Greetings from under a massive pile of tulle, fellow rogues!
Recently, I acquired some glittering loot from OPI – two polishes from their recent glitter-focused collection, Blush Hour and Rose of Light (the pick of that bunch, in my rogueish opinion). I’ve already succumbed to the dual charms of Blush Hour (it’s purple *and* sparkly) with this manicure, and since then I’ve been experimenting with the glorious glittering glamour of Rose of Light. As part of these experiments, I’ve been trying to achieve a look suitable for (or perhaps evocative of) ballet, which in turn lends itself to conservative-ish wedding nails. As I mentioned in another post, French manicures (perhaps the stereotypical wedding manicure?) aren’t really my cup of mead, so I was looking to break that mould! The result? Well, glitter, obviously! Tasteful glitter. Yep.
In the picture above you can see all the polishes used, although I’ve created two manicures for this post. Similar to recent posts, I’ve been working my way through the OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades collection from a couple of years ago, this time working with You Callin’ Me a Lyre? which is a peachy pink jelly, and Don’t Touch My Tutu!, which is a marshmallowy white jelly. As you might expect, these go on quite sheer, although you can build up to a reasonably squishy opacity with three or four coats. They’re smooth and self leveling, and generally awesome. Dry time is a little longer than average for me, but I get a solid two days wear out of them at least (excellent on this rogue’s magical polish-repelling nails!)
Rose of Light is, quite simply, gorgeous. It’s packed full of square silvergoldpinkhologlitter, and lots of tiny pale pink glitters. Seen in natural light, from normal viewing distance, the polish has a decidedly pale gold tone to it, but there is a warmth there, a pink glow that catches the light and really makes this a gem for your polish hoard. You would not *believe* the dragon I had to fight off to get this one. Ended up beating her at a game of Guess Who, actually. True story. Anyway, you get a full broadsword’s worth of glitter on the brush with this one, and one generous coat is enough to give you some seriously loot-worthy sparkle. Stunning.
So I guess you’d all kind of like to see some actual manicures, right? And hear some more about this ballet/wedding business I’ve been blabbering on about? Well, here you are! The first manicure uses two coats of You Calling Me a Lyre, with one coat of Rose of Light over the top:
I call this one the ‘ballet’ manicure, because, well, it’s pink and sparkly. Not that ballet has to be either of those things, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t part of the attraction. The tulle in the picture at the top is, after all, from one of my tutu skirts! I do, however, think that this look could work equally well for a wedding where you want some sparkle, but don’t want too much colour or chunky glitter (by polish standards) on your nails. Rose of Light is so magically natural-looking on the nails (for glitter, obviously), that the wizard kept wanting to do an arcana check on my hands in case it was just too good to be true and there was a curse in it somewhere. Fortunately, Rose of Light just really is that awesome!
The second manicure is a little more conservative, but involves white. I had been meaning to try a jelly sandwich manicure with the NYC Ballet shades for a while, and this seemed like the perfect excuse! This one is three coats of Don’t Touch My Tutu!, f0ollowed by one coat of Rose of Light and one more top coat of Don’t Touch My Tutu!:
This mani does it all. It’s white without being stark, it’s soft without being wishy washy, and you can wear glitter without feeling like you’re, well, WEARING GLITTER. Stealth glitter is a thing, people. Embrace it, like the rogue you are. 🙂 Either that or just go full dungeoneering mode and have your glitter unmuted. Perhaps add a rhinestone on the feature nail. Then test the wear by punching a goblin (or paladin, if he’s getting too righteous). Unless your significant other *is* a paladin. Or goblin. I’ll shut up now.
So! What are your thoughts on these bridal/ballet-inspired nails? What would you wear for a bridal/ballet manicure?
The practicalities: OPI colour/gitter polishes cost NZD ~20/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop, and may be found on the OPI shelves at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors. OPI and China Glaze ($15.94 for 14 mL) polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.
Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!
Syl
I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find a dagger in your back. Possibly with a legal troll attached to it. You don’t even want to *know* what he powders that wig with.
I am so jealous of your perfectly done cuticles and beautiful hands! I hate mine! :(:(
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DON’T LOOK CLOSELY! The illusion will be ruined 😉 My cuticles are a *mess*…
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No way! don’t kid me! wait till you have seen mine! 😛
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Hehe, we should all do a ‘Cuticle Horror’ roundup post at some point, LOL!
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I REALLY, REALLY like the jelly sandwich/stealth glitter look. I normally just go for the full on glitter if I’m wearing it, but I’ve never considered putting something on top of the glitter! Genius.
Also I’ve always not-so-secretly wanted to be a dancer. I did ballet and jazz when I was little and have taken the odd casual class over the years — it’s awesome! More tales from the ballet, please.
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The jelly sandwich thing is awesome – it’s a new way to wear any glitter you have! Of course, you need a sheer/jelly polish for it, but there are some really good ones around!
Yay for ballet ^_^.City Dance on Queen St is the best thing ever. It’s where I started four years ago ❤
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City dance is fab — so many different styles! The hip hop classes are… an experience. I really enjoyed contemporary too, although I think it would be helpful to have a more solid background in dance, which I don’t have. I’ve done the beginners/adv beg class a few times, and the teacher is lovely 🙂 Did I read that you’re en pointe? That’s awesome for four years!
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I am! I went en pointe after about two years, I think – one of the advantages of starting as an adult! Don’t have to wait for your feet to stop growing 😉 the ballet teacher is possibly one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met…
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Glad the manicure turned out to be non-cursed. We all know how much time it takes to get rid of those curses. At least it wasn’t a mimic that only looked like nail polish and would have snacked on your fingers when you try to apply it. This happens to quite some adventures…the Clerics make quite a living of it. Wonder if they have a secret Mimic breeding facility.
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Honestly, you wonder sometimes. Those clerics, man…supposed to be trustworthy, but you turn your back for five seconds and they’re busy ‘banishing’ some demon that just ‘happened’ to have popped up out of the ground…
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Syyyyyl, this is soooo preeeeetyyyy! The perfect ballet slash wedding mani. I’d probably go for something similar. Also, love the shinies, you made that? Make me one!
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I did 🙂 I really want to make more, when I can get my hands on the supplies. Then I want to make them in as many colour options as I can manage 🙂 What would be your pick?
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Stealth Glitter! You have thoroughly convinced me that I need to seek this Rose of Light treasure out. It certainly sounds like treasure – noun of noun!
~admires your handmade jewels~
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Definitely check it out! I didn’t think much of it when I first saw the pics (got a bit distracted by blush hour) but Ooly got it, and raved, so I joined in 🙂
*necklace basks in admiration*
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OOO so gorgeous and bling-y! I plan to wear Dior Incognito for my big day. It goes perfectly well with my dress, and it’s my favorite nude! On my toes it’ll be Dior Yacht 😉
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Hehe, Dior Incognito is a perfect rogue shade! Congratulations! When is your big day? What’s your dress like? Go on, you can tell a rogue… 😉
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Hahaha it’s June 21st! It’s just a small celebration with friends and family though. My dress is… hmm wow I can’t describe that color. Let’s just say it goes really well with Incognito. That might give you an idea? LOL I’ll make sure I share some photos!
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Yay! Can’t wait to see them! 😀
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*swoon* This is such a ballerina princess manicure!
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I kept looking at my nails and ballerina-ing out over them, LOL!
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I swear Syl, you make the most beautiful, if not elegantly looking, combinations of nail polishes. These bridal nails are just so pretty. I never would’ve thought to add some glitter in an otherwise plain pink polish until this. Thanks!
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Hehe, thanks! I do like putting together polish combos (especially feature nails, as they’re the easiest kind of ‘nail art’), and when I have a glitter to use… 😉
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Stealth glitter is totally a thing! It’s the only kind I wear!
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Hehe, it’s a totally legitimate way to wear glitter. 🙂
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Syl, your manicure posts always make me wish I didn’t work so much with ethanol and acetone in the lab! Your nails look lovely and You Callin’ Me A Lyre is just such a gorgeous, gorgeous pink. (I’m mentally stealing all the shinies from Rose Of Light, hahaha)
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Hehe – it’s one of the perks of being in the ‘writing’ stage of my thesis now – not so many solvents! I didn’t wear polish for like 4 years because of the lab, so I’m enjoying it now!
Stop stealing my shinies! 😉
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Ooh, Rose of Light is captivating!
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It’s amazing – really worth getting if you’re in the market for a new glitter! Since I am a rogue, I am *always* in the market for more glitter…
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looks perfect on your nails sweetie
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