This afternoon I'm all about SpaRitual (with a little Konad thrown in for good measure, of course...). I tried a few new products today, and like 'em so far. One that will require time to tell is SpaRitual's Lacquer Lock Colorstay Basecoat - I was really pleased with how it went on and grabbed the polish, so that was good, and it says it can keep polish on for up to two weeks, but since we all know that I can't the real test for any basecoat with me is staining. If it can prevent staining, it's a basecoat for me!
I wanted to give the Colorstay a run for its money, which meant I should use it with either a blue or a true red (my biggest problem colors for stains). Since I just used Surreal, the navy blue, just the other day, I decided to try it with Impression, the red that I loved from the Inspired Collection. I swatched that for you a few weeks ago, but haven't actually worn it yet. This is the red that is second only to my precious Dior Poppy, and it's half the price. It's opaque in three thin coats, which most reds are not - I almost always have issues with VNL with reds, but not Impression, which is one of the reasons I love it. Another is the color itself - it's a really true red, and SpaRitual is my favorite overall brand of polish, especially for its smooth application.
Once I'd applied that, I tried another new-to-me product: SpaRitual's Tout de Suite Quick Dry Top Coat. The only problem with it is that I love it very, very, much and it's pricier than Poshe or Seche Vite (uless it's also sold in a giant bottle like those two are...). Why do I love it, you ask? It dried my nails in about half the time that Poshe does, otherwise the quickest for me, and it shines like Seche Vite does. I was stamping away on three coats of Impression five minutes after applying the top coat. The down side is that it stinks to high heaven for about one minute, but it's worth that to me for it to work so quickly and have a great shine. I'm going to try to save it for when I'm in a big hurry, but waiting for anything is a very weak area for me, so it's more likely that I'll give in and use it up.
Stamping away, I said! That brings us to the Konad... I tried to do white French tips over the red, but either I've lost my Konad skills, my white Konad polish is too thick, or the pattern is just jacked, but I couldn't get a decent impression of it. Granted, I only tried once... Did I mention patience isn't my strong suit? I moved on to another cool tip pattern from plate m56, and decided that I'd use a color I hadn't used much, which is the blue. I topped it with one coat of SV (since I know that won't smear the Konad polish), and after taking pictures, added SpaRitual's Andale Dry & Shine Drops to speed up my dry time, as I have some work to do in a bit. Here's what I ended up with (pre-drops)...
Isn't she pretty? Sort of All-American next to lily white skin... It's not a perfect Konad job - I discovered that placement is challenging with the tip patterns, but I love them and am willing to have a few not-the-bests until I get them down perfectly.
That's all for today, Dear Reader. Love and nail polish to you!
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