26-week ABC Challenge

It's been way too long since I've done a post!  I've been busy with work and being sick (THANK YOU FLU) and just didn't feel up to doing much nail-art wise.  I think I'm going to begin putting up swatches and reviews as well as doing nail art, so I don't burn out.  Yesterday I was running a stupid fever and feeling really run down, so I didn't get to start on the day I wanted to.  Bummer.

Erica from Erica's Nails and More has brought yet another fun challenge!  This one is going to be a weekly challenge, with each week corresponding with a letter of the alphabet.  The first week is A, second B, and so on.  Here is a link to her rules: ABC challenge rules.  Now this should be fun!

For this week's letter, I almost did animal print; however, with being sick and burned out from nail art, I decided to see if I had a polish that begins with "A".  I looked through my box and sure enough, there was an Orly polish begging to be used!  I bought Orly "Androgynie" a couple of years ago, enchanted by all the sparkly goodness I saw in the bottle.  This being before I came back into doing nail art, and definitely before I started learning about polish formulas and polishing techniques, I quickly became disenchanted.  Not long ago, though, I gave her another try and I'm so glad I did!

The brush is really good for application, especially on toes.  I like the thinner brushes because they are easier to use in doing a French tip.  The formula isn't too thick or too runny, it's right in between.  This took three coats; you can achieve complete coverage in two, but I went with an extra because hey, who doesn't love sparkle?

So here is Androgynie, first with a matte top coat:

On a quick note, I got a matte top coat from Five Below, the brand is Fresh Paint and it was only two dollars!  I'm so happy I got a matte top coat after lemming for one this past year.  It works quickly for such an affordable price.

So I decided that the sparkly goodness didn't translate well when mattified, so I threw on a quick shiny top coat from OPI and LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUSNESS.  You can see the beautiful gold shimmer, the scattered holo, and the iridescent small hex glitters.  Total love with this polish now!

I really wish I had a better camera with macro, because I'd love to see all the sparkles in this polish.  Overall, I give Androgynie a 9 out of 10 on the polish scale.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon for the next letter of the challenge!