Clarins 230 over Black

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Around noon today I began what I thought would be the relatively simple project of evening out my nails and switching the soak off gel, but it ended up being quite a project to remove the old.  Were I not exhausted from the arduous task of removal I'd tell you all about it, but since I am I'll leave pertinent facts out, making it best to let that wait until another day.

I ended up losing lots of length in order to reshape, so I figured I'd go with a good shorter-nail choice, black creme.  I picked black because I like how a lot of polishes look layered over it, but I don't like the application with nail polish.  I always end up digging the brush for my layering color into the black base near the cuticle on at least one nail, and that ends up leaving me with bald spots.  This way, I can get all the layering colors out of my system without that being an issue.

After finishing the gel, I added three coats of Clarins 230 to it, then a coat of Poshe.  The sun's out and I got a couple of pictures I like, one that clearly shows the main color well and another that shows the variety of colors well.  My application of the black is imperfect, and my cuticles took a heck of a beating with the removal of the pink glitter, so please forgive those parts and just have a look at the pretty colors.

Clarins 230 over Black, Main Color

Clarins 230 over Black, Three Coats, All Colors

Clarins 230 is such a pretty polish, and I don't think I've worn it over black in a few years.  I like it.

So for another week, I have the fun task of picking out come good layering colors to wear over this one.  I have tomorrow's in mind already, so until it's time to show you that one, I wish love and nail polish to you!

Clarins 230 & Just A Little Dangerous

Happy New Year, Dear Reader!

I thought I'd start off the new year with a fun manicure, so I figured I'd go with Clarins 230.  Since I'm not entirely wild about it on its own, I layered it over Sephora by OPI Just A Little Dangerous, a deep royal purple shimmer.  I used two coats of the SOPI, then two of Clarins 230.  Since I knew it would be a lot of layers of polish, I waited about two minutes between coats to allow each to set a bit before applying the next, and after one coat of 230, I tested a second coat on one nail to be sure it actually made a difference.  It did, so I used the second coat.

I took the pictures outside, where it's daylight bright but cloudy, so the light isn't glaring.  I took several pictures, but I would have liked to have gotten more to show more colors in Clarins 230.  Unfortunately, it's really dang cold out, so I lasted as long as I could before my hands started to get pink.  Of the pictures I took, I think this is the most representative of how this mani looks in regular light.

Clarins 230 Nail Polish, Two Coats over SOPI Just A Little Dangerous

So that's my first manicure of 2011, which ain't a bad start.  I hope your 2011 is off to a fantastic beginning, and until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  


Edited to Add:

Hello again, Dear Reader!

I don't normally edit a post to add to it, but in this case, I am.  I was out and about running errands, one of which required my camera, when the sun came out and I was able to get a decent picture of Clarins 230 in the sun.  It's dangerous to drive with this manicure - check out the color variation from thumb to pinky.  That's a result of the angle of the sun, which makes it hard to not play with this one in the light.

Clarins 230 Nail Polish over Just a Little Dangerous in Sunlight

I just wanted to add the sunlight picture since I had a chance to get it.  This time, I'm really done for the day!