Dragonflies Holo

This manicure was suggested by my friend Lauren after she saw my new holo polishes that I scored on eBay. Yes, I gave into temptation and ordered bottles from the China Glaze OMG Collection. They have a mythic status with nail bloggers due to their amazing linear holographic shimmer. This is different than holographic glitter. I know that I would be happy if China Glaze brought these holos back, it's such a pretty collection.

I started this manicure with a base of Zoya "Caitlin", a dusty lavender. Here it is in the shade. I only have two Zoya polishes in my collection. I really love the formula. This is two coats.

Here's a shot of Zoya "Caitlin" with a flash. As you can see, the color changes a lot depending on the lighting.

I am still getting the hang of using my camera during the stages of painting the manicure. I remembered to take a pic before I finished adding the eyeballs to the dragonfly on the left. And the right side is the ring finger on my left hand, before topcoat. I used a technique that I have seen Robin Moses do, like with her Nicki Minaj super bass nails. She added blobs of color on top of a black background to give it a scale-type look. Dragonfly wings have that scale design, too.

Finished mani in the sun. Click on the picture to see a larger version. The holographic effect really pops in the sunlight. You can see a bit of the glow on my thumb.

I started with the outline of the dragonflies in black acrylic paint, then added the holo polishes on top of the black to create the lacy wings and the glowing eyeballs.

Here are the polishes I used for this design: Zoya "Caitlin" for the base, China Glaze LOL for the eyeballs, and China Glaze 2NITE for the wings. I used Essie All In One Base for a basecoat and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat to top it all off. What do you think? I think it's elegant and interesting, but not too out there.

How much would you spend on a bottle of polish?

After reading many blogs and seeing lots of photos of the gorgeous (and legendary) China Glaze OMG Collection of holographic nail polishes, I bit the bullet and got one on eBay. I am kind of embarrassed to say that I spent $23 for this bottle of polish. Anyone who was smart enough to stockpile China Glaze OMG Collection polishes back in 2008 can make quite a few bucks on eBay today. They originally sold for like 8 dollars, right? Sigh... what's a girl to do? But I am SO happy that I bought this polish.

Two coats of China Glaze LOL (a purple holo) under regular lamp light. I did these nails last night and could not WAIT for the sun to rise to see their magic holo effect.

Tadaaaa! Here is China Glaze LOL in the sunlight. I added a few little filigree scrolls to some nails using a silver acrylic paint. I used Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat to seal them and protect them. I am already seeing a little bit of wear on nail tips after less than a day. Oh well, it's so gorgeous, I don't care!

And here is a quick video, because I really wanted you to see the way the holographic polish looks. The formula is a little weird (can apply with little bald spots), but coats well in 2 coats.

So how much have you ever spent on a bottle of polish? Would you ever pay a lot of money for a shade that has been discontinued (like the OMG Collection)? Are there certain brands you love but just don't buy because they are way too expensive (ahem, Butter London, cough)? I have heard about a polish called Unicorn Puke by Cult Nails that sounds amazing, but who knows how hard it will be to find. And the upcoming Muppets Collection by OPI has me considering taking out a loan so I can get every shade.