Nubar Opulent Pearl, Take Two

          After my Nubar Opulent Pearl flop, I wanted to give it another chance to impress me. Partially because I really wanted to like it, and partially because it kind of cost alot of money, and I hate wasting money. So I tried it again, but this time, I used a white underneath it, instead of a black. I meant to do it alone, but I couldn't bring myself to do that, given how sheer it was and how many coats it would take to look like something. Anyway, here's what I got. The pictures need to be bigger to really see the flakes:

Close look at Opulent Pearl. Interestingly, I did notice with this application that Opulent Pearl has a really fine, silver shimmer in it. I guess I missed it the last time because Heavy Metal has shimmer of its own. 

Sunlight, no flash. 

Sunlight no flash. This look didn't play well with the sunlight.

Shade, no flash. 

Natural light, no flash.

     It was really hard to capture the flakes, so I tried to matte-ify it and try again. I think matte is easier to take pictures of, because there's no light reflecting.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

      For this, I did two coats of Essie Limo-Scene and three coats of Nubar Opulent Pearl. The shiny ones have one layer of Poshe and the matte ones have one layer of Poshe + a layer of Essie Matte About You. 

     I still have VNL galore and bubbles to boot, but I do like this. The pictures suck and don't adequately convey what I see on my hands at this moment, but it's really gorgeous and calming. The creamy, shimmery white and iridescent flashes reminds me of the inside of a seashell and white, sandy beaches.  Like if I was ever invited to P.Diddy's White Party at the Hamptons, I'd totally wear this mani. And I'll be keeping it in my back pocket to whip out in the summer.  I think my family is headed to the Bahamas this year for summer vacay *fingers crossed* and I'd love this on my toes for that. Only, next time, I may go for three coats of Limo-Scene and two of Opulent Pearl just to eliminate VNL.

       But I'll be taking Opulent Pearl off my bad list. I think it's just not made to layer over dark colors, which is a shame and a lie, given what the flakes can do. But I can accept and love this little guy for who he is. 

And I guess the search for a rainbow-flake topcoat continues.