Recently I added two new Shimmers to my collection: Cassandra and Wendy. I'll be showing you Wendy in this post. Wendy is described by Shimmer as a purple copper melange. There are lots of other colors in there too, in sizes ranging from micro to small-medium. Wendy has been a lemming of mine from the day I first saw it. It's a fabulous festive mix that my eyes cannot get enough of.
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy, bottle shot |
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| *squeal* look at those colors! look at them! |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy, macro shot in the bottle |
The manicure possibilities for Shimmer polishes are unlimited. You can layer them with any creme or jelly polish that strikes your fancy. You can create gradients and nail art of all kinds with them. There have been some a-maz-ing manicures created with these polishes and shared online to the endless delight of enthusiasts all over the world. Cindy has collected many of these looks on her website. Just go down the list and click on any polish to see them.
One of the Wendy manicures in particular that happily lodged itself in my visual memory was created by The TraceFace Philes and featured on her blog in September 2012. You can see that post here. Of all the Shimmer looks I've seen, this is one of my very favorites. It makes my eyes SO HAPPY! I have dreamed of trying to re-create it and now that I've finally got my mitts on Wendy I had to give it a go.
This look is called a reverse glitter gradient. Basically, a glitter gradient is a layering combo of glitter over base color with the glitter application tapering off from the free edge of the nail. A reverse glitter gradient is a layering combo with the glitter application tapering off from the cuticle edge or base of the nail. I've attempted various glitter gradients in the past with results ranging from downright discouraging to iffy to needs improvement. But some very helpful videos on YouTube, especially one from Lucy's Stash, have helped tremendously to bolster my confidence.
I began with my basecoat duo and selected Citrine by Sinful Colors as my base color. Citrine is a nicely-saturated bright orange crelly with strong red overtones, a very juicy sassy color. It has a translucency to it that requires at least two coats of polish for opacity and that's what I did, although if I were going to wear this polish as a full manicure I think I would be happiest with three coats. Citrine dries quickly to a glossy finish, which I added to by applying a coat of Seche Vite on top of it.
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine showing excellent match to bottle color at two coats |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| LOVE! |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
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| Sinful Colors Citrine |
To create a gradient with Shimmer Wendy, I used Lucy's technique of wiping the brush at the neck of the bottle until it had only the smallest amount of glitter on it. I carefully dabbed it in tiny strokes along the cuticle line and then lightly dragged the nearly dry brush toward the free edge of the nail after three or so dabs. Dab, dab, dab and drag. Dip brush, wipe dry. Dab, dab, dab and drag. I repeated this on each nail until I achieved the coverage and look I was happy with. Not a quick process but it works really well hooray!
After I'd done all ten nails I applied a thick coat of Seche Vite to smooth and protect the glitter. However, as you will see in the photos, clean up was an epic fail. Removing the glitters from Wendy that had gotten on my cuticles and the skin around my nails was SO HARD TO DO. I apologize for the presence of so many errant glitters. Please try to ignore them.
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine, reverse glitter gradient |
After I took those photos I was itching to see how this manicure would look with a matte topcoat. You know how I love a matte glitter! I used one coat of Essie Matte About You, which brought out a lovely tangeriney glow in Citrine. By this time it was completely dark outside so I took my pics under the halogens in the kitchen. I tried to weed out any blurry photos...
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| LOVE! |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| EXTREME CLOSE UP WHOA! |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
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| Shimmer Polish Wendy over Sinful Colors Citrine with matte topcoat |
How about that? I am pleasantly surprised by how happily this turned out. It's by far the best I've done with a glitter gradient and I can't wait to try it again over a different color base, maybe a dark blue or a metallic. One thing's for sure, I want more more MORE Shimmer Polishes! Cindy is a genius with the glitter mix and I must have more of her awesome creations! If I were made of money I would buy all of them this minute, no lie. They are that awesome.
love,
Aunt Liz
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