Holographic Pigment Powder

Holographic powder isn't exactly new. Spectacular? Yes. New? Not really. SpectraFlair has been a popular polish additive for years. the difference now is how its used. The holo of old was added to existing polish to give it a holo sheen but balancing the ratio could be difficult. Too little and you see no effect. Too much and you end up with grey sludge. The new powders in holo, chrome, and multi chrome that have recently exploded into popularity are buffed into the nail after it is polished. The coverage is surprisingly complete and I believe it uses significantly less of the precious powders.

One of the first pigments available in brick and mortar stores. I got this at Sally's Beauty Supply a few years ago. (yeah this review has been sitting in my queue for years.) SuperNail came out with Chrome, Rose Gold and Holographic. Of course I had to go with Holo. It was also a great time to use my Seche Vite UV lamp I got on clearance years before but never had polish to go with it. Pigment powders work best with a UV/LED No Wipe Top Coat.

Its really very easy to use. Just paint with the top coat, cure it under a light, use the eyeshadow applicator to pick up just the tiniest bit of powder, and buff it into your cured polish. That's it. All there is to it.

Literally this is all the powder you need for one nail.

This is Layla holo nail polish (with a little stamping for flair). I've yet to find a regular top coat that doesn't "eat" the holo effect so this is not top coated and wears away at the tip.

More Layla polish with no topcoat. Ring was with Black Holo, others with regular Holo.

Holo powder buffed into the nail with another coat of No Wipe on top of it so that it shines too! Index and ring have a coat of black under the top coat, the others are naked.  I'm in love with powders and now have a large collection of tiny pots of powder.

How To Make Stamper Decals

Yesterday I mentioned Stamper Decals. Decals are images printed on some other substance that are then applied to the nails. There are all kinds of images you can buy online and in the stores, but here is a way to make some at home using your stamping plates. Using this technique you can color in the stamped images before applying them to your nails.

 Check out how after the jump.

Nail Polish Lexicon ~ Crackle Polish

OPI "Gold Shatter", Avon Mosaic Effects in Black, Sally Hansen "Distressed Denim" and "Cherry Smash",
L.A. Girls Cracked in White, China Glaze "Haute Metal", "Cracked Medallion" and "Oxidized Aqua".

I love crackle polish. Yeah, I know, the fad is pretty much over, but that doesn't change the fact that I still like it. Last year it was all over the place and each brand was coming out with different colors all the time, but now? You can find it on clearance some places, but I can't think of any brand that carries one in its everyday line. I could be wrong tho. Any way, what is a crackle polish? A Crackle polish is special effect topcoat that when it dries cracks, allowing you to see any color polish you put on before it. Confused? Ok, well here is a close up of a finished nail with crackle on it.

I painted this nail with 2 coats of Orly "Liquid Vinyl" and let it dry. That's important. You have to let it dry or the crackle will mix with the under coat and either not crack right or the base coat will crack with the crackle and you won't see it below. The crackle I used with this nail is OPI "Gold Shatter". There is something about the glittery crackles that I adore, but don't freak out, they go on pretty sheer but as they dry and crack the color gets stronger. The solid colors are good in black and white, but the colored ones you have to be careful about what color you pair with it. Like this one...

This is Mystery Polish "Hot Rod" with Sally Hansen "Cherry Smash" Crackle coat over it. I thought it would make a neat Christmas polish, all green and red, but the dark green made the red look muddy and gross. So from now on I'll only use this red over lighter colors.

One other note on crackles, when they get old they get chunky and thick. I'm not sure how well nail polish thinner works on them or if it affects the crackle, but I don't think it hurts it much. When my white gets a bit thicker I'll give it a shot and let you guys know if it hurts it. Hmm, I didn't start out with the intention of making this a Lexicon post but it kinda turned into one :)

Nail Polish Lexicon ~ Franken Polish

A Franken Polish, like Frankenstein's Monster, is a polish made up from other polishes. A drop of this and a drop of that to make a whole new creation. I have just started making up my own starting with a hideous topcoat that has been sitting around in my stash for years. It became thick and yellow and I was NEVER gonna use it. I probably should have thrown it away, but now I'm glad I didn't. A couple drops of thinner, some color from other polishes, and a pinch of glitter and I have my first Franken.

Here I really wanted a St. Patrick's polish, a nice Emerald or Kelly green with gold hex glitter floating in it like gold coins. While I'm proud of it it does have a major issue that I still need to research. The glitter falls to the bottom fast and needs to be shaken constantly to get it on the brush. I've heard that to add glitter to polish you need a suspension liquid to add to the polish so the glitter stays spread out, but I don't have any and don't know what could work in its place. Here is a close up of the jelly like green.

And of course I can't stop at one Franken Polish!

Now, how exactly do we make a Franken? Find out more after the jump!

Top It Off

Seche Vite. Almost empty, I'm gonna have to get a new bottle soon :)

One thing that helped my nail art immensely was top coat. Sounds a bit silly, but when I first started I used either a very poor top coat or more usually, none at all. Right now my favorite is Seche Vite. You can find it at supermarkets and beauty supply stores both. I get mine at Wal-mart and Sally's Beauty Supply. There are many brands of top coat that is good for nail art, but as I have the most experience with this one I'll talk mostly of Seche Vite.

Pros and Cons after the jump...