It's So Fluffy!

Happy Thursday, y'all! I recently invested in a UV nail lamp and some gel polishes because I have a horrible habit of chipping my nail polish while I'm at work. This means I'm not going to be changing my polish as often (it was a serious challenge choosing shades I thought I could wear for over a week without getting bored!) so I've created a huge backlog of mani photos to share with you! I spent a few days creating different designs and playing with some wonderful polishes so that I'll have a decent arsenal while I'm all gelled up XD. Having said that, it means I have an abundance of choice in what to post - for a Libran who can't make decisions to save her life, this is a tricky task for me! For today I've chosen to share a completely different kind of mani - my first 'flocking powder' experience! It's definitely a novelty having fuzzy nails... I loved it!

Click on through for the details =)

I purchased a pottle each of black and purple "Flocking Velvet Powder" from Born Pretty Store a while back and only just got around to experimenting. These can be bought individually by colour for US$5.80, or in a pack of 12 shades for US$17. If you buy them individually you get a bigger pot, I'm pretty sure? Anywho, because I wasn't sure how it was gonna go I just bought a couple. This is definitely a 'special occasion' kind of a thing - I couldn't imagine wearing these to work or for more than a couple of days.

Not knowing how opaque the coverage was going to be, I matched my base colour to the purple powder, thinking it would help hide any bald spots. I applied one coat of OPI Vant To Bite My Neck and let it dry, and got my pot o' powder ready. I probably should've googled how to apply the powder first, but through trial and error I discovered what works for me. For my index finger I applied a second coat of Vant To Bite My Neck and immediate placed my nail onto the surface of the powder. I mushed it down pretty hard, then brushed off the excess with a fan nail art brush. This resulted in dragging most of the powder and some of the polish off and leaving clumps of sticky polished-powder all over my workspace. Not so great. I took a deep breath, regrouped, and tried again. For my middle finger (and the rest) I applied a second thick-ish coat of the base polish, then gently shook the powder over the nail (with the cap underneath my finger to catch the excess). Much better! I gave it a moment to dry and brushed off the excess with the fan brush. Success!

Because the powder only stuck to the wet polish, the brush got pretty much all of the surrounding powder off and back into the pottle. I used my usual cleanup brush and some acetone to clean up around the cuticles. Careful with this though, because the powder absorbs the acetone and it will change colour if it soaks up too much! When I was all done, I loved the effect! I couldn't stop touching them, they were so soft and fuzzy!

When I originally posted these on Instagram, I had a few questions about the effect wearing off / what happens when you wash your hands etc. I washed my hands a few times in the short time I had this mani on, and I didn't notice any major changes. The powder darkens up while it's wet and then lightens back to its original shade as it dries. I only used a very thin coat of this powder so I suspect it could be a different matter for thicker applications. I'll have to experiment sometime... Again, because of the thin layer I didn't notice the effect wearing off, but if you wore it for 3+ days I would imagine the effect would dull, especially if you're like me and can't stop playing with it! 

Another side-effect I noticed while wearing these was that they trap EVERYTHING. All dust, all fur, all hair... it's like a little debris-magnet! For someone who lives with 6 cats, this was a big downside. If you live in a spotless apartment with no kiddies and no furbabies, you'd be fine but for me it just isn't practical, so I'm saving this one for special occasions. 

Sorry this has been such a rant-y post! I promise more photos : less rambling next time ;-). Thanks for stopping in! Almost the weekend - woohoo!