Tuesday, September 25, 2012

31DC2012: Day 25, Inspired by Fashion

Morning! Today's challenge prompt is "inspired by fashion." Perfect timing, because New York Fashion Week just happened! I looked through what Betsey Johnson showed at NYFW and found this crazy fantastic dress. I knew it would totally translate to a nail and would also incorporate a technique I had been wanting to try anyway...


I began by painting my nails with two coats of OPI Alpine Snow. Once that had dried enough, I grabbed a trusty triangular makeup sponge and sponged on a bit of Orly Frolic around the edges of the nail. It was actually kind of challenging to get it to look right... round gradient-ing is tough.

Then, I grabbed Orly Skinny Dip and used the spun sugar technique to add some globby strings. They ended up working perfectly and mimicked the weird splatter on the dress really well. You can find a tutorial for this technique here.

While the technique worked out nicely for this specific look, I kind of disliked it otherwise. I definitely found it challenging to do. I had to practice a lot before I could get it to look like I wanted it to, and then once I got it down, I couldn't really topcoat it because it ruined the 3D look I was going for. Thick strings + no topcoat = never drying.

I've seen some great applications of this technique that looked good with topcoat though, so it's potentially just my inexperience or maybe the polish that I used.


Here's a full shot of the dress that I used for inspiration. The model has kind of a funny expression, but a lot of the photos from the Betsey show were like that. I'm sure they were encouraged to walk with personality!

(source)

I think I did a good job at capturing the dress, and it was nice to push myself to try something new.



You can check out last year's fashion manicure here, and upcoming challenge prompts here.
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29 comments

  1. Oh my - that is so stinkin' fabulous! I posted a paint splatter nail today too but it's not this awesome! Well done!

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  2. Damn, that's sweet! Betcha Betsey would LOVE it!!!!! :)

    Lisa

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  3. OMG Sarah these are awesome! I love the lines on it! I need to check out this spun sugar technique now!

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  4. Thats so gorgeous! I wouldn't have the guts to do that!

    Jazz x

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  5. These are amazing! I need to try this as soon as I get back to my nail polish. x

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  6. That is spot on! Absolutely gorgeous :)

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  7. So cool! I bet the "spun sugar" technique takes a long time to dry!

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  8. This is is such a PERFECT representation right down to the gradient effect! I love it!

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  9. Love this blog,I visit it often for inspiration.

    Keep up the good work

    A fellow Nail art Blogger :)

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  10. your nail design is better than the dress itself :D Loved it!

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  11. what an immense dress! i love every single part of this, i love the white and pink and then the blue just adds something more vibrant to it. great job!

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  12. wow i love this! it really matches her dress - the gradient underneath is stunning!

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  13. Ah, I love this! The colours are so bright!

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  14. I think this mimics the dress perfectly!

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  15. I love how well it emulates the dress! Perfect job :D You have so much more patience than me, though... the spun-sugar thing is one that I'll probably never do....

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  16. The splatter nails look awesome!! You did the outfit justice :D I love grabbing inspiration from fashion!

    Samantha
    Nailartcouture

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  17. Love this so much, you are so super awesome.

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  18. Great interpretation and inspiration!!!!

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  19. Betsey is crazy - did she shoot that girl with silly string before she hit the runway?! Love it.

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  20. I love that finish, I'm just wondering, since I have seen a lot of people use acrylic paints for nail art, maybe using that instead of nail polish would allow it to dry better and then you can add a top coat?? Not sure as I have not tried it, but maybe that would work?

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    Replies
    1. Hmm, I'm not sure! Let me know if you give it a try!

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