anyway, I still thought it needed some jazzing up, so I thought I'd try my hand at some little black and white flowers. 

  I asked C what he thought and he said they looked like little flies.  :( :( :(   Bless his heart for being honest.  Um, freehand art is NOT as easy as the gals who do the tutorials make it out to be.  I tried to help it out with a shimmery topcoat (below.)

So, I took all that off (and two coats of that Bubblegum Pink was thiiiick) and did something else I've been meaning to do, which was swatching White Diamond over black and white.  We've all heard and seen the transformative powers of a black base (thank you Leisel for calling it to my attention) but I was curious how a shimmery, light duochrome would play out over white.  I also decided I'd actually wear this manicure, regardless of how it turned out.

I lied.  DO NOT make your middle finger the accent finger.  EVER. 

As far as the colors themselves, White Diamond looks pretty cool over black.  The duochrome went from pink and yellow on its own to purple and green.  The effect over white reminded me of classic pearls yellowed by time; really hard to see in the pictures and perceptible in real life as a yellowish, slightly dingy pearlescent.

So, a sixth of a bottle of acetone down, and disappointed in my lame attempts but grateful for the learning experiences, I'm going to wear Butter London Snog again for a couple days, because it makes me happy.  

Thanks for reading! :)