Orly Androgynie

Orly Androgynie, 1 coat layered over a black base.  Androgynie is a black jelly with glitters that shift cyan-blue and blue-green-orange.  There are also fine holographic glitter and gold flecks of shimmer.

I can't believe I was going to pass on this polish.  A lot of bloggers have mentioned that Androgynie isn't as promising on the nail as the bottle suggests.  While this is true, it is possible to make this polish work with a few simple steps.  Read on to see more!

As you can see, the bottle shot is pretty amazing.  However, when you apply the polish you only get one or two glitters per nail.  Polish Insomniac already wrote a post on how to make this look good, which was the same as what I did.  However, I did add one more step.  Here's what I did:

1. Store Orly Androgynie upside down.  This will keep the glitter from settling to the bottom and evading the grasp of your brush.
2. Apply a base color before layering Androgynie over it.  I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Black on Black.
3. Only use 1 coat of Androgynie over the base color.  The base of this polish is pretty pigmented/thick, so it will cover up the glitters from your previous coats.  Instead, if you would like to add more glitter, go back and dab some on to any empty spots.  The glitter should be easy to pick out if you stored the polish upside down.
4. Here's the extra step I took.  Use a top coat or a clear polish that is thin and watery.  I used Orly Quick Deep-Dry topcoat.  I'll review this later, but it's anything but quick dry and has a knack for smearing dry polish.  Now it's good for something!  I used this over just the glitters in short strokes to smear the base away from the glitters.  It doesn't take long and few short strokes will do the job.  I think Wet n Wild Clear Nail Protector will work as well, since it is has a thinner formula.
5. Finally, I finished off with a coat of my favorite Seche Vite.  Enjoy!

Here are some more pictures. 

It's really gorgeous out in direct sunlight, but a bit more muted indoors.  I only wish there were more gold flecks to this polish and that the holo glitter was more visible.  I guess I should just be happy that I got the big glitters to show.  Overall, it's a nice polish, but you have to be willing to work for the results.

What do you think?  Do you have any tricks for applying this polish?


Liz