Anna Karenina

I started reading Anna Karenina around Christmas time and despite reading pretty regularly since then I'm still only 30% through the book. It's really long! Near the beginning of the story Anna and her new friend Kitty both attend a ball and the descriptions of their dresses inspired these nails. Hopefully by the time I'm done reading the movie will be out on video so I can see if they look like I've imagined them.

 

 

The pink nails are for Kitty: "At this moment she walked into the ballroom in her elaborate tulle dress over a pink slip as easily and simply as though all the rosettes and lace, all the minute details of her attire, had not cost her or her family a moment's attention, as though she had been bore in tulle and lace." On my pointer finger I've tried to recreate her black velvet locket. From a distance it almost looks like a tiny cameo.

 

 

The black nails represent Anna: "Her black dress with its sumptuous lace was not noticeable on her; it was only the frame, and all that was seen was she."

 

 

What I used:

Pink nails- Sinful Colors, Easy Going (2 coats)

Rosettes- China Glaze, Purple Panic- disclaimer: something happened to this color since I bought it. It used to be a neon purple, but it's now most definitely a bright pink. The roses were hand painted with a small nail art brush and the details were painted on with the lighter base shade of pink.

Black nails- Wet n Wild, Black Creme (only 1 coat. this polish has great coverage). The white lace was painted on with a small brush in Finger Paints, Paper Mache.

The Locket- I used my small brush to draw on the black line with the Black Creme, then after my top coat I went over it with Matte Me Crazy top coat by NYC to give it more of a velvet look. The gold locket was dotted on with a small dotting tool, and the black dot was added to the center with a larger dotting tool. I used the small brush to add the white cameo detail to the center.