Ever since doing my ocean scene nail art, I have been itching to do another coral design. I loved the way it turned out in that and wanted to do a design that just focused on the coral. Since I used different polishes with different finishes for this design, it ended up not quite having the same effect, but I think it still turned out pretty well.
This design uses all China Glaze On Safari colors. You can find my other On Safari nail art here and here.
I started with a base of China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. I am not sure how to describe this color. People keep calling it camel, which I guess is true, but is not the most helpful term for me personally in the abstract. I would say it's kind of a dusty honey mustard, maybe? I used two coats for the base here.
Then using a small striper brush, I freehanded on the coral branches in China Glaze Adventure Red-y, a standard cherry red creme. I used this in my On Safari fishtail look and really liked it both times I used it. It has a lot of pigmentation and applies well.
At this point, my coral branches looked kind of like blood vessels rather than coral (and maybe they still do), so I added some texture using China Glaze I Herd That. This is the other glitter in the collection, and it is similar in consistency and density to I'm Not Lion, which I used in my On Safari leopard print look. I truly love both of the glitters and see a lot of applications for them going forward.
I definitely visualized this manicure differently in my head, but I'm not unhappy with the results! The colors all seem to work nicely together to create a refined, if not realistic, color palette.
What do you guys think? Glittery coral, or blood vessels? *nervous laughter*
The China Glaze On Safari collection is available now at salons and beauty supply stores nationwide. Individual polishes retail for $7 MSRP.
The products in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR.
I think it looks like coral! Great job! I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteThis looks really good! Great idea to use 'I Herd That' over the red!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think of lungs haha :) it looks really cool though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, lungs! That must be what I'm seeing, too!
DeleteIt totally reminds me of veins!
ReplyDeleteGah! I only saw coral til I saw the word blood! Still think it's really cool though :)
ReplyDeletehaha blood vessels...nah, I like the corals!
ReplyDeleteDusty honey mustard is definitely a better description for Kalahari Kiss...still trying to decide whether I want it or not....
GOD SARAH I wish you would stop making me want every single color in this collection. First I'm Not Lion, then Exotic Encounters on Instagram, now Kalahari Kiss... I think I'm just going to give in and order the whole set. I hope you're happy. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY.
ReplyDeleteI like these a lot and if I hadn't been told what they were I definitely would have guessed coral before blood vessels... the glitter was a good addition. Genius, some might say.
I thought coral immediately, no worries! and this is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWow!! Just wow! Fantastic idea and execution!
ReplyDeleteThis is very cool - Kalahari Kiss is my favorite color in this collection. Great mani idea!
ReplyDeleteI love it :) It def looks like coral! ^.^
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but they totally still look like blood to me. After you called em coral, I sort of saw that too. Maybe if you had made them branch out differently and included more knobs and things...I don't know :P Either way, they still look very cool!
ReplyDeleteI totally got the coral and didn't even think blood vessels until you said it! I still see the coral more than blood vessels! haha
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit blood-vessely, but I really like it! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think its a nice simple design that looks great! Like coral! :)
ReplyDeletewell, i'm in love with that mani since I'm in love with coral! You did it perfectly!
ReplyDeleteCoral, definitely. It's very pretty!
ReplyDeleteso pretty, and i love the colors!
ReplyDeleteI saw it as coral right away and it made me wonder how the larger coral would look over a blue / turquoise base, too. Or maybe an orange-y coral?
ReplyDeleteBut then I also thought of blood vessels, too. What have people said who have seen it in person?
Well, most of them say blood vessels, but that is after I have suggested it, too. The power of suggestion I guess? haha
DeleteSuch a great idea. :)
ReplyDeleteLove it
ReplyDeletelol your coral branches look awesome! IT does look like blood vessels too haha
ReplyDelete