This is a manicure I did about 3 weeks ago but never posted it because I wasn’t pleased with how it turned out.
See all the bubbling on my index and ring fingers? I don’t like bubbling…except in cauldrons. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!
I’m posting these Magician Nails now because sometimes you need to show the good, the bad, and the ugly. And besides, when I look at it now, the bubbling kind of looks like glitter and ‘goes’ with the rest. Right? 😛 Maybe I’m reaching a bit here…
For this look, I used silver star sequins, China Glaze Liquid Leather (black) and Nicole by OPI Nicole’s Nickel (silver glitter).
What do you think about alternating colours on your nails? Yay or nay?
Magician Nail Art Swatches
All swatches have:
- 1 coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
- Black: China Glaze Liquid Leather
- Silver Glitter: Nicole by OPI Nicole’s Nickel
- Silver star sequins
- 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Magician Nail Art Swatches
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight
Sunlight
Flash
Flash
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Sunlight
Flash
Nicole by OPI Nicole’s Nickel Pictures
Quickie Nicole by OPI Nicole’s Nickel Review
This gorgeous silver polish has large and small pieces of glitter. It’s really dense, so you get really good coverage even with a single coat. The formula is extremely thick like dried-out glue, so it’s not the easiest to apply.
Because it’s thicker than your average polish, I found that it chipped quicker, too – after 4 days of wear. Normally I can easily get a polish to last for 7 days if I want.
Even though it has chunky glitter, it’s not scratchy or rough like you’d expect. It’s also not very smooth, so you’ll want to add a top coat.
China Glaze Liquid Leather Pictures
Quickie China Glaze Liquid Leather Review
This black is very shiny and requires a minimum of 3 coats for it to look nice. The formula is very smooth and easy to work with. It’s a little on the watery side, but I can put up with that because the slick finish is worth it.
I’ve used this for lots of my nail art – mainly for the eyes (the pupils). It works very well. I’ll probably use this more during Hallowe’en or when I feel moody and like wearing a plain just-black manicure.
See my full review and more swatches of China Glaze Liquid Leather here!
What did you think of my magician nail art? Do you think I should’ve used purple instead of black? Did you know that I used to have a crush on David Blaine?
Edit: My Magician Nails were featured on beautylish! Check out my blog post about it – includes a screenshot!
I love that you just whacked some sequins on there. That’s pretty impressive resourcefulness right there!
Kelsy recently posted: haul. my goodness. orly cosmic fx, zoya mod matte.
Hey Kelsy!
Wow – thanks for the compliment! That’s the first time that anyone’s ever told me that I was being resourceful with my manicure. 😀
Although I liked the way the stars looked, I definitely didn’t use enough top coat to cover them with an extremely thick layer. Didn’t want to use another layer because the first bubbled. The stars didn’t lie completely flat on my nails, so they were SHARP – a self-inflicting weapon! That magician doesn’t like me, I suppose…
Ooohh, I love the this mani! I love celestial looks. I think David Blaine is cute too. But every time I see him give an interview, I’d swear he’s stoned. ;p
Kimberly recently posted: I Spy…Loreal’s HOPE collection at Walgreens
Hey Kimberly!
Ahahaha – I know exactly what you mean. He definitely seems stoned! And sometimes I think a person has to be on drugs to do some of the crazy challenges he puts himself through….even if he’s not.
I really like the black and silver combo. If you went with purple, it would’ve been cliche and cutesy. This looks more edgy. 😀
One of these days I’ll try alternating colors/skittle/ombre nails. I love the look but I don’t think I can pull it off. 😛
Hey Carmela!
I’m glad that you liked this combination more.
A lot of nail art I try to make look just normal usually ends up looking cutesy. Even when I try drawing things on a piece of paper, they end up looking cutesy despite me trying to draw something badass. (I’m not a good artist.) Sooo…when you say that this looks edgy, that makes me puff out my chest because with nail art I do, that pretty much never happens even when I try! So yay! 😀 Thank you!
As for alternating colours and skittle/ombre nails, you can definitely pull it off! I’m sure it’ll look great. Skittle nails, especially are a really fun way to test out a bunch of new colours at a time in one manicure. One day I’m gonna try that. I sort of did it with cupcake nail art before, but I want to do a simple skittle manicure. Hmm…just need to think of the colours to use.
Psssh. “Not a good artist”? I think you’ve been doing extraordinarily well for “not a good artist”. I think being an artist involves more creativity and the ability to take risks/push boundaries. So maybe the boundaries you’re pushing aren’t in the edgy sense of things, but that doesn’t make you a non-artist. Plus, it’s a reflection of you: fun and optimistic. 🙂 Now, if you started going all emo and angsty with your nail art, I doubt I’d even give those a try. 😉
I’m more wont to try the ombre nails but I need to pick up a white polish first. Can’t wait for Saturday to hit Fairview!
😀 Thank you for saying that!
And…haha, I doubt I’d start doing emo or angsty nail art…well, unless it’s for Hallowe’en. 😉 There’s an image plate I have with an angry-looking doll that I’ve been meaning to try.
Do you know which white polish you’re going to get? I’ve only tried OPI Alpine Snow. I wonder if there’s something better. It’s good, but it’s not opaque in one coat. That’s pretty tough to come across in a white creme polish it seems.
I’m excited for you to hit Fairview, too! 😀 I hope that there isn’t a mad rush on OPI It’s My Year before then. Then again, this blog gets more US visitors than Canadian visitors, so there’s a good chance you’ll snag a bottle. 🙂
I’m probably not going to use the white a lot except to mix with colors or to do nail art so I don’t know if I’ll invest in high end. Might just pick up some cheapie but goodies like Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White or Wet n’ Wild French White Cream. But I was looking at OPI Alpine Snow too. 😉
Gosh, I hope so!! 😀 (Haha, so much for my waiting till December, huh? :P)
I’ve heard good things about the Insta-Dri Whirlwind White. And supposedly you can use it for Konading, too.
(Haha, yeah, December was too long to wait anyway. 😉 )
I love the star sequins! Black and silver is a great color combination! Though purple and silver would work as well. It’s just not as edgy.
Katie recently posted: Nail Art Spam Part Two
Hey Katie!
Glad you liked the star sequins. They were a bit…dangerous (haha) as the corners were so sharp and I accidentally gave myself a little cut. 🙁 Should’ve applied more top coat to cover those corners.
I love Nicole’s nickle!
imfeelingnailventurous recently posted: Essie Smooth Sailing + OPI Just a Little Rosti At This
Hey imfeelingnailventurous!
Yeah, that polish has some serious bling! And gotta love the different-sized glitter that make it more interesting.
Sparkly magic-ness aahh!!!! Love this! I usually don’t like black nails, but I MUST try this manicure! So pretty! 😀
Ruthe recently posted: Santa Barbara + Summer Haul
Hey Ruthe!
Thank you! 😀 I’m glad that you’re going to try something that you normally don’t gravitate toward. Who knows? Maybe you’ll really love it and then start wearing black polish daily. Well, okay, maybe not. 😛 Especially not with all the other colours that you must try, too. 😉
The last time I wore just black polish was when I was a teen or pre-teen. With Hallowe’en on the way, I’m actually itching to do an all-black manicure.