Polished Princessnell: Pond Manicure using OPI Sheer Tints

Hello my lovelies!

Today I have a pond mani for you all! A pond mani is essentially a jelly sandwich (a layer of glitter between two layers of sheer polish), only instead of using glitter you create a simple design using polish - for example dots, flowers, hearts, etc. Adventures In Acetone has a great description and tutorial that you can find here if you're looking to create your own pond manicure. I have seen some lovely pond mani designs using various sheer polishes, however since my collection is somewhat lacking in the sheer jelly department, I chose to use my OPI Sheer Tints.

OPI Sheer Tints
L-R: I'm Never I’m Never Amberrassed / Be Magentale With Me /
I Can Teal You Like Me / Don't Violet Me Down

I haven't properly explored the possibilities of OPI Sheer Tints, which is a shame because they are so versatile. The tints come in four different colours, but the beauty of these is that they can be layered to create many more colours and effects. When I first got my hands on the collection I layered them over a plain white base and blended the colours on my accent finger to create the effect below. The tints can be layered as many times as you wish in order to reach the opacity/colour that you're after. The downside to this, however, is that more layers = more bulge on the nailbed, and it can be difficult with regards to drying time. The consistency is also very gloopy (almost syrup-like), so I find that applying a few thinner layers works much better than one or two thick layers.

OPI Sheer Tints (please ignore all bad things about this photo!)

For this manicure I built up the colour of the tints without any base, which gives them more of a jelly appearance. Between each layer I stamped flowers randomly using the image from the circled area on the below stamping plate made by Essence, a brand that can be found in most Wilkinson stores in the UK (and online). These stamping plates retail for around £1.50, which is pretty good value! Obviously the quality isn't as good as other brands such as Konad or MoYou, but you get what you pay for!

Essence Stampy Designs - found here.
Can also be bought at Wilko in the UK!

Here is the finished look:

Stamped Pond Manicure

I started by stamping onto bare nails, then applied a layer of tint. After it had completely dried, I stamped again, then another layer of tint (etc., etc.) After four layers of tints I added one final stamp on each nail to make the pattern pop. Finally, I finished it off with a coat of Barry M's Plumpy Topcoat, which makes it super shiny and, well, plumpy!

Step One - one stamped image plus one layer of tint per nail

Step two - repeat as many times as you like!

Here are the bottles of tints as a comparison:

Index finger - "Don't Violet Me Down" / Middle finger - "I'm So Ambarresed" /
Ring finger - "I Can Teal You Like Me" / Pinkie finger - "Be Magentale With Me"