July 3rd, 2012 
Heidi 
Today is Jelly Sandwich nail polish day! Thank you to Polly Polish for organizing days when we all coordinate the posts on our nail polish blogs.
I was determined to participate in this second Nail Polish Day, but it was a bit of a challenge with water-based nail polish. In case you are not familiar with the term, a jelly sandwich manicure consists of layers of nail polish with a jelly finish, then a layer of glitter polish, and another layer of jelly nail polish. Jelly polishes have a translucent look similar to colored cellophane. The trouble is, I was not able to find a water-based nail polish with a jelly finish.
I was hoping that 30 Love from Acquarella would have a jelly finish, but it turned out to have a semi-translucent finish. I tried making a sandwich with it anyway, but it did not really turn out as a “jelly” sandwich.
Sandwich Manicure with 30 Love by Acquarella and Star Top Coat by AQmore
Then I read online that I could make my own jelly nail polish. Ah, hah! That seemed to be the solution. There were two options- I could mix two nail polishes into a Frankenpolish or use dye. I opted for my first ever attempt at a Frakenpolish. I admire those who have mastered this technique- my attempt at mixing nail polishes was more of a disaster.
Mixing Frankenpolish- Colored and Clear Water Based Nail Polish
Attempt at a Sandwich Manicure with Frankenpolish
I moved on to the next option of mixing clear water-based nail polish and dye. The only dye I had at my disposal was food coloring, so I used that. This attempt most closely resembled a jelly nail polish finish. Unfortunately, it was not as pretty as ready made jelly polish from the store. Oh well, I think I at least deserve an “A” for effort. I really tried!
Jelly Sandwich Manicure with Water Based Nail Polish
If you want to see what a jelly sandwich manicure is really supposed to look like, check out these other nail polish blogs:
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I love that you tried to make your own polish! I think the effect looks really cool
Thanks! It was a fun experiment. I think it takes a lot of practice to figure out how to mix and make nail polishes.
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Your jelly sandwich with 30 Love looks great and is so fun with the stars!! I’m going to have to try this with the Star Top Coat by AQmore. I love it!
Thanks! Just so you know, the top coats from AQmore are not water-based, only their peel-off polishes are. I like the stars, too, though!
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I love that you’ve used Polish Days as a chance to experiment, thank you for getting involved!