Mardi Gras!

One of my dearest friends has made New Orleans her home.  She graciously let me come visit a while back and I fell a little in love with the city.  I had decided to give myself a little rest and time when it came to my nails, and God decided it wasn't enough.  I had planned a couple of other Valentine manis for the past few days, but I got a nasty little cut right along my cuticle that I did not think would mix well with acetone...so, they'll come later (it's always the season for hearts and pink!) and today I'm showing a little Fat Tuesday love! 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Cult Nails Flushed
*3 coats Julep Jennifer
*1 coat OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I and Purple Pizzazz
*Zoya Logan
*1 coat Out the Door Northern Lights

Last year I did something similar to this, but  with a ton more layers and pretty much the same effect.  I'm getting more efficient!  I used Flushed as my purple base.  This is really similar to the beloved Fantasy Fire, but not a dupe.  This is a lighter purple, not quite a lavender, that is packed with a magenta shimmer.  You can really see it in the first picture and on my pinkie in the last.  I love this color--it's just gorgeous when you see it in the sun.  If you don't have this one, it is well worth getting!

I added a thin coat of Fresh Frog of Bel Air over the top.  This is a small green glitter in a clear base with scattered silver hex pieces.  On my accent I used Jennifer, which is a pale peach that is a pretty good nude for me.  It is sheer and a cream, and I was sure I would hate it when I saw it in my box, but I've come to love it.  I used Logan, Golden-I and Purple Pizzazz to dot on some bead strands because Mardi Gras NEEDS beads!

I finished everything off with a coat of Northern Lights, a micro scattered holo glitter in an Out The Door top coat.  In real life, it shows up much more, but you can see it flashing in my pinkie.  I almost chose a clear top coat because these are busy nails, but there's no such thing as "too much" when it comes to Mardi Gras!  I'm excited to see these out in the sun tomorrow.  I need to decided on a Valentine mani or two, though, which is proving hard--there are way too many ideas I want to try out!  Anyway, enjoy a little indulgence today!