Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Franken #1 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

So I have to admit it, I’m a bit of a do-it-yourself-er. I love the idea of making something useful wth my own little hands, and that feeling is fueled by my occasional bouts with attempting to build a savings account. Whether it’s making my own scarf (worked well) to making my own screen prints (let’s not talk about that), I get these urges to take on bizarre tasks from time to time.

Hence, my desire to franken.

Let me first say that I absolutely respect the production of nail polishes in all price ranges and I realize that every brand is entitled to place a price point on their product just like we are all entitled to decide whether or not we are comfortable with paying that amount. In an effort to take part in Full Disclosure, the most I have ever paid for a polish is $12.50 + tax for the gorgeous shimmeryness of OPI’s Mad As A Hatter… and it was worth it. Every penny. Every purplesilvergreengoldshiny penny. I can honestly say that I think that IS the top price I am willing to pay, though… I think. We can only ever speculate, right?

That being said, I recently saw the jelly glitter magic that has been released for the Fall 2010 collection by Deborah Lippman, and I was transfixed. “I might pay $18” quickly became “I might be able to make something LIKE that” which immediately drove me to my kitchen with several bottles of half-full polish, a fistful of glitter and a paper plate to discourage future embarrassment in case we have guests and I don’t want to explain blue stains on my table. Here’s what I used: Essie’s Midnight Cami (1/4 bottle), Wet N Wild Clear (1/2 bottle), a teaspoon of silver glitter, a teaspoon of light blue glitter and a teaspoon of larger blue/black Nail Art glitter from Ulta. My inspiration and my franken are far from copies, but I think you can see my inspiration!

Here she is. Please be nice.



Franken #1 - Lamp Light






Franken #2 - Sun


The Good: The color, I believe, is a lovely navy with a touch of turquoise, and has a nice jelly-ness to it. The glitter is also incredibly evident and is really vibrant in the sun.

The Bad: I wish the colors of the glitter were a little more visible; some gold might be nice as well.

The Ugly: The glitters contained in this polish would like to do everything in their power to NOT be part of the polish. If left alone for more than ten minutes, all of the glitter sinks to the bottom of the bottle and a violent shaking is needed to force it back into suspension. Easy it is not, but a good tricep workout is a nice benefit.

So… thoughts everyone? Should I hang up my frankening plate for good or keep on plugging?

Happy day, all!