Duochrome Damask

It's stamping week over at the MakeupAlley Nail Board and I barely need an excuse to stamp, especially if I don't quite like my current mani.  If I hate something outright, I'll usually just take it off.  When I almost like something, I get a strong urge to dress it up until I love it.  Stamping has become my go-to way to do this.  I felt ho-hum about Color Club Sugar Rays, but because it stamped well it wound up being part of one of my favorite manis.  I did the opposite this time.  It was the base that I didn't love.  First off...the name...Layla....Mudhattan.  Bleh!  I found it on steep clearance at Ulta last week and snagged it because I'm on a satin finish kick.  The color's ok, but the "Softouch" finish makes it look like unglazed clay.  There's a photo of it on its own after all of the stamping.  Stamping comes first though...

I stamped with Rimmel Bronze Princess and Bundle Monster's BM-017 plate and the result killed any doubts I had about Mudhattan.  I still hate the name, but it makes a great base color!  Bronze Princess is actually a multichrome, going from purple through to green with a lingering gold and reddish mid-range, but duochrome sounded better in the title.  I took a ton of photos, but none really do the shift justice.

If I'd known that Bronze Princess stamped this well, I'd have hoarded it even more crazily than I did when I only knew it was stunning on its own.  I love the depth and range it goes through.

There's something almost magical about stamping with polishes that shift colors and the neutral base just enhances the effect.

I mattified it, of course.  How could I not?

It's more 'fabric-y' this way, but I prefered it glossy.  The shift, especially into deep blue-green, is more obvious when matte though.

I didn't think it was possible, but I love Bronze Princess even more now than I did in August!  I'll be using it to stamp again, I'm sure!

So....Mudhattan on its own?  Wes of Polish Me Manly was 100% right when he said it looked like clay.  It does.  Completely.

...and...I just don't know.  I had moments when I was pretty sure that I liked it and others when...not so much.  It's unique, I'll give it that.  It also has some serious nail art potential.  Just haven't figured out what yet, beyond stamping.  I think it would look better on someone much, much darker than me...maybe darker than it too.  I like it more when it's glossy, but I wish the shimmer actually showed.  I think that's part of my lukewarm reaction to it.  It looks better in the bottle and that always bugs me.

What really kills me about the stamping is that I had to take it off for work.  It seemed like a bit too much.  We had an inspection recently, so it may be a while before we have another, but I really don't want to risk it.  I don't dislike what I put on instead, but I don't love it either, especially in comparison.  *sigh*