Hello ladies,
I have another Coraline manicure, this time showing the kitty from plate C01 stamped in black Konad special polish. Little in this world brings me more glee than kitties. It seemed a fitting way to usher in the day. Just a reminder, today brings the last chance to enter the contest to win Coraline Kit A. I am a night owl so I'll close the contest when I go to sleep around 2 a.m. EST (in the wee hours of Saturday, September 5th). The base color for the design is Sally Hansen HD Blu, an exquisite, yet unrepentantly fussy diva.
I have a prop for you, borrowed from the store. This cat and mouse took a walk with me to the canal and did a bit of posing. The statue is actually an incense burner! The base of the stick of incense is to be placed in the top of the pointed hat. For those who enjoy owl ring visitations, the flight pattern in discernible in profile.
Sally Hansen HD Blu is an incredible shade. It glows like underwater creatures. I am surprised the bottle doesn't come with tentacles in lieu of a brush. The tiny blue shimmer particles make the color appear slightly more like a sky blue in sunlight. In more moderate light, it edges towards a brightly reflective royal blue. How I wish I had taken some shade photos! I added a couple pictures where my nails shadow the bottle with stripes. That will hint at the tonality.
Warned of Blu's sheer formula, I began with one coat of Zoya Get Even over CND Stickey. I still needed three coats of Blu for full coverage. Two coats over a base left visible bare patches! It wasn't my quest for opacity that prompted the third coat. Less than three coats would have resulted in an unfinished manicure.
The glowing blue shimmer elevated the level of difficulty with visible brushstrokes. It wasn't quite as challenging as applying a frost formula, but vigilance was required to make clean, even strokes of color.
I sighed after I added my CND Air Dry topcoat. I should have emoted differently as Blu then refused to dry with any manners. It was like the child who impertinently refuses to go to bed. Out of love, I will beseech you not to stamp over this polish. It will seem dry and then the motion of the stamper will gather the polish into a wrinkly heap and the entire coating of the nail will begin anew. If you decide you must add kitties, I understand the sentiment. I would advise waiting an hour after finishing with a quality quick dry topcoat before stamping. Really.
A polish blessing: May all your applications be simple. Happy painting, ladies!