The medium length was necessary as my natural nails have grown out nicely during the summer as usual (much as I try to protect them from the dry air and harsh weather in the winter, I continually fall short, which leads to short nails). The curve at the sides left something to be desired compared to how I shaped my natural nails but I don't think it was noticeable to anyone but me (well, and now, all of you, since I've pointed it out and posted a closeup).
The above pics are in the artificial light in my dining room the night I applied them. The next morning I got the following couple shots in natural light to show the different faces of the iridescent finish (like the ones the night before, they also show the tenacious end of a splinter I wasn't able to dig out of my palm):
That iridescent coating didn't live up to the "stays perfect for entire wear" line on the box—or maybe they just didn't anticipate how long I'd wear them—because by day five, a lot of it had worn off, revealing the plain grey underneath. (My index looks less worn below because I popped off and lost that one and had to replace it a few days in. Usually I notice when they come off and just reattach but in the whirl of getting ready for my trip that didn't happen.)
To distract from the wear, I added accent nails with a glitter topper I found just across the border into Canada when I was driving to Toronto to IEC from Detroit (I flew in there because it was cheaper and made logistics easier at the end of my trip). Quo by Orly What's the Big Teal has turqoise glitter in a clear base, both small hexes and larger triangles. I actually did this in my car, completely stopped for a construction delay on the 401 somewhere in the wilds of Ontario. I was so happy to find such an interesting glitter at a drugstore; I hope to play with it more soon.
My intention was to take off the fakes and do a regular manicure for IEC, but when I swatched the polishes I intended to use over the fakes, they looked good enough I decided to just go with it. Yes, I did have to get the glitter off the accent nails I'd done, but that proved to be not too difficult, especially since I wasn't worried about ruining the finish. I ended up using three polishes for my IEC look; top to bottom, RK by Kiss Holographic Fairy Wing, Fairy Wing topped with Morgan Taylor Bedazzle Me, Fair Maiden Violet Eyes topped with Bedazzle Me, and Violet Eyes alone.
I know, going to an indie polish event, I probably should have worn more indies, but I hadn't brought very many with me (what with wanting to save weight on the way there to have more allowance to bring new bottles back) and the holo and the glitter I'd bought on my drive just went so well with the Fair Maiden (an IEC purchase from a previous year) I had to use them. The holo in particular delighted me ... only $3.99 at a wig store and has rainbows just as flame-y as much more expensive ones in my collection.
On my way out of IEC on the Sunday, loaded down with shopping bags, I popped a nail off somewhere between getting on the elevator from the event space and getting into my rental car. Excellent timing. I couldn't find it (not that I looked very hard), so right there in the car, I just put on another iridescent one from the box I'd been carrying with me all weekend. It coordinated pretty well considering I hadn't planned to do this.
I wore these one more day after IEC, at which point, I needed to get them off so I could swatch a few of the polishes that came back with me from the event.
It's a long holiday weekend, and I have family visiting for the big festival that closes out the summer season here (dubbed "Mountain Drunk Fest" by a friend of ours ... I'm glad we're walking distance from the fun), but once that wraps, I hope to get through my IEC pics and what swatches I've done so far and do a post (or two?) on that next week.
Lovely toppers! Nails alone are cute too :-D
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