DIY ~ Faux Leather Effects

Hello Dahlings!

 

I don't lemming often (mostly cuz I just get what I want when I want it lol) but I was a goner as soon as I saw swatches of Nails Inc Leather Effects polish kit! I bought da kit at Sephora on my birthday & while it's pretty nifty, $25 for a .33oz bottle of polish & some bling is more than I usually spend on any polish & I know it's out of many polish enthusiast's budget. So I decided to see if I could franken something close...

 

I tried 2 different combos of glitter, pigment powder & polish.

 

On da left is Nails Inc's Leather Effects. To me it looks like sueded leather (that's an animal hide with da smooth top grain removed). In da middle is my Pleather franken. I LOVE da look of smooth shiney leather! I think I got that effect with this one! The franken on da right I call Litter Box cuz it's all chunky & dark. (I have 4 cats & know of what I speak lol) This one is less like leather & more just pure chunky texture. I haven't decided if I like it yet.

 

Ta Da! This is 2 coats of Pleather without top coat. It was a gloopy hot mess to apply (needs thinner) & it chipped like a bitch in 24 hours! However, I like the leather look I got & after I putz with it some more, I will wear it again. Knowing I might only get one good day of wear just means I apply it the same day I want to show it off. Da studs are Kiss self adhesive bling & I can't recomend using these without top coat to seal them in cuz they were popping off all over da place any time I bumped my nails into anything & leaving behing lil circles of adhesive that collected fuzzies until I rubbed them off. Blerg.

 

Oh? You want to know my secret formula? Um...well...I started with 2/3 of a bottle of Wet N' Wild top coat then added a lot of small black craft glitter that had minimal sparkle then I added some black craft pigment powder. The powder was to darken da base & make it it matte, but pigment powders can turn polish into cement if too much is added. So I added some L.A. Color black to darken the base which made it more of a semi-gloss. Since I didn't use any suspension fluid, I do have to shake it up before & during use. All in all, while not perfect, not a fail!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky