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Rainbow Hand-placed Glitter with American Apparel Galaxy

I've been having quite a lot of fun lately playing with placing glitter on my nails by hand.  I've tried three different kinds of loose glitter, all to great effect.  Given that my order for more glitter hasn't come off ebay yet, I thought I'd try to harvest some of the larger glitter from a new American Apparel, Galaxy, as it has a full rainbow of glitter, in nice uniform sizes.  

First up, Galaxy is a glitter bomb with every different coloured glitter in a clear base.  I thought I might make a good candiate for a very glittery rainbow mani.  Having done it, I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with the result.  I think my dissatisfaction might stem from the fact that the glitter's curved.  It means the final product isn't completely uniform and looks a little messy.  I think I might have to try this again with a flat rainbow glitter like OPI Rainbow Connection or Nicole by OPI Rainbow in the S'Kylie.  All these photos use Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue from the Justin Bieber collection (damn you for being on sale!!!)

Anyway, I created this look by emptying out a blob of polish onto my plastic polish tray and picked out the glitter piece by piece using an orange stick.  When the polish dried out too much I added a little acetone to the mix.  If I were to do this again, I'd use more acetone and try to remove more of the clear polish.  I felt a little too much stuck to the glitter, contributing to the un-even result. 








The Verdict:  I really like doing these manis.  I can kinda zone out and and become a glitter placing machiiiine.  While this is a really nice glitter - I love a polish that just has the one size of glitter - I think the curved pieces just lead this to look a little untidy.  Live and learn.
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Comments

  1. PixelMarch 5, 2012 at 9:02 AM

    I think this mani is so awesome. I cannot imagine your patience! Also, acetone can ruin the finish on some nail polishes. You can get polish thinner for a few dollars at Sally or any other beauty supply store.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TiaMarch 5, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    I second what Stargirl said! If you use Seche Vite, just pick up some Seche Restore. You can use it in the Vite and also use it to thin other polishes!

    Also... OMG I'm envious of your patience! I hardly have the patience to do stamping, let alone PLACE that much glitter! It looks sooo amazing though! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AshleighMarch 5, 2012 at 6:04 PM

    I still think this came out awesome. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 23, 2012 at 9:57 PM

    holy moly this must have taken SO LONG! Well done looks absolutely amazing!

    I have a giveaway on my blog if you would like to enter it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. LeelaMay 14, 2012 at 6:32 AM

    nice!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. NailNarcoticsJuly 19, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    That's crazy! How do you have enough paitience to do that. Looks amazing I wouldn't even attempt to try though. I'd go completly batty by the time I was done just one nail

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousOctober 1, 2012 at 12:53 PM

    You're a glitter beast. I bow at your feet. Also, this mani is freaking gorgeous and amazing.

    ReplyDelete

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