The Matte Collection for Men

This is collection of matte nail polish that has been put together with the subtle taste of men in mind. 

A word of note: I have purposefully left my hands and nails in their usual rough state. I am hard on my hands and use them like the tools that they are. This blog entry features minimal clean up to mimic conditions that men might experience in real life.

That brings up a valid point. Painting nails is like painting a deck. Preparation of surface and product is important. You may want to buff your nails to ensure a longer wear. Shake the bottle of paint first, or roll between your hands to mix.Apply a thin even coat starting from the base of the nail and spread to the tip quickly and evenly. Do this type of stroke in the middle, then to each side of the middle paint. Let the paint dry completely. Too thick a coat will take too long to dry. Wipe your brush off well first and then dip for just enough paint to do a layer. You don't have to get it exactly right. The extra paint on skin or cuticles will come off in the shower after the polish dries.

Nail polish is a bit different than auto paint. It is plasticized, which means it’s designed to flex with your fingernails. Automotive paint will chip off finger nails and is quite thin and not designed to flex, although it dries quickly. Nail polish is thicker and as it dries, a chemical reaction takes place that creates an immediate shell across the surface of the paint, and then the interior of the paint dries to cure. This takes a minute, even for a thin coat. Multiple thins coats give better results than a thick coat. I still have issues with application. My wife, however, is a genius with that little paint brush.

This blog features pictures of me posing with my Fender DG-7, which I keep in the garage to jam on as my daily beater. My left hand finger nails are usually shaped to accommodate playing, and I have mostly permanent callouses on my finger tips. I peel the callouses off when they become too thick. My right hand usually has longer finger nails so that I can finger pick, Travis pick, or claw hammer. I am classically trained and have widely varied musical interests.

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This is Mischief, a matte grey polish. I like the subdued color against the fingerboard.

This is Mischief with a single coat of Suede topcoat. Suede has a matte finish and adds surface texture.

The suede top coat is matte and adds a texture that is very similar to hammered metal surfaces. I did an acoustic jam and solo bit over Thriftstore by Macklemore while wearing this polish.

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This is Vicious, a dark matte red. The color is an eye-catcher without being flashy.

 This is Vicious with a coat of Suede top coat.

I like the hammered metal feel. I did a bit of impromptu jamming to Justin Timberlake's Suit and Tie and jacked the freshly painted index. So be it.

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This is Ruffian, a bold matte blue polish.

This is Ruffian with a coat of Suede top coat.

I really like this combo. I was jamming again, this time to Tennessee Boltdriver's version of Driving my Life Away. I love playing blue grass.

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This is Rascal, a matte black polish.

This is Rascal with a single coat of Suede top coat.

This last picture shows the top coat perhaps a bit more shiny than it was in real life. I may have been a bit rushed since I wanted to jam to Scream and Shout by will.i.am and Britney. I have minimal preference for any particular style. I just love to play music.

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Follows is a swatch of Scoundrel, a satiny finished black to compare finish.

Follows is Scoundrel with a coat of Suede top coat. It shows how the matte top coat changes the finish.

I hope you all enjoyed reading the blog. The Harlem Shake is queued on my Spotify and I am going to go stand in the corner and swing my arm around in a circle, until the chorus starts, which then I am going to just freak out a bit on the dance floor... I mean in my garage. Hope you enjoyed reading.