merawasno: NFU OH 61

Today's nail mail was an exciting one! The coveted NFU OH 61. I feel very fortunate to have this polish. I was lucky enough to snag a bottle while they were briefly available on http://fabuloustreet.com/. My friend Heather stalks that website, and I suggest you do the same. You can get on their "email list", they are supposed to notify you when the items you are looking for come back into stock. I was not notified even though I am on their list. Thank goodness for Heather! I have noticed they tend to come into stock every couple of weeks, and it only lasts for about a day. So if you are wanting this polish, be sure to check the site on a regular basis or you will miss out!

NFU OH 61 retails for $12.50, click HERE to order. Fabuloustreet does offer free ground shipping to US residents. Sadly they do not ship to all countries. Here is a list of places they DO NOT ship to: Australia, China, Estonia, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

I know you are dying to see photos, and perhaps you already have scrolled down past all this mumbo jumbo without reading it. I don't blame you LOL. I do hope you come back up and read what I have to say though. I have some suggestions for you which I think are important...

NFU OH Aqua Base IS NOT necessary!! I did not purchase it because it was out of stock (surprise!). I also wondered if it was really required with the NFU OH holographics. It is not. I used a combo of Orly Tough Cookie with OPI Ridge Filler over top. Then applied 61 over that. I also tried Orly Bonder on my ring finger by itself and then applied 61.

I recommend using a ridge filler if you have noticeable ridges on your nails. I unfortunately have really deep creases in my nails from the drills used at salons. I was getting gel/acrylic nails, but I took them off a few months ago thank goodness. I was left with awful drill marks which are very apparent in some of my photos. They are half way grown out and I cannot wait until the marks are gone! Depending on the polish I use, it is very noticeable. My nails are also weak and thin. I am keeping them relatively short in the meantime.

I would suggest skipping top coat. I heard top coat diminishes the holo effect and it is true. I tried it on my thumb only and I am glad I stopped there. As soon as I applied the brush, the holo was GONE! It completely turned silver on me! Eventually a bit of the holo came back, but its nothing like it was before.

I also suggest you do relatively thick coats/strokes. The polish applies sort of thin, and uneven. I did 3 coats. I tried to have a decent amount on the brush each time. I had some trouble with pulling of the wet areas. You have to be careful when applying it. If you brush over an area that is still really wet, it will stick to the brush leaving a bald spot. I assume this is why they recommend the aqua base coat. But if you are careful and take your time you don't need it.
Sunshine is not required! I live in eastern Pennsylvania, and we have had nothing but rain for the past few days, and I heard its supposed to rain all week too! The holo effect is visible under artificial light. Certain angles will produce no holo effect, but overall indoors you will still see it.
I achieved better results on the finger with Orly Bonder only. It applied easier and shows more of a holo effect. Unfortunately though, it shows off my drill ridges! Its not a HUGE difference in holo effect, but I can tell because I know what I used underneath.

As always, photos are clickable to view larger! There are LOTS of em! How could I not take a ton of photos?! And remember, these are all indoors without flash...

The bottle shape is gorgeous!

Here you can see the awful ridges in my middle, ring and pinky fingers...

EEK! More ridges!! My poor nails...

Remember, I only used Orly Bonder on my ring finger. The other 3 had RidgeFiller over top of Orly Tough Cookie. You can see the difference in the holo effect here...