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Electric Mermaid Nails 2 - The Mermainening

Alllll the way back in March I did a glitter mosaic called Electric Mermaid Scales.  It has been my most popular post by a long shot, getting over twice the pageviews as my next most popular post.  It's been posted - uncredited, mind you - to Pinterest, tumblr, instagram, Buzzfeed and too many other places to count.  A cropped version got 16,083 reblogs on tumblr, ffs.  It's not the lack of accreditation that bothers me but instead how much better I am at photography and doing my nails I am now.  To celebrate getting a more sparkly new light, I present to you Electric Mermaid Scales, Take 2.

To start, I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Co-Bolt Blue.  If I'm doing a full coverage glitter mosaic I like to try and match the base colour as closely as I can so if you have gaps near the cuticles or tips it's not that noticeable.  Starting with my thumb, I added a stroke of top coat - I'm using Essie Everyday Top Coat, but you can use anything that isn't quick drying - then did a line of glitter down the centre of my nail.  Adding more top coat as needed, I then built out each side.  I like to get all the way to the tips of my nails so I stick the glitter on even if it goes over the edge.  Once it's dry but before the final top coat, I trim off the excess.  Once you're done, add a couple coats of Seche Vite.  You want it to be nice and smooth.  






Before....

After!

The Verdict:  Of course I love this - I love all my glitter mosaics.  This was so sparkly and I think I finally managed to capture some of that with my new light.  Glitter <3 forevazzz
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Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 26, 2012 at 11:22 AM

    This is gorgeous! I am a new follower of your blog and the things you do with glitter are amazing. I've got a few pots of these things sitting around, maybe I need to try this with them. I'll be sure to link you in my post when I do. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LauraNovember 26, 2012 at 11:23 AM

      Doooo eeettttt :D:D:D:D:D

      I love that this is my blog and I can comment as much nonsense as I like :DD:D:D:D:D:D::D:D

      Delete
  2. Essie RaeNovember 26, 2012 at 11:24 AM

    Awesome! What kind of light do you have now?

    ReplyDelete
  3. HLNovember 26, 2012 at 11:26 AM

    Now THIS is what I'm talking about! I love it. You are extremely talented and patient.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LizNovember 26, 2012 at 12:45 PM

    So amazing! I really love this. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownNovember 26, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    So pretty, I wish I had these when I did my Mermaid mani!

    ReplyDelete
  6. LauraNovember 26, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    Mermainening is officially my new favorite word.

    The redo is awesome, even better than the first time!

    ReplyDelete
  7. mhouston1861November 26, 2012 at 4:48 PM

    Take two is even better than the first one! I stumbled on your blog way back in March with that original mermaid mani. Love all the things you do with glitter!

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 27, 2012 at 8:37 AM

    This is great! It was really cool to compare it to the older post, too. The glitter is so freaking awesome :) I just bought more glitter because of you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jamie @ Polish, Please!November 27, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    I am blown away!! This is just amazing, I totally want to try it! It looks like it takes a LOT of patience! :) Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownNovember 27, 2012 at 7:05 PM

    Wow, it looks amazing, I love it! I don't know if I would have the patience to do that...

    ReplyDelete
  11. monroe79December 4, 2012 at 7:42 PM

    I love this so much....unfortunately....I started on my thumb (at my cuticle and going horizontally) and I got about halfway up(after about 30 minutes and alot of frustration trying to get the glitter to fit snugly next to the previous one). I was using top coat and a tiny dotting tool, btw. Then it occurred to me....how on Earth will I be able to do this with my non-dominant hand?? So i quit right there. How do you get yours to line up so nicely?

    ReplyDelete
  12. monroe79December 4, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    I love this so much....unfortunately....I started on my thumb (at my cuticle and going horizontally) and I got about halfway up(after about 30 minutes and alot of frustration trying to get the glitter to fit snugly next to the previous one). I was using top coat and a tiny dotting tool, btw. Then it occurred to me....how on Earth will I be able to do this with my non-dominant hand?? So i quit right there. How do you get yours to line up so nicely?

    ReplyDelete

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