NAIL ART: Texture Play

I am really excited about the swathe of new, matte nail polishes that the big companies are putting out this autumn! I think my love for matte started with a nail polish from Savina - "Marine Life". When I was cruising the nail polish blogs this morning, and came across some really exciting designs on All Lacquered Up.

I just HAD to try it. And it looks very exciting if you have the patience and the right tools. "Marine Life" dries to a sumptuous satiny finish, so I decided not to spoil it by putting more colour on, so I instead dotted the thick, quick-dry top coat Sally Hansen Mega Shine on. Don't be tempted to dot more than once in the same place though, folks, it makes air bubbles in the quick dry formula of the top coat.. You can see this in some of the dots. Oh, and FYI - you can't Konad with Seche Vite top coat... :-/

For my black design I used 2 coats of Rimmel 60sec "Blackout" and then a coat of Nailtek II Foundation on top. This kind of matte base coat is just as effective in mattifying any polish as any of the snazzy new matte top coats from Orly, Nubar or Zoya coming out this year. Then I used Nail Art Striper in black for a simple diagonal pattern. Isn't that sooo futuristic looking?? :)

Matte is the new shiny. Oh my, it's going to be an exciting autumn again! :)