2013 Favorite Color Challenge #1

November is "Favorite Color" themed in The Nail Challenge Collaborative group.  This is really hard to do!  As you know, I am a lover of all polish so to choose 1 is really hard.  I suppose that is the definition of a "challenge" anyway.  I went with purple as I have a lot of purple polishes and they need some love and affection.  I found some inspiration on Pinterest for this look (here) and let me say that it was a technical challenge for me.

In case you are wondering how I swatch my polishes: I use swatch sticks.  I love that I can easily compare polishes and put them together.  Here was my take on the 4-square color block idea:

Polishes used in this manicure:

• Milani White as an undie polish
• Sephora by OPI Sin-cerely Violet
• Sephora by OPI Who's Spinning Tonight?
• Sinful Colors Tempest
• China Glaze Rendezvous With You
• Seche Vite (lots of it)

I put 1 coat of Milani White on my nails followed by 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Sin-cerely Violet, topped with one coat of Seche Vite.  Once dry, I taped off one panel at a time and painted 2 coats of polish then a layer of Seche Vite.  

This was a time consuming manicure and I had some learnings along the way.  No matter how careful I am, I get bleeding under the tape.  I learned to not be afraid to clean it up once the tape has been removed with a little bit of acetone.  Since the Seche Vite layer is there, it comes up pretty easily.

After a LOT of tape, I think it came out pretty darn good for my first attempt.  I hope you like it!