Sephora sent me a replacement Sephora by OPI Blue Grotto this week - if you recall, the swatch I showed you before was kind of a mess, as I was trying to apply polish out of a broken bottle! Looking at the new one, without the resentment of having Blue Grotto all over the place, I think I judged it too harshly last time. It still doesn't match the color dot on Sephora's site, but it's a better blue than I initially thought.
I used it this morning, and I do think it's a great blue. It's a just a hair different than some of the China Glaze Bahama Blues, but it's nailboard different, so I'm glad I have it! I also love the application of $OPIs, so it was a nice one to use. Here's Blue Grotto alone.
I was thinking of the name of this one, too. Growing up Irish Catholic, and having gone to a Catholic university with fabulous grounds, my only exposure to a grotto was a Marian grotto. I didn't know there was any other kind until this morning! I checked, and Wikipedia tells me that, "A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans." So I guess there are other kinds of grottoes. I tried to find you a picture of the super-cool one at my college, but they don't have one on their site. I did find a pretty good one from Franciscan University of Steubenville, so I'll show you that to give you an idea of why I had no idea what a grotto was doing in the Mermaid in the Shade Collection.
Back to the manicure... The title promised you Dazzle and Glitz as well! That comes in with, of course, the Konad. I tried Orly Dazzle (silver) with plate M45 for an all-over pattern, and the one I used always makes me happy. About a year before I finally cracked and got my first Konad set, my friend grayeyez had a picture of the the argyle pattern I used today in silver over blue, and I was awestruck by it. Just loved it! So she's my Konad Mentor, and I always think happy thoughts of her when I use this pattern. I added tips from plate M60 using Orly Glitz (gold), and I don't think I chose the best pattern - the tips don't show up as well as I'd pictured. The point of showing you the Konadicure just the same is that the two Orlys I used are both Big 3 Free and probably the best silver and gold I've seen for Konading. Here's the finished Konadicure - check out how sparkly and vivid the metallics are.
So that's the tale of my morning manicure, my discovery of a great silver and gold for Konad, and finally finding out the full definition of "grotto."
Also, Dear Reader, remember that as the counter in the lower right approaches 3,000,000, keep an eye on it. It's not really a counter of visitors, it's of page views. If you email me a screen shot of the counter at 3,000,000, I'll send you a cool prize for sticking with me for 3,000,000 page views! I have a few new polishes and duplicate Konad plates that were sent to me in error, so I'll customize the gift for the winner. If it's someone who doesn't do her nails, we'll figure something out. In any case, if you see it at 2,999,999, hit F5 to make it one more!
Until next time, love and nail polish to you!
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