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Singer and style icon Katy Perry has never been afraid to flaunt a little color. Inspired by Perry’s sense of style, beauty company OPI designed a colorful and glittery nail color collection in 2010. The best technique for applying Katy Perry polish is similar to that for most other polishes. Using the OPI base coat and top coat -- which are designed to complement the OPI lacquer -- is the key to achieving 10 meticulously manicured digits.
Katy’s Collection
Teenage Dream is a light, shimmery pink that should look subtle on your dainty digits. Infused with fine glitter and large glitter, it sparkles and shimmers in the light. Last Friday Night looks vivid blue in the bottle, but comes out light on nails. The One That Got Away is a bold berry red with fine glitter that goes with Perry's bombshell beauty look. Not Like the Movies looks simple at first glance, but is actually infused with fine silver glitter. It produces a subtle purple, green and silver color combination.
Primping & Prepping
Once your old polish has been removed, your nails filed, and your cuticles cleaned up, wash your hands with a gentle antibacterial soap. Prep your nails first with the OPI Base Coat. This clear polish provides a smooth foundation for the polish and protects the nails from color stains. Roll the polish gently between your hands to mix the color -- avoid shaking the bottle though, as this will only cause air bubbles in the polish.
First Coat
Wipe both sides of the application brush against the inner rim of the bottle to eliminate excess polish from the brush. Apply one stripe down the center of your fingernail, from cuticle to tip. Then, paint a stripe down the left and right sides of the nail. You shouldn’t need to re-dip the brush into the bottle. Move to the next nail and repeat the same process. Once you finish every nail on your hand, let the polish dry for several minutes.
Second Coat
Apply a second coat of polish to each nail using the same three-stripe technique. Finish the nail with a thin stripe across the nail tip, sealing the color over the edge. Clean up mistakes with a cuticle stick or cotton swab dipped in polish remover. Finish with OPI Top Coat, again using the three-stripe technique. Pull the polish all the way over the edge of the nail tip to prevent those irritating chips.
Shatter Your Style
The Katy Perry Collection also offers a black Shatter polish to pile on top of your pretty little nails. When brushed over your manicure, the Shatter polish cracks and separates to create an interesting two-toned shattered texture. As the polish separates, your Katy Perry colors appear through the cracks. If you plan to use the Shatter polish, don’t apply the top coat after your second coat of color. Instead, apply one layer of Black Shatter polish. Once the Shatter polish has cracked and dried, apply OPI Top Coat to seal the style.
