Thursday, May 13, 2010

on 10 comments

Gold foil - part fail

First up - Sheri,  are you out there?  You won second prize in my giveaway and you haven't contacted me.  You also didn't leave an email address.  I'll wait one more day then redraw!!

I did another set of foils the other day.  I was sooo happy with my initial application, they looked awesome.  Thanks for the tips readers after my last attempt!!  This time, I used my hair dryer to ensure the glue was totally dry before applying the foils.  This worked perfectly and the foils transferred and lifted off with pretty much zero gaps.  Cool.

But then I did the top coat.  I knew not to use a quick dry top, so I put my seche vite away and grabbed another one.  As I applied it I could see it changing the foil immediately.  I did four fingers on my left hand with this top coat, and then stopped.  All the holo effect was disappearing!  I changed top coats for the left thumb and the whole right hand and it made a very clear difference.

Here is the right hand.  This shows a good smooth finish and you can see some of the holo effect.

Here is the right hand on another angle, see the nice smooth holo finish.


And here is my FAIL left hand.  See how the gold foil lost all its holo effect.


And another.  Although the nail had a high sheen from the top coat, the foil actually looked matte.


So I learnt my lesson about which top coat to use. 
I think it's just trial and error to find a brand that works well for you.

10 comments:

  1. Not entirely foil related, but I know how you love metallics, LA Girl have a new metallic range out which I thought might interest you (though you probably already know!)

    xx

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  2. Really - no I didn't know. I was just checking out my local place for LA Girl today and they didnt have anything - in fact everthing was half price cause it was closing down. I will have to check it out online. Thanks!

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  3. cherryculture have the metallics (got some!). Sterling is a dupe for Orly shine IMO.

    The foils look great, *you* made me purchase some on ebay last week. I was going to use my Seche, I now know not to....would you need a topcoat at all? And do you need a base nail color?

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  4. This is gorgeous! Which top coat did you use that didn't dull the holo?

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  5. I will always put on a matching base, just in case of gaps in the foil. Apparently you do need a top coat or the foil wears off very quickly, mainly because water can get in between the foil and the glue. But I haven't tried it without. The top coat that worked was a cheapie - Australis brand "Top and Base coat". After that was almost dry I was able to put on a coat of seche and it didn't mess it up.

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  6. So which top coat ruined the foils? Those nails are very nice though, true bling bling. :)

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  7. wow how did you get this gorgeous effect?

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  8. Which top coat did you use for the good one? I've just purchased piles of foils, and am having a nightmare trying to get the topcoats to stop being terrible.

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  9. What topcoat did you use? I'm having a dismal time trying to find a good one for foils.

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I live in Canberra, Australia with my husband, Mr Ten and Miss Eight. My blog is all about nail polish, and a few other bits in between. You can contact me at morenailpolish@iinet.net.au