Mad About Nails: Orly Prince Charming--My New Favorite!

I've had quite a few people comment on my nails in the past ask what I was using or wish I'd done a close-up so they could see better, etc., etc., and had a realization: Why not do a feature on nail polish? It's not book-related (Unless you're wearing the new HUNGER GAMES-inspired line from China Glaze, but I'm not even going into how wrong that is...), but it's fun. Plus, if I do this feature, I'll be more likely to re-paint my nails this week and less likely to let them chip their way to the bare bones (which would mean that I could see my nails...and if I see them, I want to bite them!).

Welcome back to another edition of Mad About Nails! 

Sorry, I didn't think to touch up my tips before doing this.
That was the ONLY wear and tear after a week of wear, though!

I'm so excited to share this week's manicure with you.  I've discovered three new favorites!
One is a rubberizing basecoat,  another a long-lasting, quick-drying, high-finish top coat, and the third is a new favorite color of mine!  I can't wait to share these with you.

In fact, I love this beautiful, creamy brown so much that I wore it for two manicures in a row--and with the longevity of the basecoat/top coat combo, that's 3.5 weeks of wearing one color.  TRUE LOVE!

YouTube Link

These two are POWERHOUSES for
long-lasting manicures!  One lasted
1.5 weeks, the other for 2!!!

I started off with a basecoat of ORLY "Bonder."  Many of the professional nail studios use this as a basecoat when doing nails for their clients.  It's a rubberized coat that helps polish adhere to the nail.  It stinks, but it's great!

I finished everything with a top coat of Revlon's "Quick Dry Top Coat."  I'd heard it was a rival for the legendary Seche Vite, but with fewer harsh chemicals.  It also doesn't go bad in the bottle or shrink when used.  I was intrigued, and so far, this stuff is FABULOUS.  I actually had a co-worker think I'd had my nails professionally done the first week because of the glossy sheen and lack of bubbles in my nails.  I just re-did my nails last night and they're a beautiful, crisp, shiny blue now!

One of the bottles guaranteed that it would last up to two weeks...and it didn't lie!  With the exception of touching up my tips, my manicure stayed in place for two weeks!  This was actually a blessing in disguise, because I didn't have time to re-polish them after a week, and at the 1.5 mark, I was sick and couldn't stand smells of any sort.  But my nails still looked great!  And I loved this manicure, so I didn't want to take it off anyway...

For my base color:

I put on two coats of ORLY "Prince Charming." I didn't even know what the color was called when I bought it; I just wanted a beautiful brown in this shade!  I had a coupon and ULTA had a notice up that it was no longer taking coupons on OPI products, so I put down "You Don't Know Jacques" and picked up the ORLY because, in the bottle, they looked the same.  I didn't even see the name of "Prince Charming" until it had been on my nails for a few days.  Now I'm even MORE in love with the color!

I love this color so much that I wore it twice in a row with two different manicures--and never got sick of it!

I think I love that there's an almost purple hue to the brown.  Here's a picture from my first manicure where the sun shows off the purple tones I'm talking about:

See the way the sun turns this deep brown almost purple? LOVE!

See?  It's brown, but there's a slight purple there, too.  I'm just so, so in love.  There aren't even words.

The same image in normal light without the purple...just the beautiful, creamy brown:

I believe "Prince Charming" is a part of ORLY's regular line, so you can find it anywhere!  Mine is from ULTA.

For my design:

I bought a paint palette from the craft store for $1.  I dripped dots of paint into one of the slots and used various Mash Dotting Tools ($3.99 for this set of 5 at Amazon!) to create dots that ranged from small to large.

The blue dots are OPI in "Can't Find My Czechbook" (Which, ironically, is the color I painted my nails last night, and they look perfect for spring!).  This is from the 2013 Spring Euro-Centrale Collection, and is a limited edition, but still available near you.

The tan dots are E.L.F. in "Desert Haze" from a Christmas Holiday Pack; I don't know if this is part of a regular collection or not.

ORLY "Bonder," ORLY "Prince Charming," OPI "Can't Find My Czechbook,"
E.L.F. "Desert Haze," Revlon "Quick Dry Top Coat"

 Is anyone else obsessed with nail polish? What are you wearing right now?