Friday, June 6, 2014

An Adventure with Dried Flowers

Press Sample Affiliate Links

Hello Loves!  I have a cute little mani using dried flowers to show you today.  This was a bit of a challenge, but I am thrilled with the final result!
Dried Flowers Nail Art, Couture Gel Polish

I started out with a base of Couture Gel Polish Pretty Little Liar on the main Nails.  My bestie Pam once described this color as a tomato red jelly, and I can't think of a better way to describe it!
Couture Gel Polish Pretty Little Liar Swatch

I then applied two thin coats of Couture In The Buff to the middle and ring finger nails.  In the Buff is a slightly tan nude cream.  The swatch below is three thin coats.  As you can see, it gets darker as you layer it.
Couture Gel Polish In the Buff Swatch

And this is where the fun begins!  I picked up these adorable SuperNail dried flowers a few weeks ago.  I didn't think to take a picture before burning through pretty much all of them on this manicure, but they come in a pack of 12.  They appear flat in the package.  In reality, they aren't even close to flat!  The back of the flowers where the stems were attached create some pretty significant bulges.  I found that curling them around a round brush handle helped form them to the nail, but they were still difficult to keep flush with the nail surface.  I had to get creative.  I applied a thin layer of top coat over the In the Buff base, then soaked the flowers in top coat to rehydrate them a bit.  I was then able to smooth the flowers onto the nail.  They tried to pop up in a few places while I was curing, so I tapped them back down with a dotting tool.  I then added a few dots of Pretty Little Liar around the flowers and finished with a generous layer of top coat to seal everything.

Dried Flower Manicure, Couture Gel Polish

Sounds like a lot of trouble, right?  I'm not going to lie...I may have said a few choice words.  But the end result is quite stunning, I think!
Dried Flower Manicure, Couture Gel Polish

While this was my first adventure with dried flowers, I don't think it will be my last.  There has to be an easier way to apply them with gel and I'm determined to find it!  They're just so pretty when encased in gel polish.  :)

Have you attempted nail art with dried flowers?  Any tricks you can share?

~ Michelle

*The polishes featured in this post were provided by Couture Gel Nail Polish for my honest review.  This post uses Amazon Affiliate links.  Purchases through these links generate commissions that help fund this site.


5 comments:

  1. I love your mani.. I tried gel with died flowers and gave up the first time.. Your mani looks flawless!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your mani.. I tried gel with died flowers and gave up the first time.. Your mani looks flawless!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holy crap, this is so flippin' gorgeous!! Nice job, Michelle!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely!! I wonder if you could use a little foil adhesive to make them stick first? Nail foil adhesive is fine to use over gel polish when foiling, so it might be safe to use with the dried flowers. Just an idea...might try it myself :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...