Hello ladies,
I did promise a special Coraline treat this weekend...I had some assistance from a couple ladies. One is wee and fuzzy. Cassandra and I met this afternoon for brunch, shopping and Konad play. It seems Miss Popple, a peachy rat, wanted to join our reverie.
Miss Popple loved helping us display our Konad manicures. She made little purring sounds of joy and kept one curious eye on the camera at all times. In the second picture, Miss Popple did a little grooming to join with the pampered theme of the day.
The mouse stamp is from Coraline Kit A, plate C05. On my nails, I used Konad special polish in dark orange over Sephora by OPI Run with It. Cassandra is wearing OPI Maine-iac Mauve with stamping in white special polish. I found the design a little challenging to work with, primarily for positioning. For shorter nails, I would encourage letting the curve of the tail drop off the nail on a couple fingers. The entire mouse wouldn't fit on her pinky, so I set it similarly on the index finger for balance. The mice could be stamped at various levels to look like they are performing in Mr. Bobo's Remarkable Mouse Circus from the Coraline story. I think it's a fun design to encourage adventure with asymmetry. Shh! Let's not tell Miss Popple we had mice (and not rats) on our nails. I think there is enough artistic ambiguity in the embellishment to go beyond question.
Sephora by OPI Run With It has been lost with my untried colors since last fall! It's interesting. There's gold shimmer mixed with the grey so it reads like flashy putty on the nail. I feel like the amber rhinestones added some zest. I prefer this grey to the creme formulas that look like plastic encased wires. I think olive toned skin would do well with this grey since the gold shimmer would highlight the complexion. It's neutral enough for my fair skin too.
I love the SOPI formula. It's opaque in two coats and smoothes on the nail effortlessly. It was a very clear comparison painting Cassandra's nails a little after mine. Regular OPI needs three coats to fill in sheerer areas remaining after two. I really wish the SOPI formula will eventually be of influence to improve pigmentation in standard OPI colors. I was surprised how pretty Maine-iac Mauve appeared on the nail. The gold shimmer was very much on display. I was pleased to see that the shimmer translated from the bottle to the finished manicure.
I had such a fun afternoon with many thanks to Cassandra and Miss Popple. The only being made cranky by the experience was my cat Fortune, who smelled me with supreme irritation. He looked at me like I had enjoyed the best lunch ever and didn't share. He kept sniffing my neck and scowling. Hilarious!
Just a reminder: This is the last week to win Coraline Kit A. The contest ends September 4th. Enter away if you haven't had the chance. The kit would also make an attractive gift for a sister, friend, or niece who loves to do her nails. I will be showing more Coraline manicures through the week.
Happy painting, ladies!