Glitter Mix-Up {My DIY Glitter Polish Story}

"Fairy Dust" ~ Purple glitter combination

Indie polishes are proliferating in the market today.  There is a big parade of brands and quite a number of creative and sparkly designs to choose from.  One particular kind of indie polish that catches my attention is the bright, colorful and innovative glitter concoction.  Numerous glitter combinations are available today - all sorts of shapes, colors and designs... some heavy with glitter, some light and fine.  All of them really beautiful!  ~~~ And oh, quite pricey too :(

You've probably wished to make your own brand as well, at one time or another.  I sure do.  Polish-chemistry, not being at arms reach, doesn't have to hinder creativity.  I'm speaking about combining your favorite glitter mixes and then using an already available light glitter polish as base.  I know, it cheats the process a little, but it's a start, right?  At least to give a good kick-start until you are ready to experiment mixing your own chemicals from scratch. 

Using an ordinary topcoat is not recommended as the polish is not able to support the weight of the glitter, thus unable to suspend it.  In other words, the glitters will settle into the bottom of the bottle and in a few days time, might render your concoction useless.  Too bad... So starting with a bottle that already suspends glitter is a good idea. 

Here I mixed purple glitters and poured it into a half-way done glitter polish using a cone shaped paper.  Then, using a thin barbeque stick, stirred them all gently.

A big con I find with heavy glitter polish {I mean, not just indie or DIY polish, all heavy glitter polishes} is: the glitters doesn't quite cling to the brush.  Often, I had to use a stick to fish out the larger glitter pieces to place them properly on the nail.  I'm thinking, leaving the glitter mix dry, on it's own, is better than mixing it with the polish afterall.  Therefore, it can be spread to the nails as you wish and easily picked up with stick and placed on the nail.  This is of no concern, of course, if the glitter size is small and uniform.

I have to admit, I do not own any Indie Polish brand yet (except Julep :) So, I welcome your reaction and experience in using heavy glitter polishes :)  Please leave a comment below...

Thank you pretty ladies!  Enjoy and have a great day!
~*Maya*~

Attempting to be a Seamstress and NOTD :)

Today, I attempted to match my Outfit of the Day (OOTD) with my Nails of the Day (NOTD)...  It wasn't that long ago that I learned what these letters meant... Ha ha, bit behind huh?

Here is my simple yet lovely mani.  It's called "Orchid Splash" from Avon.  It's one of the cheaper polishes out there but I do like the quality of these very much.  It has good opacity.  I used two coats of Orchid Splash on this particular mani, although sometimes one coat is enough.  Depending on how rough I am with my fingers, this polish can be pretty durable too :) 

Isn't this pastel purple just lovely?  It can really brighten a gloomy, rainy day if you ask me.  I also got kind complements on my quartz floral ring that I also got from Avon. :)

I opted for a simple mani this time.  My floral dress is already a very busy floral, whew... so I thought a simple swatch of polish would be enough... would actually be pretty.  Agree? (or not? :-))  

This dress is one of my early sewing projects.  When I saw the fabric at the store, I instantly fell in love with it.  I used several dress patterns and kind-of mixed-and-matched them to achieve this dress.  I wanted to put a lining to it but the pink fabric was a lot cheaper than a good quality lining.  Just as well, it actually added some character to it. 

Maybe one day, I would be able to do a nail art design just like this one... I think it is just so pretty... Well, if you already designed one, please do share it with me on Instagram or Facebook (links on the blog heading :)

During the day, I accompanied a friend to visit a lady whom she thought came from the same country as me.  She was right... I was rewarded with a new friend and some yummy food...  This is a popular Filipino appetizer (or an afternoon snack).  The thin ones are made of meat ("lumpiang shanghai") and the thicker ones are made of vegetables (spring rolls - "lumpia").

I hope you enjoyed my blog of the day... I know it's not all polish related... How about you, what other things do you like to do {besides nail art}?  Please share below...  I surely want to know them.  I'll be looking forward to your comments :)

Have a great day!

Ciao Bellas!
~*Maya*~

DIY Glitter Polish (For some winter pick-me-up.)

I've fallen in a little bit of a rut this winter, unfortunately, and I didn't care about polish and fancy manicures very much.  That's bad because I totally am in love with pretty, well polished nails.  

I loooove my wood-fireplace more this winter I guess, specially cause it also had an upgrade :) Reading and writing some letters beside it's warmth is quite comforting.  Then I look at my dry cuticles and charcoaled finger nails... oh, doesn't that make me feel sad :(  Something needs to be done, fast!



I forced myself to some creativity mode and made a DIY glitter polish.  Using some glitters from the dollar store, an old eye-shadow and a top coat, i concocted a perfect hue of pretty-in-pink glitter polish.  Here goes...

Pink glitter, who could be sad now, huh? :D

 

What do you think?

It did the trick... I felt a sense of pretty-fulfillment later on and a lot of cheer... hee hee... It's also quite noteworthy that since this manicure is loaded with glitter, it also cleaved to my nails quite well, lasting for a week without chips! Talking about durability :)

A generous amount of top-coat is needed to soften the roughness of the glitter.  But not necessary if you like that texture.  I prefer the smooth side, that's why...

The only thing about not having the right kind of polish base is, all the glitter settles into one part of the polish.  I fear that all the glitter there will end up drying and become unusable.  I read that a 'suspension lacquer base" is the way to go if taking the DIY glitter polish seriously.  But for a seldom kick of creativity, it's a very good deal.  It made me feel like a scientist trying to do a science experiment, it was a nice way to lighten up the day.

~*~

I am thinking: Another alternative could be - mixing the suitable glitters into a tiny bowl and dipping your fingers into the dry mixture after applying a generous top-coat.  That, instead of mixing the glitters directly into the top-coat. 

This will create a few bowls of dry glitter mixtures  rather than sedimented bottles of nail polish :(
I'm gonna try this next time ;)