Mentality, Bandit and Gold Foil.

Here's another St. Patricks Day mani I did earlier this March.

Mentality's Bandit is pretty darn awesome! This is the first Mentality I've ever had the pleasure to use thanks to my polish pal, Michaela. This was a RAOK (Random Act Of Kindness) gift from her and WOW, it's a good one! It's a forestry green matte shimmer and the formula is like butter. Dreamy to apply. Because it's a matte it dries quickly too. This is 2 coats. It's very opaque but I did need the 2nd coat to reach full opacity. Because I wanted a little extra wear time I added a coat of Gelous and then matted it again using Illamasqua's Matte Top Coat. Mattes on their own tend to lack longevity so this gave me a few extra days of wear time.

I did an accent nail using gold prismatic nail foil I bought off of eBay. I had some challenges using nail foils for the first time so here is a list of do's and dont's when working with nail foils:

1) Don't use Base Coat; it caused drag when I top coated the nail foil. I had to remove everything and start over.

2) Do apply the nail glue to a clean nail. Also try to apply as precisely as possible so you get a nice clean line at the cuticle. 

It also doesn't hurt to let the first coat of glue dry and then apply another thin coat of glue. This ensures the entire nail is tacky and will ensure better coverage with the nail foil if you are going for full nail coverage.

3) Don't use Gelous top coat. When I applied it over the foil it dis colored and dissolved it immediately. So, instead I tried a lighter, quick drying too coat (Barielle's Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender) and it worked much better. After that one dried I added another top coat (In A Hurry) to really seal it in.

4) Do Top Coat Quickly. Over working it will destroy the appearance of the foil.

5) Don't expect it to be perfect. I've got a few bare spots and discoloration. And this was my 3rd try. LOL

I also used Illamasqua's Matte Top Coat on the foil accent and I really like the effect.

I had fun getting crafty and trying a new technique. It's also nice trying more greens from my stash considering I have so many of them! I really need to stop buying polish for awhile until I make a dent in my Untrieds. ;)