Nail Polish and It's Quick Fix Powers in Fashion Emergencies

Seriously, it's not that complicated. I wouldn't risk breaking a nail!

Nope, I'm not talking about dabbing clear polish to prevent a run in your stocking from getting worse, we should all know that old trick by now. Some of you may even know that painting some clear polish on your costume, a.k.a. "fake", jewelry will help the color last longer. I, the Queen of Inwood and Dykman Avenue jewelry shopping, am all too familiar with that (and I have a lot of fab jewelry because of it I might add). However, In recent fashion emergencies, I have extended the use of nail polish on my accessories for reasons other than solely keeping it's color power. All you need for this two step process is:

1. the desired nail polish color 
2. clear nail polish.

Exhibit One:

Vintage Egyptian Necklace

This vintage costume beauty has been neglected by my neck for some time now due to the fact that the pendant is such a vibrant gold and the chain which it's connected to has discolored and looks brass.

Gold Diggin' Tess by Brucci aided in the quick fix to this problem. I painted one side of the chain with this polish and when it dried I turned it around and did the other, being very careful around the clasp closure. You can skip the clasp closure all together if it's small, or if your hair is going to cover the clasp, because the paint on the clasp will most likely chip when you open it. If you are not in a rush, naturally, you can be a bit more detail oriented when it comes to your clasp painting technique ;) The polish takes about as long to dry as when you are polishing your nails, so take that into consideration when managing your time with this project. Tip: You can complete this easy shmeezy in the time that it takes you to shower, dress and apply your make-up. Your accessory will be done well before you are and doesn't take more than 10 minutes total to do! Please note, if you are doing this on a chain, as I did, it will no longer be as flimsy. Once dried, the polish stiffened the chain a bit. In my case this was beneficial since the pendant is heavy and could use more control.

Another "Before" shot next to superhero "Gold Diggin' Tess" by Brucci

 Once the gold polish dried, I applied a second coat in areas needed and then brushed a coat of clear polish over it. I used Fab Chick by Harlem Diamond's Glam and Glossy. I figured that if clear polish helped lengthen the life of costume jewelry before the Discoloration Afterlife, then it could also help keep the color of the polish used to temporarily refurbish the jewelry.

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Before I roll on into exhibit two, here are some more before and after shots of my Vintage Egyptian Beauty.

 Before

After

 Comparison

  
Exhibit Two:
Black Cinch Belt with Silver Clasp

  

This past weekend I was dead set on wearing a vintage necklace that belonged to my grandmother for my trip to South Hampton to watch my friend belly dance at Trata. The problem here is that ALL of my jewelry and accessories were gold and the silver clasps on the back of my belt just didn't work with the outfit...but it HAD to be THAT belt. I had absolutely no time or money to search for a replacement that day and this belt was perfect, except for the silver, uuugh. Since the silver made me feel limited in styling possibilities in the past, I had no problem saying bye bye to it with some good ole black Wet n' Wild nail polish, # C424A. I made sure to polish the sides of the clasp first to avoid a messy polish overlap look (not that anyone is going to see, but a note for those with OCD tendencies, like myself). After it dried, I applied the Fab Chick by Harlem Diamond Glam and Glossy clear finish and went about my business. The process took less than 10 minutes. I wore the belt later than night and it lasted the night without chipping at all. I did expect some chipping, so I am happy to report this! I imagine the more time you allow it to dry, the longer this quick fix lasts.  <--A real thinker I am, huh?

Here is a picture of my belt, one clasp silver/one clasp painted, as well as grainy "shame on you iPhone" picture of my outfit. I tend to think that the iPhone is the God of all phones, therefore get quite dramatic at it's less than perfect picture taking abilities at times. 

I still had to pay the Mandee bill even though it didn't come to my rescue this day. I think the belt looks so much better all in black and is much more versatile this way.

My shoes. My anklet. So irrelevant to the belt, but just in case you wanted to see the whole outfit.

About the only decent quality shot had to be a bad angle shot, but here you can see the beautiful necklace I wanted to work around as well as the halter robe that the belt is holding together. The simplicity of the belt was necessary for such an ornate necklace. Out of my earring collection, the thin gold hoops looked the best and I added the peach earrings to give it a bit of color while still keeping it as simple as possible (I'm not a simple kind of girl when it comes to my jewelry!)

This belt did just the job! The clasps are in the back, but I had my long hair up in a ponytail that night and now the belt looked like part of the outfit as opposed to one of many pieces. You can't tell, but I am actually wearing 3 articles of clothing; a tube top, a mini skirt and a vintage halter robe. The belt brings it all together to look like one complete piece. My bangles, ring and hand bag are all vintage finds.

I'll only list what you can actually see in these photos: Shirt, Ebay; Skirt, XXI; Vintage Necklace & Halter Robe, my grandmother; Handbag, local thrift shop; Shoes by Nina in Macy's; Peach Earrings, Not To Shabby in Port Jefferson, NY.

And while we are at it, meet my shawl, my favorite means of ensuring warmth during warmer seasons. Many joke it's an old lady look, but I find it a great mix of old Hollywood style with an ethnic, mysterious and dramatic flair. It's a look I've been sporting on and off since I was 20 and will never grow tired of (at least 15 in my closet by now!)

Thank you for reading this post and I hope that the information is useful to you at one point or another. I am off to go paint the silver clasps white on my white cinch belt!

Ciao Bellas!

Love,

Moi xo