Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[Skunk12puzzola]

@Titian06 I was thinking the same 😂💚 matchy matchy.

[Saradestin]

Green is my color @Skunk12puzzola 💚💚😁

[RGbrown]

@Saradestin 

Such a pretty shade of green, and of course, holo is always a welcome addition! 💚✨

[Saradestin]

Thank you @RGbrown ! It is simple but so beautiful! 💚💚

[ather]

@Saradestin  The green and the sparkles are the best!!!

[Saradestin]

It looks very reflective @ather, but the picture can not capture it. It is really beautiful!

[WinglessOne]

Went for reds 3 days ago: 

Indirect overcast daylight through a window to show some of BMR's pink flakes.

Thumb: Zoya Sooki (1 coat) topped with Night Owl Lacquer The Blood Moon Rises (1 coat). Sooki is a newer red for me; it’s not the one I normally wear under Blood Moon Rises. But I like how Sooki tweaks BMR to a slightly cooler toned red: 

Spoiler

Index: ILNP Eclipse (2 coats). I've already talked a lot about this old favorite. 🙂 

Middle: ILNP Eclipse (1 coat) topped with Night Owl Lacquer The Blood Moon Rises (1 coat). I used just 1 coat of Eclipse to see how a much subtler base color shift would look. A single coat of both polishes wasn't enough to get full coverage: there were a couple of bare patches that are noticeable in the photo up in that spoiler tag. I definitely prefer 2 coats of Eclipse beneath BMR. 

Ring: Cupcake Polish Keratoconus Awareness (3 coats). Reds seemed like a good excuse to wear this shade again. I love its gold-red-berry-purple shift. There’s also some green shimmer that becomes very apparent when this shade’s used as a topper. 

Pinky: Night Owl Lacquer The Blood Moon Rises (3 coats). Someone wanted to see how this shade looks on its own, so… tada! 

After 2 days of staring at my ring fingers, I decided I needed Cupcake's Keratoconus Awareness on my other 8 nails. Rather than strip those nails bare and start over, I topped ‘em off with that shade and a layer of top coat: 

Trying to remember how many coats of Keratoconus Awareness I applied to each nail (except my ring finger, which I didn’t mess with this time)… I think it’s 1 coat on index and middle nails, and 2 coats on my thumb and pinky nails.

On my pinky, I intentionally put a wide stripe down the center without covering the sides to get a skinny border of Blood Moon Rises. The green shimmer in Keratoconus Awareness comes across strongly on my index and middle nails, since those have Eclipse as a base. And now that I've seen Eclipse + KA, I'll definitely use that combo several times in the future. 

Really though, Eclipse is one of of my favorite polishes to use as a base color because it gives other polishes a beautiful black color shift—and a red shift, depending on the top color. Did I ever mention how much I love duo/multichromes? When I have a lackluster but buildable polish, my usual first thought is "let's throw it over Eclipse and see if that saves it!" 🖤❤️ I need a blue multichrome equivalent of Eclipse to use as base for cool toned polishes when I don't want red to interfere. I have plenty of blues but not one as deep-colorshifty as Eclipse. And I think I just made up an excuse to shop for more nail polish. 🤦‍♀️ 

[makeitup305]

Those are some really cool shades @WinglessOne 

[Cissy63]

@WinglessOne  What a wonderful color ❤️❤️. All the original and the enhancements!! 

[WinglessOne]

Thank you @Cissy63 ! 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

Oooohhhhhh, pretty 😍 I've talked myself out of Eclipse already, but dang if it isn't a fantastic base color here, especially under KA! Hmmmmm, food for thought for a future cart 🤔 😂

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  And see, if the topper has gold shimmer, it doesn't matter that Eclipse has a fiery amber/copper shift. Not to further feed that thought but, I'm just sayin'. 😈 

[RGbrown]

@WinglessOne 

Ha, I actually prefer amber/copper over gold, but gold is so much more prevalent than the others that I've had to learn to get over my dislike of it and build up a tolerance (because even if a polish has some gold, the rest of the elements can be gorgeous and make it worth it). At the end of the day though, in my head they're all just sparkly *browns*, and brown is a hard one for me to like in any circumstances. Any of the multis with a bronze or gold or copper shift just don't quite float my boat. I have collected a few anyways, and they're never my favorite.

I also think though that part of my resistance to Eclipse is actually the black. I don't mind a black polish every now and again, but it's not a shade I reach for often, and having that red bookended with both black *and* brown (eh, probably closer to orange here, but that doesn't really help in this case, even though I like orange more than brown) is what gives me pause. Even though some toppers look spectacular over a black base, I have to be in just the right mood to enjoy a black mani.

If they could run it backwards through the rainbow, black to red to purple, I'd be all in in a heartbeat, but in its current state, with two shifts I'm necessarily not fond of, I'm still iffy on it. The idea of using it as a base with toppers has definitely moved it from "nah" to "hmmm, maybe" though...perhaps I'll find it more enjoyable than a basic black cream, but I've got plenty of time between now and the BF sale to figure that out 😅

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne I think a lot of us have that one polish that can "save" almost anything 🙂

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  Yep, probably. 😂 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Definitely like eclipse as well!! And I like how you didn’t strip the other nails. How are they lasting? Did adding more make them more prone to chip?

[WinglessOne]

@ather  So far, I've had no chips. I didn't even have any chips before I covered those 8 nails with KA, and the original mani's now 4-5 days old. And I even used a different base coat on a couple nails than my newly-usual Butter Horse Power base coat: I found my old bottle of Londontown Kur ridge filler and put it on my thumbs because they'd both peeled at one corner. (My thumb nails are always problematic.) Ridge filler hides the thinned nail section on both nails. Hopefully I'll get at least another day or 2 out of this mani. By then, my new LynB polishes might be here and I'll be ready to remove everything and play with new stuff. 

Before I add polish atop an existing mani, I always wipe those nails with an alcohol pad/wipe or a cotton swab soaked in alcohol, just to remove any oils, hand cream, etc. from the nail surface. I'm surprised the Glisten & Glow top coat doesn't throw a fit when I do that, since hand sanitizers (eh, the ones I use) beat up that top coat. But as long as I don't add more than 2 coats of any polish atop an existing mani, and use just 1 coat of additional top coat, everything holds up fine. Especially if I remember to re-cap my nail tips. 

[ather]

@WinglessOne  Wow that’s amazing!! I’ve buffed the top coat off a little or scratched it a bit than added another coat but never directly on top. I’ll have to try that!! 

[WinglessOne]

@ather  Yeah, you should be able to add another coat of top coat or polish directly over existing top coat. As long as you make sure there’s no oil or other substance the way. A friend of mine uses white vinegar instead of rubbing alcohol, which I guess would also work. I like alcohol because it doesn’t leave my nails wet. 

[Saradestin]

Wow those are beautiful @WinglessOne! I love how you changed the look of your many so easily by applying the topper. Both versions look amazing! 😍😍😍 I have Eclipse and it is definitely one of my favorite polishes. Keratoconus Awareness looks spectacular!! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Saradestin ! Of the Cupcakes I own, KA is one of my faves. I remember your Eclipse photos. 🙂 It's such a great shade, especially for "not your basic red mani" looks.