Electric Cotton Candy (Faery Floss)

Hey y'all!

I'm back with another new technique, courtesy of the Techniques Challenge presented by Llama Nails.  This week our prompt was Sugar Spun Mani, so I created a candy-coated look with three bright colors. 

This was my first attempt at the spun sugar technique, so I threw the term into Google and watched/read just about all the tutorials that came up.  In the end, I think it looks cool, but I know that I need to work on making the strands smaller and wispier to achieve the true spun sugar look.

You may recognize the mani underneath all those strings - it's the Models Own Hypergel Lilac Sheen base with Quirk Peace Is Free over it, and then muted with OPI Matte Topcoat..  In my head, this was going to look really cool once it was finished, but unfortunately my thick stringwork kind of obliterated Kerrie's beautiful glitter topper.  I feel kind of rotten about that.

Following a mixture of all the tutorials I referenced, I began by pouring out a bit my Kiss hot pink striping polish and stirring it with my pinpoint dotting tool until it thickened up enough that strings formed as I pulled the tip away from the puddle.  I then laid those strings over one nail at a time, starting with my pinky and working to my thumb.

I then repeated that process using the Kiss lavender striping polish in the same order.  Ultimately, I was trying to play off the colors in Peace is Free, but didn't intend to actually cover it up.  My biggest obstacle was that anytime I got the strings as thin as I felt they should be, they broke before I could lay them over my nail.  I'm not sure if this was a temperature thing, an age-of-polish thing, or a technique thing.

I finished by using that process again with Belle Glamour Sunlight in the Water.  Since I was using three colors in the spun sugar technique, I tried to keep the number of passes to a minimum, especially since my strings were coming out quite thick.

I opted not to topcoat this look, primarily because I really like the raised 3d feel of it.  and I wanted the contrast between the shiny gel-looking strings and the matted polish base.  I think if the British Nail Bloggers ever decide to do another "Get Rubbed" collaboration, this technique would definitely jump onto my list!

I'm gonna count this as a success because I feel like I actually did achieve the technique, but I'm also slotting it into the "Needs More Practice" books, for obvious reasons. I hope you enjoyed this look, and please be sure to check out the other spun sugar manis, below!

Hope you're all having a fantastic week, and I'll see ya next time!