31 Day Challenge: Day 17 Glitter Nails

Hello, my tantalizingly taloned troopers. You're hanging in there with me as my polishing powers persevere through this challenge. And I'm glad you're here today because I had the chance to use something I really love. GLITTER! (Leftover sentiments from pre-school.) I admit, I never grew out of the whole sparkly, colorful, fluffy and pink obsession that little girls have. I'll never disown Barbie, and I refuse to give up my love for sequins and rhinestones (I don't actually wear the sequins, though).

So, for today's glitter nail challenge I didn't hold back. I just went with straight glitter. Oooooh sparkles.

Here's what I used.

Here's what I did.

Since glitter is so hard to remove, I started with two coats of a glue-based base coat. After the base dried, I painted two coats of Cover Girl's Lav-endure polish. I was disappointed with the consistency of this polish, which was streaky and thin. After two coats, there were splotchy streaks that showed some of the nail underneath. I would have needed three or four coats for a perfectly opaque manicure. Even though I have a large selection of Cover Girl polishes, I tend to avoid using them unless I need a specific color, or I'm using it as a base of sorts. In this case, the lavender was only a base for the glitters.

Once the lavender was completely dry, I sponged on two purple Orly polishes - the lighter color at the cuticle, building to the darker one at the tips. I sponged on two layers and topped it off with a clear quick dry top coat to smooth out, protect and prepare the glitter underneath for the next few layers

I could have stopped there for a lavender/raspberry graduated glitter manicure, but I found that layering another gradient over it added a 3D depth to the finished design. This time I used a teal glitter and a purple/teal mix, both by SinfulColors. Again I sponged on two layers and finished with a clear quick dry top coat.

Are you as obsessed with glitter as I am or do you use it sparingly?
Ciao for now.