Manis of the Week: Flakies Two Ways

Flakies keep coming in and out of style as a nail polish finish. My theory is that we hate wearing them because they lay bumpy and are notoriously poorly behaved, but then you see them and... "ooooh, pretty!" Iridescent sparkle bits are irresistible. I don't have a ton of flakies (see "lays bumpy, poorly behaved"), but I do have a favorite, a simple iridescent Avon topcoat that I found at a flea market. This week, I pulled it out twice, and got two completely different looks. Excuse my less than ideal photos this round- this topper proved to be tough to photograph, and I was ready to get this out to you!

First up, a look you might recognize: I did opal. Remember when I did that before? I don't blame you if you don't, it's been a long time. The process was similar though, I've just improved some of my fundamentals. For my base, I used Julep Janie, a milky white, instead of a stark white. I think going with something softer gave my recreation a more realistic look and let my highlight colors shine. Then I sponged a little Francine (green foil shimmer), Juliana (sheerish pink-orange shimmer), and Yiyi (soft purple holo jelly; all Julep), then topped with the flakie topper and one coat of Julep Desiree (gentle scattered holo topcoat). My other nails and the gold "frame" at the bottom are Sinful Colors Gold n' Roses.


For the second look, I went bright, layering the flakie topper and Desiree over Broadway Nails Matte Shine in Glamorous. Glamorous is a matte teal, and while it's not extraordinary, it's pretty enough, especially after you put some shine on it. But then I didn't stop. I added flakies, then holo glitter, then more flakies...pretty soon I had a super pretty, very poorly behaved mani with tons of depth. Even though the flakies on my opal mani are louder IRL, they're still much more subtle on the softer base than they are on the loud blue-green of Glamorous. This was not a subtle mani!

I've got to say, an iridescent flakie topper is worth the hunt. Sinful Colors Digital Dreams is one out now that's easy enough to find, but I passed on that one in favor of the more jagged look of the one I already have. I love this topper for more organic looks. Do you have a favorite flakie?

Bottle shot from my first opal mani post. I think the recreation is an improvement!