Good morning! Today's franken was partially inspired by Dior's Garden Party collection for Spring 2012. The collection includes two lacquers, Waterlily and Forget Me Not, pictured below:
(screenshots taken from Dior's online store)
They're both very pretty, but I was/am swooning over Waterlily! It's sorta like Chanel Jade and Milani Dressmaker, but with silver shimmer rather than green...I swatched it at a department store and it was just as beautiful in person...and then I caught a whiff of that scent. Rose scent. I hate rose scents. I set out to find a satisfactory light green, but they're all too blue-toned. I considered Orly Mint Mojito and Nubar Green Tea, but they're not available at brick and mortar stores in my area, and I don't like buying polish online. So I changed my mission: franken a satisfactory light green.
I started with NYC Taxi Yellow Creme, and various blues, including $OPI Slushied, Ruby Kisses Regaled Out Blue, and SHCSM Navy Baby. Yellow polishes are notorious for their difficult formulas, so I was hoping I could thin the yellow out with some clear and use more blue to make it less troublesome, but that didn't work. My first attempt wound up being completely blue, with a hint of yellow shimmer. Then I decided to carefully add drops of blue at a time to the original bottle of yellow, and it worked! I think I used 15 drops of Regaled Out Blue in 3/5 of a bottle of Taxi Yellow Creme. This was the result:
Completely different from Dior Waterlily, but I'm very happy with the color nonetheless. There's just one problem: since it's almost entirely made up of yellow polish, the formula is a total nightmare. It definitely needs 4 coats, and it's extremely prone to patching and balding. In order to get even, opaque color, thick coats are required, and though I didn't get any bubbling this time, I'm worried that it might be an issue when I wear this later on. You can see the uneven surface here:
It's not that bad, but it's definitely not a smooth, even surface like I would prefer. It is unique though, and it's a fun, cheery color! A great distraction from a bleak and dreary winter season.
Thanks for looking!
