Lacquer Lundi

I thought I'd do something a bit more interesting this week and show you a some "skittles" nails. A skittles manicure is one in which each nail is painted a different colour. It's a fun way to show off several polishes all at once. The look can range from wild and wacky to subtle and sophisticated.

Now on to the pretties:

China Glaze - Strawberry Fields, Watermelon Rind, Raspberry Festival, Grape Juice, Orange Marmalade
- purchased from Sally Beauty Supply for $ 3.99 CDN each

The polishes listed above are in order from thumb to pinky. I wanted a fun manicure that screamed summer and this multi-coloured set of "skittles" certainly fits the bill!

All these polishes are from the China Glaze Summer Days collection for Summer 2009. Each of the six polishes in this collection has a gorgeous jelly base packed with glass flecks. The polishes are luminescent and sparkly and astoundingly pretty - I truly can't say enough good things about them. I have already shown you full manicures of two of the colours in this collection - Cherry Pie (which I didn't reuse in this manicure) and Orange Marmalade (which I did reuse on my pinky). Now that I have seen all the polishes on my nails, Watermelon Rind (green) is my hands down favourite, with Grape Juice and Orange Maramalade very close behind.

Each polish slid on smoothly and application was a breeze. Two coats was actually enough to cover each nail, but I went for three coats to ensure opacity and depth of colour.

The first picture is indoors and the second is in direct sunlight.



Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics - Dark Chocolate, Dark Nut Brown, Chocolate Candy Brown, Cappuccino, Frosted Cafe
- purchased from Shoppers (a chain drug store) for $ 4.49 CDN each

The polishes listed above are in order from darkest to lightest, which goes from thumb to pinky. I wanted a chic, understated version of the skittle manicure. To the casual observer it appears to be a regular manicure, but upon closer inspection, it is more involved and interesting. I got many compliments on this look - from both colleagues and students, so I guess this manicure appealed to both young and old.

These polishes applied nicely and were opaque and streak-free with two coats. They dried in a reasonable amount of time (however, be aware that I use a quick dry top coat that always speeds things along). These polishes wore reasonably well over the two days I had them on - no chips, but some tip wear.