Ev's Birthday #2 - Birthday Manicure, LA Splash, China Glaze, Konad

So... here's my birthday manicure! I love me some bling, so I made sure there was plenty! ;)

[Birthday manicure 2012!]

Some gradient, some holo, some glitter, plus stamping!

[Bottle to nail: Revlon Metallic (1 coat)]

I started with a base of Revlon Metallic, a dense silver foil. This was just one coat. It dries a bit rough, but like the name says, is extremely metallic. I just used this to hide any gaps in the glitter I was going to put over it.

[Gradient: China Glaze Medallion (base) to LA Splash Sparkling Torpedo (tips)]

I then added two coats of LA Splash Sparkling Torpedo, a chunky silver holographic glitter (Jme has a nice swatch here). I didn't take a picture of Sparkling Torpedo on its own though... These photos here are after I applied a one coat gradient of China Glaze in Medallion, from base to about halfway up, thinning it out as I went. Medallion is a combination of several different sizes of gold holographic glitter.

[Gradient: China Glaze Medallion (base) to LA Splash Sparkling Torpedo (tips)]

Holographics are so hard to take photos of! I tried my best though. The gradient effect is pretty subtle, but still noticeably there. =) 

[Gradient: China Glaze Medallion (base) to LA Splash Sparkling Torpedo (tips)
Stamping: Konad Special Polish in Black Pearl]

I then used Konad Special Polish in Black Pearl and stamped the swirly pattern on plate m63. My pictures are pretty crap unfortunately, but I was going for a contrast between the stark black and the OTT holo bling. It looks better in person, I think!

[Discarded stamp test!]

Aaaand... a "blooper" pic where I tested the houndstooth pattern first, then decided I didn't like it... On second look, it doesn't look too bad! =p The cool thing is, topcoating before stamping means you can wipe off the stamp pretty easily without messing up your base colours!

[Cupcake of Awesomeness]

Randomly, a cupcake I received from A! It was super delicious, thank you!!! That peanut butter cream icing was soooooo naughtyyyy~!

As I write this, it is 12 minutes to my birthday... which means... Jme, can I open my presents sooon?? =D