When I first saw Mermaid’s Dream by Deborah Lippman on Pinterest (thank you, Real Simple!) I just had to have it… Seafoam green micro-glitter with gold undertones and flecks of blue glitter – incredible. So I bought it and felt like a kid on Christmas as I painted three thin coats and toped with my fave Essie Good to Go. The texture was a little “rough” even with the top coat but I just thought that added to the cool factor and made it seem even more like a mermaid’s tail. Eeek it was so pretty! Things were going great until the next day the polish started to chip and flake off… Um..? It’s not like I was playing basketball or washing a million dishes – I would literally be sitting and pieces would break off.
So I tried it again, this time using a clear base coat of polish. No-go. Same flaky action 12-24 hours later. What gives? I need your help friends: how the heck do you keep super glittery polish from flaking off? I know it has something to do with the consistency of all the glitter in the formula but I need a solution because this Mermaid’s Dream is too cool to give up… Any and all suggestions are welcome!
And I guess if I can’t figure it out I can always swap it for one of the two Deborah Lippman chrome lacquers I’ve been eyeing (Sugar Daddy and Swagga Like Us) or her super new 3D Holographic colors (Sweet Dreams and Ray of Light) 
(Deborah Lippman Mermaid’s Dream via Nordstrom // Image 2 Miranda Kerr ELLE 2005 via // Image 3 via Flickr)
Maybe avoid a quick dry top coat. I love them as well, but it might be making the polish shrink a tad, making it brittle and easy to chip.
Do you notice any shrinkage at all with your other polishes when you use the Essie Good to Go?
I LOVE Swagga Like Us – maybe you should get it anyway!
I am SO obsessed with this polish too! I wear it all the time (so much fun as just an accent nail on a blue-toned mani too) and people are constantly oogling over it!
I have had some success using Seche Vite as a topcoat on it (with Seche Vite base coat too, but I dont think that will make as much of a difference). http://www.sallybeauty.com/seche-vite/SBS-215000,default,pd.html
I would definitely try to make sure you get a little of the topcoat under the top edge of your nail, if that makes sense? It might dry on your skin a little, but that overlap will definitely help it from chipping, at least along the top ends of your nails.
Good luck!
i love this mermaid color and look! it's fabulous and so gorgeous.
thanks for the nail tips!!
xo,
wardrobe girls
http://www.wardrobesimetandliked.com
I have this color too and adore it! I would try the Debroah Lippmann 2-second nail primer. It keeps the nail bed free from any oils, lotions, etc. and allows the polish to really adhere.
I love that color! The little flecks of glitter are just enough sparkle too.
Stay in the Lines
I have the color…I agree with Phoebe about the the quick dry polish. I love it. So magical and different.