I've loved the look of thermal polishes ever since looking at the beautiful photos from this post but wherever I looked they were sold out or about $15 per 10 ml bottle. It took a few months, a heap of unused/unblogged polishes and a low budget to realise that I would have to settle with a simple gradient to recreate that glittering polish. In December last year I acquired some most of the L.A. Girl 3D Effects polishes that are all jellies with scattered holo flakies, perfect for duplicate the look of the thermal polish I had seen.
Ok, maybe it's not an exact copy but it's inspired. I started with two coats of Dazzling Pink, a very sheer bright pink, and let that dry and then sponged on three coats of Dazzling Pink and Sparkle Ruby. I finished it all off with one coat of HK Girl top coat.
The sun was nice to show the holo but it was too bright to show the gradient properly. It looks a little too dark on these pictures.
The gradient is a little more visible on the photos below. Kind of... I didn't take photos in the lightbox before stamping over it but it still is noticeable, right?
I used Essie's Penny Talk to stamp what-I-think-may-be a vine motif from Moyou's Fairytale 02 plate. I like how the negative space of the stamping almost reflects the pattern in gold. It's the little things...
Did this mani fully satisfy my lemming? Yes, for a while. I'm still planning to get my hands in some thermals when the right time comes.
Till next time,
Laura
Girl! This is amazing, what a great take on a thermal look. Glad I found your blog, your nails are fab!
ReplyDeleteHehe...Thank you! Having no budget for polish can lead to some innovation. Thank you for your wonderful words, I hope you stick around!
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