Sorry for the delay, this combo was several days in the making! I did my fingernails on Monday, and then my toenails over the span of a few days. It was a continuous work in progress…My vision was to wear Essie’s ‘Meet Me at Sunset’ as my mani, and then use OPI’s ‘Merry Midnight’ on my toes – but because it’s sheer, I wanted to layer it over a coat of MMAS so there would be an orange tint. I wasn’t loving the effect, so I used L’Oreal’s new orange sparkler ‘Coral Starfish’ as my base (which required two coats – three for sure if you were wearing it alone – not a fan) and then put three coats of ‘Merry Midnight’ over top. That sounds crazy because that’s FIVE coats of polish, but ‘Starfish’ was soo super sheer, and MM is pretty sheer too, and I wanted the depth. Sigh.
After all that, I still wasn’t entirely satisfied, so I used for the first time Sally Hansen’s ‘Hidden Treasure’ flakie polish, which I miraculously managed to grab in a swap ages ago (I just wanted it because it was HTF, but truth be told I’m not sold on it’s awesome-ness yet). One coat of this over all that other polish, and BAM! I got exactly what I wanted. The beautiful flakie colors of ‘Merry Midnight’, with extra depth because of ‘Starfish,’ plus some more flakies from SH – which also lightened the polish somewhat to make it more Summer-friendly. Wooo! It was quite the experiment, I tell you.
So…now for the unveiling (beware – mega pic-heavy!):
*Note that I used two coats of MMAS here, but you could get away with a third – I can see a slight smile line on the nail in person. All pictures were taken in natural lighting (yeah, its sunny in Halifax today!)
Overall, I’m really liking the combo, even with all the trials and tribulations. The darker shade isn’t normally what I’d go for in Summer, and using the bright shade on fingers rather than toes, in particular, is very unlike me. I wanted to break out of my normal routine. And get away from wearing blues! I love them dearly, but I was getting predictable!
What do you think of THIS combo? Something you would wear, or shy away from? What’s your own go-to combo??
#1 by Eugenia on June 22, 2011 - 11:22 pm
I really like this combo! I even love doing dark toes in Summer as I find it to be so different & unexpected. Both these shades really compliment your skintone and I want to also add that you did a fabulous job on your mani….really clean & sharp! You’re right; the flakies really did add that certain something extra! Love this look!
#2 by Latoya on June 26, 2011 - 9:04 pm
@ Eugenia: Thanks so much! For all the kind words
The pedi was really out of character for me – using the darker color in the Summer season, plus the flakies, but I’m glad I tried it out. Gotta break out of the comfort zone sometimes and keep things interesting!
@ Loodie: I hope one day you stumble upon this polish like I did – it’s really something special and it would look fantastic on you!!
@ Liz: Normally I’d do exactly that, wear the bright on my toes and another shade on fingers, but I wanted to switch it up for once. It’s not my favorite look, but it was nice to admire my mani from time to time, and it’s more noticeable when worn on fingers rather than feet
I think the Essie shade would look great with your skintone, maybe you’ll find it in a random Shoppers somewhere!
#3 by Loodie on June 23, 2011 - 6:29 pm
I am totally drooling over Merry Midnight *sigh … the one that got away!
#4 by Liz (Beauty Reductionista) on June 23, 2011 - 11:04 pm
I would totally wear this combo! Though perhaps in reverse with the purple on the hands and orange on the feet.
I meant to pick up this particular Essie shade but it was sold out so quickly while I was dilly-dallying over it. Damn my stupid reductionista ways! Bah! lol