Oddly Intriguing

I've been dying to try the Behnaz Sarafpour Halo manicure since I first saw it in the CND Spring/Summer 2011 Lookbook about a month ago.  I finally found some natural sponges to my liking at Whole Foods Market, and did this on Friday night:

My take on the Halo manicure

China Glaze Peachy Keen
China Glaze Millennium

The original used a nude base, but when I saw it, I thought it might be a good way to use the Peachy Keen I bought last year and never really wore.  I really like the color, but I don't think it looks great with my skin tone, so the metallic halo creates a kind of buffer.  My sponging skills are sub-par, so my halo is a little on the large side!

I'm really loving this, for a lot of reasons.  Mostly because I find it to be rather quirky.  I love things that are just a little skewed or off-center, or rough around the edges.  It's a design element I used to use a lot when I made jewelry.  This mani also reminds me of bezel set cabochons, glass beads with silver inclusions, or gilt-edged paper - or even gilded calligraphy - all things I used to do.

glass beads with silver core
made by me circa 2008

sterling silver rings with bezel set glass cabochons
made by me circa 2008

In looking around for more info on the halo mani, I found two different techniques. The one shown in the Lookbook video starts with a nude painted nail, with the metallic color sponged around the edges afterward.  But I saw another promotional sheet from CND saying the mani started with one coat of metallic polish, followed by one coat of nude.  Then a Qtip dipped in remover was used to remove the edges of the nude polish, exposing the metallic underneath.  I used the first technique, and despite the large amount of cleanup required around my cuticles, I think for me there was less room for error than there would have been had I used the second technique.