Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Nail Art Wednesday: Flakie Rainbow Nails

I'm generally a fan of the minimalist aesthetic and I'd like to think that translates into my nail art designs. Today's is particularly minimalist and easy to do. See, I've been wanting to play a bit with my Fingerpaints Special Effects flakie top coats but I haven't found a way to wear them all together (without resorting to skittle nails) until I had a eureka moment and thought to do it this way. The beauty of this particular design is how you can do this by freehand without using any special tools or brushes other than those that already come with the nail polishes themselves. Indeed, the only hard part was having to take it all off when a color change was finally in order!

Not exactly the ROYGBIV kind, but close enough, I'd say.

What I Used:
Black base: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blackout
"Blue" flakies: Fingerpaints Motley (alternatively: Nails Inc Old Vic)
"Green" flakies: Fingerpaints Flecked
"Red" flakies: Fingerpaints Flashy (alternatively: Essie Shine of the Times, Nubar 2010, Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure)
*** I used quotes as it doesn't exactly denote the colors (except as shown in certain angles) as they shift continuously.

How I Did It:


This is such an easy way to jazz up an older mani, especially if it's darker colored to make the different colors of flakies really pop. I do have to mention that of the three flakie top coats I used here, Motley was the hardest to make most opaque, followed by Flashy, with Flecked being the most flakie dense. Because of this, you might end up with way thicker than usual coats so dry time will need a whole lot of patience with this. If you can find alternative flakie top coats that are more dense in terms of flakies per mL, you might want to opt for those. I've found that the Essie Luxe Effects flakies (Shine of the Times, As Gold As It Gets) are a whole lot more dense so you might want to recreate this with those two instead.

 Love how the blue almost transitions into the green!

 See how the "red" zone here looks more orange and partly yellow?

 Flash doesn't play well with flakies. *sad face*

 Hammie says: Flakie rainbows look amazing!

I added a matte to coat to see if it would look better matte or not. The jury's still out.

Yay for the long weekend (that's not too far off)! Did you snag any of the Fingerpaints Special Effects nail polishes? How do you feel about the flakie trend: over it or can't have enough? Other than the Fingerpaints polishes, which are your favorite flakie top coats?

29 comments:

  1. I love this! And I love how you explained it the tut is fabulous :D

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  2. Me gusta!!!
    This is a very cool manicure, I love the flakies rainbow.

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  3. This is a fab idea Carmela! I am still totally coveting Twisted by FP, alas I don;t think I'll ever own it!! I have Flashy(?) I think ! Need to check. But I think I may have totry something likt this, I have Nubar 2010/ :-)

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  4. That is so different and neat!

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  5. Thanks, Jo! :) I'm so glad you think so! Sometimes, coming up with the graphics for the how-tos take longer than doing the actual design. ;)

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  6. Thanks, Stephanie! I'll probably try it with other flakie top coats, too. :) It's a fun way to wear a whole bunch of them at the same time!

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  7. Thanks, Esther! I don't want to spill any details but you *might* still have a chance to snag a bottle of Twisted for yourself. ;)

    Nubar 2010 will definitely work with this. Actually, any other flakie top coats like those from Nails Inc or Nfu Oh should look amazing too!

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  8. Thanks, Lindsey! I'm so happy you think so! :)

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  9. Hello Carmela, I have Asylum & Motley! had a check & already with the Nubar, it's typical the one I am coveting is the hardest to find! Mind you I dont live in the US! HAve DM'd you on Twitter. :-)

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  10. What an amazing idea! I never even thought to do that!!! I'm going to use this idea-if you don't mind!

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  11. Thanks, Fingers! Oh, wow, I would totally take that as a huge compliment - of course I wouldn't mind at all! :D So excited to see your take on these (please do send me a link when you do it)!

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  12. But you live in the land of Barry M, Catrice and Max Factor Fantasy Fire. That's not such a bad trade off, I'd say! ;) I had to pester the Sally Beauty ladies at my local store to make sure I got my hands on the set. Good thing they were super duper helpful! Got it and sent you one back. :)

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  13. Holy crow!
    Bloghopping and I landed here...got to say that is one awesome mani XD

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  14. This is such a great idea! Really awesome :)

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  15. I love how these multiple flakies look great together!!

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  16. How great that you wore them all at once in such an effective and fairly easy (no tape required) way!
    The finished look is GREAT!

    I don't think I'll ever be over the Flakie trend! I love how they can change a polish from mueh to wow! ;)

    Gorgeous look!

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  17. Love this! Great idea, and the effect is making me drool. :P~~~~

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  18. Welcome to Polished Indulgence from me and Hammie! So happy you could drop by. :D

    *blushes* Thanks, Rasilla!

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  19. Thanks, Frosso! I got the idea when I saw a black mani with flakie tips and figured it would probably work this way, too. Glad you like it! :D

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  20. Thanks, Jessica! I originally wanted to do 5 colors but Essie As Gold As It Gets and Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Aisle Be There didn't have the same size of flakies to make it look consistent. Will you be trying your hand at this sort of nail art? :)

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  21. Thanks, Mary! I was so pleased it came out so well. :D (You know how half the time, the design only works in our heads, lol!)

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  22. This is so awesome!!! Such a great idea! I really like flakies, but there are times when I need to take a break from them. The only FP flaky I have is Motley. I also have Essie Shine of the Times and just got Cult Nails Seduction.

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  23. Oh yes, no tape required is the absolute best part! I don't have much patience for tape manis so this was perfect seeing as even if the flakies bled into each other, it actually enhances the gradient look instead of detracting from it. :D Win win!

    Thanks, Marta! I adore them myself so being able to wear a bunch of them all at the same time is like icing on the cake. :D

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  24. Thanks, Marisa! Motley, Shine of the Times and Seduction (I was telling myself I didn't need it but seeing your swatches have convinced me otherwise!) would look just as good together, I think. :D Oh, I know exactly what you mean about taking a break from them sometimes. I do enjoy how they easily jazz up an older mani without the hassle of removal like with glitter. :)

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