Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Berserker Mani and welcome to the world of blogging!

After a quick introduction - hello, I'm Taylor and I'm very excited to be starting my own nail blog! - I'd like to jump right into it and get started. 

As an outlet for my creativity and free time, I'm hoping for this blog to be about eighty percent nail art and twenty percent swatching and reviewing. Before I show you the fruits of my labor with this first mani, I'd like to give a quick review of the major colors used. 


Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue and Lightening.
For four dollars at Walmart, I wasn't expecting too much, but I really love the formula for these polishes. They're both really pigmented and it actually took one coat to get them opaque. The yellow was a little streaky, but if you use a heavy coat, it isn't a problem. I actually recommend using one coat, because the way the brush is shaped caused cuticle drag. While I loved the formula, the brush left much to be desired.


As you can see, the wand of the brush is thick and flat. This makes it impossible to get any excess paint off by running it across the rim, as you would a cylindrical wand. You'd have to wipe the brush completely clean and work with what was on the wand if you wanted to apply the polish smoothly. Even after that, I still managed to flood my cuticles. 

In the end, the awesome formula and the bad brush sort of cancel each other out. It's not enough to deter me from using the product, but I may seek out another cap for the bottle. 
That being said, the colors were perfect for a mani that I've had in mind for a long time. 

As I was reading over recent issues of Wolverine & The X-Men, inspiration just jumped out and sort of clawed me in the face. (clawed? like Wolverine? ....no? ok) I promptly ran to my computer, looked up Wolvie's iconic yellow costume, and drew out this design. 

Here is the finished product.

For this manicure I used Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Brisk Blue and Lightening (pictured above), OPI DS Radiance (silver), and a nameless L.A. Colors black.

If anyone told you I was over-ambitious... well, they'd be right. I wasn't expecting a simple taped/free-handed color blocking manicure would be so hard or take so long. I spent hours working on this last night. But the more you put into it, the more you get out, yeah? I really do love it. 

I appreciate you checking out my blog! Check back for more possibly-nerd-inspired manicures.  





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