nails inc. – Leather Effect ‘Bling it on Rebel’

January 14, 2013

First we had large hexagonal glitters, then crackle/shatters came along, quickly followed by the crocodile look, and even quicker with a veritable explosion of glitters in a huge plethora of shapes & colours. For some of you already groaning at the thought of yet another “new” effects polish, you should accept that these types of unique finishes in our nail lacquers have no intention of going anywhere soon, but I must confess to a bit of eye-rolling on my part when I came across this little gem. Didn’t stop me from picking it up though …

The inspiration: lustrous black leather (source)

nails inc. Leather Effect

nails inc. Leather Effect (complete instructions on the back of the box)

contents of the Leather Effect kit

closeup detail of the included Swarovski embellishments

nails inc. Leather Effect ‘Bling it on Rebel’ – (CAD $30.00 10 ml/0.33 fl.oz for the kit) a black top coat that gives a simulated “leather” finish when layered over a base hue. Quite unique when worn without any adornment, it takes nail art to a whole new 3D level when embellished with the Swarovski elements included in this kit. Full instructions for how to apply both the lacquer and the studs/rhinestones can be found on the back of the box.

My findings: I initially thought that this was perhaps a (transparent) top coat that would give the leather look to whatever shade it was layered over – it’s not. In fact, it’s coloured black and is therefore best when applied over either a black or very dark hue, in order to properly appreciate its effect. Once your chosen base hue is on, apply an exceptionally thin layer of the Leather Effect polish – the thicker the coat, the less defined the pattern will appear. For the embellishments, I was disappointed that the makers didn’t think to lightly curve the ends of the skull element; its straight lines means that it will not fit on the nail snugly and its ends will catch on things – namely your hair & clothing. Also, the instruction state to apply more glue to this element along the protruding ends, once its been placed on the nail – don’t (see the last paragraph for why).

The included plastic liner was very useful as a work area for the glue – which, by the way, you should avoid letting touch your skin and it is fast-bonding (Crazy Glue type of adherence). I would take a tiny dab of glue with the pointy end of the orange stick & apply it on the nail where I wanted the element to go, which I would then pick up with the tweezers and set in place, lightly holding it down with the tweezers for a few seconds.

The actual adorning of the nails is rather fast, providing you have an idea of where you want them to go – feel free to play around with patterns BEFORE applying any glue.

For removal, the polish came off quickly and left no staining behind, although the glue remnants were another matter. The more glue you use (ie: for the skull), the more will remain behind on the nail and will need some minor scraping to remove – something I didn’t care for, as it does lightly damage your nail’s surface. I suggest you soak any stubborn glue traces in acetone for an easier removal.

a-england ‘Camelot’ & nails inc. Leather Effect

To get the look:

after my base coat was on, I began by applying one coat of ‘Camelot’ (previously reviewed here)
followed by two successive coats of the Leather Effect polish

It’s important to note that your Leather Effect brush needs to have the barest amount of product on it, or the effect will not be defined.

For the embellishments:

The only changes I made to the instructions, was that I used a pointy-tipped tweezer to pick up and place the desired elements.

nails inc. Leather Effect

Leather Effect – skull element

Leather Effect – square stud elements

Leather Effect – large rhinestone element

Leather Effect – raised smoked rhinestone elements

Leather Effect – small rhinestone elements

Final thoughts: Undeniably, this is a unique and rather understated effect to sport on one’s nails – especially when worn on its own. When accessorized with the included elements, it definitely takes on a whole rocker-chic vibe and guarantees that your nails will draw the lion’s share of attention. Initially, I believed that wearing more than one of the embellishments at a time would come across as tacky but with every addition, I found myself loving the look more & more. After all, this is meant to look deliberately exaggerated – intended to bring out that biker babe lurking in us all!