Happy Pink Wednesday!

I have to admit that I came very close to skipping Pink Wednesday this week since I just finished the 31 day challenge and really didn't want to do another mani where the color or theme was chosen for me. However, I had recently acquired a new pink polish and was itching to wear it, so I gave in! It took me a long time to decide on what I was going to do with it, though. I had originally planned on doing another tape mani, but that would make 3 in a row, and I wanted something awesome, but also something that I hadn't done in awhile. I finally settled on water marbling, but I wanted to use the new pink and black, and the pink doesn't ring out very well. It needed a polish that spread well to push it into the ring, and none of my blacks managed to do that. I was bummed out, thinking that there was no way to marble with this pink. Strangely enough, I also have a new purple polish that I've been wanting to try out, and that one did the trick! It ringed beautifully as soon as it hit the water, and was able to spread the pink out with it, making it possible to water marble with the pink after all.

For this mani I started with my usual base coat of Instant Artificials and 2 coats of Orly "Oh Cabana Boy", a beautiful hot pink with subtle blue shimmer. I then marbled with Oh Cabana Boy and Revlon "Decadent", which is a stunning blue/purple - not quite blue enough to call it blurple, but it does have the blue to it. I then used a very light coat of Essie "Carnival" (One of Essie's rare glitter topcoats pre Luxeffects. Carnival is a  sparse Holographic Glitter in a clear base.), and topped it all off with Seche Ultra-V.

Please forgive my pics! I was groggy when I stumbled out to take these pics this morning and didnt realize that I still had cuticle balm stuck in my cuticles! Ack!!


First, with flash:

Outdoors, Direct Sunlight, left hand:

Outdoors, Direct Sunlight, Right Hand:

And in shade, right hand:

I didn't think I would love this color combo as much as I do! In person, it's just stunning. Bright and fun, yet not as in your face as my last water marble.  The light coat of Carnival added just the right amount of sparkle without being overwhelming. I'm actually keeping this on for more than 12 hours.  I also just love how my right hand turned out. As I progressed, I was able to make crisper designs, and since I used a smaller cup to marble, the designs were small enough to show more than just a few swirls.  Very awesome since I'm so used to having just a few swirls when I marble with my nails at this short length.  I forgot to get pics of my thumbs, but I was able to fit the entire flower design on them.  I can't wait to try out the smaller cup marble again!

I am expecting my new MASH 2012 stamping plates tomorrow, so expect a stamping post soon! I have no idea what color I'm going to be posting next; I have so many untrieds that it's almost impossible for me to pick! I plan on wearing Wallis, Big Smoke, and layering with Essie Luxeffects Shine of The Times this week, as well as swatching the last of my Sally Hansen smooth and perfect polishes.

Speaking of swatching, do you guys think I should swatch more? I'm not sure what you want to see, so I'm asking for some input here! :)

Happy Polishing!
-Kimber