I knew I probably wouldn't be able franken an exact dupe, but that was okay with me. I really was just after the concept of a sheer white base with variously-sized gold glitter. And I had my own requirements too - the polish had to cover in 2 coats, and I was open to having not just gold glitter only. And i didn't want my franken to be so glitter-heavy that you couldn't see the white base. So with that in mind, I took out my various polishes and started to franken!
For this franken I used my Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails in 04 Sequin Crystal Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails in 01 Glittering Bare White, and my trusty Wet n Wild White. I used about 1/3 Etude House 01 Glittering Bare White, 2/3 Etude House Sequin Crystal Gold, and about 10 drops of Wet n Wild White. And this was the outcome!
Okay, so it's not really a dupe or anything. But it's not too bad right? I tried frankening once before, and that one sucked. This is a lot better, trust me. Here's my proud first ever (successful) franken on my nails!
Although it's not exactly a stunning dupe or anything, I'm happy with what I made. And it met all my franken requirements (cover in 2 coats, white base with variously-sized glitter, including gold). Maybe one day I'll put more gold glitter in there, just for more bling, but for now this is good enough. And I'm just glad that I did this all without making a huge mess of my desk! Do you guys franken? Any fun frankening stories to share? I'd love to hear them!
A Side Note: Asian (or just Etude House, really) Nail Polish Naming Conventions
For Etude House nail polishes, the naming conventions for these are really complex. Basically Etude House has a few "product ranges" of polishes, usually with different price points (e.g. Lucidarling Fantastic Nail, Nail Decoration, Dear Darling Nails, etc - and no I'm not making any of the names up), and under those range of polishes, each shade will have a number (e.g. 01, 02, 03 etc) and a shade name (e.g. Rosy Pink, Bare White, Coral Jewel, Tender Mint, etc). So in order to make sure I'm describing the exact shade name, I use the brand name (Etude House) followed by the product range (Lucidarling Fantastic Nails) and colour name and number (01 Bare White). Sometimes, like in the case of the Lucidarling Fantastic Nail range, they have product "sub-ranges" (e.g. Sequin, Glittering, Shimmer etc), so this complicates things a little more - the real shade names should be Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nail Sequin 04 Crystal Gold (using the format of brand, product range, product sub-range, product name and number). But because it confuses some readers, and because some websites jumble up the sub-range and product name, I choose to lump the sub-range and product name together to form a super long product name (hence 04 Sequin Crystal Gold instead of Sequin 04 Crystal Gold). For Asian readers who buy your polish in person, it probably isn't a big deal, but I imagine it can cause a lot of confusion for someone in the West buying polish sight unseen, and online. Hope this helps my confused Western readers who may be buying nail polish online!
Good job! Very delicate looking. I like it.
ReplyDeleteThis is super pretty! I think I like it even better than the one you set out to dupe :)
ReplyDeletewhy don't you buy the real thing, since you love it so much? lunasol polishes aren't that pricey. just a thought.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: I think the Lunasol polish was a Limited Edition Christmas one, so it wouldn't be available now. Also, the Lunasol polish was SGD$20+ (may have been SGD$24?). I'm not sure if it's a higher price because it was Limited Edition or smoething, but that's more pricey that I'd pay for a polish. I get OPIs for around SGD$10, and China Glaze for SGD$7-8, and these two brands are the staples of my nail polish collection. So I wouldn't pay more for other brands, just because it's not at the price point I would like to pay. I guess I'm just more of a budget shopper that way. Still, it was fun frankening!
DeleteCongrats, it looks very pretty!
ReplyDeleteI love the shape of the LUCIdarling polishes! xo
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Lunasol polishes. Are they good? Every polish I've ever tried has chipped.
ReplyDeleteXOXO,
beyondblackbeauty.com
@Rashidah: In my experience, every nail polish will chip after awhile. Lunasol is a Japanese brand with a generally good reputation.
DeleteThe colour you mixed up is really nice :)
ReplyDeleteTanesha x
www.tanesha-marie.blogspot.co.uk
I love how you come up with the design. Simple yet attractive.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beautyismyduty.com