Imagine Dragons.Nevada.OPI.
This is a little random and I really wish I had a great reason such as an upcoming concert visit or something really exciting for doing these nails…but no…I just felt inspiration because I love Imagine Dragons and I love Nevada and I love this yellow gel polish by OPI called I Just Can’t Cope-a-Cabana.
www.ImagineDragonsMusic.com
Ode To The Dragons
Last summer whenever “It’s Time” would come on the radio my little boy would get super excited (he was 6) and say “Turn it up Mom!” and then we’d start rocking out…good times. 🙂 I told him this year that when he’s a little bit older we would go to one of their concerts together…when the speakers aren’t too loud for his tender ears. I’ve heard from everyone that Imagine Dragons are one of the best concerts EVER.
I love that the group is from Las Vegas. My parents both grew up in Vegas and I grew up in a tiny rural Nevada community three hours north. I LOVE Nevada. I love lonely backroads and wide open spaces and coyotes and sagebrush. And I love Las Vegas. I wish I had seen Imagine Dragons back in the old days when they “…were playing a gig at this place called O’Sheas, which has the cheapest beer on the strip,” Reynolds remembers. “I was basically standing on top of the drums, the stage was so small. We were on our final song of a six-hour set. I got to the end of the song and just fully passed out in the middle of singing. I came to, got up, finished the song, and we got a standing ovation from all these people at this tiny little casino at three am on a weekday in Vegas. Something about that moment bonded us and made us realize that we were building a connection with people from all over the country.” (ImagineDragons.com) I heard they actually once played in St. George, Utah at Jazzy Java…but don’t quote me on that. 🙂
If you haven’t watched this video yet, please do. I’m sure you’ve heard the song but the video gives me chills. It’s wonderful. I think when I saw this video is when I fell in love with the Dragons. I’m sure they aren’t perfect but I love when celebrities use what influence they have to do good and make the world a better place. 🙂
How I Did This
I picked up this yellow polish yesterday at the beauty supply and wanted to try it out but couldn’t figure out what to do with it. Like I said, totally random, but I had an idea so I went with it. The polish applied soooo good. It did take three coats but was perfect coverage with three coats. Most gel polishes usually do take 3-4 coats anyway because you have to apply them thin so they cure accurately. I am just so excited to find a yellow gel polish that isn’t a neon or pastel. This really is a banana yellow. The picture looks really bright but that’s the photographers fault.
I’ve been wanting to try a striping tape mani with gel polish to see how it works, which is how I did the “NV” on the middle finger. After I cured just two coats of the yellow gel polish, I applied striping tape in the pattern I wanted and then did three coats of gray gel polish over it, curing each coat 30 seconds in an LED light. I then removed the striping tape to reveal the yellow polish underneath. It was a little rough around the edges so I simply filed down the rough spots and did two top coats over it to smooth it out really well.
For the thumb I mixed a fine purple glitter with clear top coat and did the “ID” with a stylus and gel brush, doing two coats to get it nice and dense, and curing a little bit at a time so that the glitter wouldn’t slide around.
The dragon stamp is from my Shany stamping plates and I used OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine Lacquer and let it dry just a little bit on the stamp before I scraped it off. I feel like if you let it sit just a bit it thickens up and gives you a better opaque image. Does that make sense? Let me know if you have any questions. 🙂
Products I Used
I don’t list OPI GelColor on my shop because it’s supposed to be pro only…but I’ve heard (cough cough) it is available on Amazon. Also, the Shany stamping plate I used is out of stock in my shop so I replaced it with the MoYou London Suki Plate-02 which has some awesome dragons on it. And it’s only $9.99.
I turned on Pandora this morning after I got done walking (I had to quit Crossfit until after I deliver…I guess I’m getting old) and “It’s Time” instantly fired up on my speakers. I realized I really want to learn how to play it on the piano so maybe one of these days I’ll have a musical debut for you covering Imagine Dragons. 🙂 If you ever get a chance I highly recommend a road trip through Nevada one day. Take along some good music and let your mind wander…
Thank you so much for reading and please comment if you have any questions about anything! 🙂
Tootles–Anna
