How To: OPI Shatter

I do love doing tutorials (or how-to's); whether they're picture-based or a video, I always find a step-by-step process easier to follow than a shot of the finished product.  But for this particular tutorial, I literally felt I was doing this:

I decided to use a bright yellow for the increased contrast (though I wanted to do a teal...maybe next week!).  Look how cute this Bonita nail enamel is - it's a mini nail polish!  I got it from Francesca's Collections awhile ago & like eyeshadow palettes, I really like these small nail polish bottles for colors that I wouldn't wear often (or that could be trendy).  Why spend a good amount of money on a full bottle of nail polish when the color is seasonal & you'll only end up using like half of the bottle before it gets gooey?

Everyone knows how to paint their nails...but I got so many nice compliments on my nails in my this post, I thought it'd be cool to show the process of OPI's Shatter.  This definitely seems overly obvious, but enjoy anyway!

What you'll need:
+ a base coat {seche clear}
+ a base color {bonita nail enamel in yellow}
+ OPI Shatter
+ a top coat {sally hansen dry instantly}

+ Start with clean nails - I have the worst cuticles, so I use Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover to help push them down & cut them (I KNOW it's not good for you to cut your cuticles...I can't help it!)
+ Apply a base coat - I never used to use a base coat before but I really notice the difference in the color application by using it - it also has allowed the color to stay on longer.

+ Apply two (2) coats of a base color

 

 + The trick is to allow the base coat to completely dry before applying Shatter

+ Then apply one coat of Shatter - it should be relatively thick to cover the nail in a couple of strokes.

+ Be warned: this stuff dries fast!  Apply a single black layer & within seconds it starts to dry & crack.  To give you a sense of how quick it dries, by the time I finished painting my ring finger, my pinky finger was already dry.

+ Allow a few minutes to dry (doesn't take very long)

+ Apply a top coat

And you're done! Oh! To clean up any mistakes, I simply dip an old concealer brush into some acetone and brush along the sides.  Very easy & super effective - much better than using a q-tip that can leave cotton strands behind.

Now draw the rest of that fucking owl.

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