*LynBDesigns products supplied for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Hi there! It feels like it's been forever since I've blogged and I know I've been a bit MIA lately. Work has really picked up (in fact, I had to work all weekend...boo!) and my weekends have been packed full of football! But, I have today off and some beautiful polishes to show you so let's get to it!
LynBDesigns is, as you might have guessed, one of my favorite indie brands. Jenna creates beautiful colors with a great formula so it's hard not to love them! This collection is a 10-polish set created in honor of Robin Williams. Some of my favorite movies are included as inspiration in this collection and I was just thrilled to get the chance to swatch it. I'll be showing the Spark of Madness collection in two parts as 10 polishes is quite a lot for any post ;) Here we go!
Oh, There You Are, Peter is inspired by the movie Hook. Oddly enough, Hook is not only one of my favorite movies, but my Dad loves it as well so I'm a big fan of this polish! OTYAP consists of a spring-y light green shimmer base with a hint of gold and little grass green and sheer yellow gold glitters.
Isn't it pretty? The formula was easy to apply and I'm showing 3 coats here with one coat of Seche Vite as a topper. Because of the little glitters in this one, you'll probably definitely want a good top coat to smooth things out a bit. The glitters came out of the bottle easily and there was not gloppiness or clumping.
I know not everyone is a fan of green polishes, but it's hard not to love the lighthearted feeling of Oh, There You Are, Peter.
Friends Come In All Sizes is up next. Death to Smoochy, the inspiration for this polish, is not your typical Robin Williams comedy, but it's still pretty hilarious. FCIAS is a deep purple jelly base packed with golden and fuchsia glass flecks. Of course, since it's purple, I'm pretty much in love with it!
My bottle of FCIAS was a little on the thicker side, but it wasn't an issue for application. This was opaque in just 2 coats (which I'm showing here) and was really almost a one-coater. The formula was smooth and I didn't have any issues with it. The glass flecks really add a nice depth and shine to FCIAS...it reminds me of granite or marble!
Friends Come In All Sizes is great fall color! And I really think it fits the inspiration perfectly; purple, shiny, and just a little bit dark!
Fosse, Fosse, Fosse derives its inspiration from the scene in The Birdcage where Armand is trying to help Albert with some dance moves. A pale blue creme with a hint of mint and a lovely blue to pink shimmer, FFF had me at "Hello!". I'm a firm believer that you can never have to many minty polishes in your stash, and more's the better if they have a little extra sumthin-sumthin in the mix ;)
The formula is great here, opaque in 2-3 coats (I'm wearing 3 in these photos). I'm pleased to report that the shimmer in this polish does not lose its punch when applied...bonus!
Even if you own umpteen minty polishes, the shimmer in Fosse, Fosse, Fosse sets it apart from the rest so I'd definitely recommend grabbing a bottle ;)
Next up is Fight Fire With Marshmallows, a reference to the movie Toys. I'm not too familiar with this movie, having only seen it once, but this polish is just gorgeous! A warm brown jelly base filled with golden hexes in two sizes, black and white triangles, with lavender hexes and iridescent squares, FFWM is stunning!
*Sigh* I just can't get over how much I love this one! The color, the glitter, everything! The formula is great, I'm showing 4 coats here to get a good level of opacity, but you could definitely layer this over a nude or light colored polish if you're not in the mood for so many coats. I didn't have any issue with getting the glitters out of the bottle and just used the brush to place the triangles and larger glitters how I wanted them.
Fight Fire With Marshmallows is definitely a unique polish, which is all the more reason that you might NEED to own it!
Lastly, but definitely not least, is Phenomenal Cosmic Powers; an obvious nod to Genie in Aladdin. I'm a sucker for a good animated flick and Robin Williams certainly made this movie. PCP is a stunner of a teal metallic with a golden blue-green shimmer. This polish simply glows and I had a hard time choosing which swatch photos to show as every one was practically perfect!
Easy breezy formula on PCP for sure. Opaque in 2-3 coats (I'm wearing 3 cuz that's how I roll) and super smooth, I had no issues at all with this one either! The color is definitely phenomenal and I love, love, love the shimmer!
The Spark of Madness collection will be available for purchase on the LynBDesigns Etsy site beginning tomorrow, Tues. Oct. 21 at noon EST. Each of the polishes in this post will retail for $8 for a full size bottle. Be sure to follow LynBDesigns on Facebook for release dates, new polishes, and other important info!
Be sure to check back tomorrow for swatches of the second half of the Spark of Madness collection. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!
*LynBDesigns products supplied for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me*
Hello, hello! I hope everyone has had a great weekend! My Wildcats pulled out a heart-stopping (I don't call them the Cardiac 'Cats for nothing) win over Iowa State on Saturday so all is well in my world :) But we're here to talk about nail polish so I shan't bore you with football any more!
A few weeks ago, Jenna from LynBDesigns asked me to swatch her September collection which is inspired by The Fault in Our Stars. Jenna consistently puts out a quality polish and hers are some of my all time favorite indie polishes so of course I said "yes!" immediately. Even though I've neither read the book nor seen the movie, I feel like polish transcends its inspiration often enough that you don't really need to have intimate knowledge of that inspiration to appreciate it. However, I imagine that many of you will love this one for the connection to the book. I'll be showing you 3 polishes out of the 6-polish collection today.
First up is Time Slut. I love the name of this polish even though I have no idea what the reference is lol Time Slut is a pale lavender metallic polish with a subtle bit of electric blue to violet flash that grabs the light beautifully. I must have autumn on the brain because this polish just reminds me of a cashmere sweater...something about the color is so cozy!
I'm wearing 3 coats of Time Slut with one coat of Seche Vite in these photos. This polish has a great formula and I had no troubles with it at all. Since Jenna sent these to me with plenty of testing time, I am also able to tell you that I wore this polish for 3 days with just a touch of tip wear so durability is also great!
Metallics typically aren't my favorite finish for a polish; they tend to be finicky to apply and can look streaky and uneven. Time Slut does not fall into that category. Easy application and a gorgeous color make it stand out from the pack.
Zeno's Tortoise Paradox is the only crelly glitter polish in the bunch and the next up for review. A pistachio-leaning green crelly base chock full of blue, white, green, and pink glitters in hexes and squares, ZTP is colorful and eye-catching. ZTP reads as a springtime polish to me, the green base and pastel glitters feel appropriate to the growing season and I can definitely see myself pulling it out of the stash come April for a fresh Spring mani.
Again I'm showing 3 coats here and you'll most likely need a top coat (1 coat of Seche Vite shown here) just to smooth the larger glitters out a bit. The opacity is good here and I probably could have gotten away with 2 coats. No dragging or streaking and very little glitter-fishing at all. Just a great formula!
I always love a good crelly polish and Jenna really has a knack for coming up with unique color combos. Zeno's Tortoise Paradox is a fun polish and, if you're a fan of the crelly, you'll definitely want to grab it for your stash!
Okay? Okay is the only holographic polish in the collection and is one of my favorites of the set. Seriously, you add anything holographic to anything blue and you've got a winner! A sky-blue creme scattered holographic with a subtle pink shimmer, Okay? Okay is breath-taking! This one reminds me of crisp autumn skies and that little nip in the air that tells you some glorious fall days are on their way.
Opaque in 2-3 flawlessly smooth coats, I had no issues with application. Durability was also an A+ with almost no tip wear after 3 days (with 1 coat of Seche Vite). If you're looking for stunning blue polish to add to your collection, Okay? Okay is just the ticket!
The Fault in Our Stars collection will be available on the LynBDesigns Etsy site on Friday, Sept. 19. Okay? Okay will retail for $10 for a full size bottle with Time Slut and Zeno's Tortoise Paradox at $8 each. I highly recommend following LynBDesigns on Facebook to keep updated on new releases, sales, and giveaways. Jenna recently started a fan group on Facebook as well called LynB Loves. Joining it will gain you access to sneak peeks and other great perks (like pre-order discounts!), so you might want to consider that, too.
I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll tune in later this week for swatches of the second half of The Fault in Our Stars collection...there's a polish in the second bunch that will blow your mind, especially if you love purple, and duochromes, and holographic glitter...you won't want to miss it! Thanks so much for reading!
*Mod Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me*
Hi everyone! A couple of weeks ago, Jennifer from Mod Lacquer put out the call for reviewers and I was lucky enough to snag a spot this go-round. I've had the pleasure of wearing Jennifer's creations before (as you might remember from this post) so I've been on pins and needles to get my paws on this shipment! I was not disappointed, her polishes are superb and without further ado, let's get down to it!
Both polishes I'm reviewing today are from the Above Top Secret collection, a UFO/Alien-inspired set of holographic loveliness. Alien Encounter is a grassy spring green linear holo. The effect on these polishes is insane and will thrill you to no end in sunlight! Seriously, these babies should come with a warning label about their highly effective distractability (and yes, I know that's not a word but I'm using it anyway).
Alien Encounter applied like a dream. I'm showing 3 smooth coats here with no top coat. I totally could have gotten away with just 2 coats but I never like to skimp when it comes to holo. Pile it on, I say! Rainbows for everyone!
I decided to do something a little special with these swatches because it's such a fun theme for a collection. My Alien Encounter swatches come complete with their own "little green man", created with AE itself and the addition of some black striping polish. I may have to recreate this with a bit more detail in the future...he's so cute! I shall name him "George"!
Next up is Zero Point. Zero Point is listed on Etsy as a pink linear holographic polish but it really leans more silver on me. There is the barest blush of pink in certain lights but it's not showing up in my photos unfortunately. (If you're looking for a pinker holo, I'd suggest Aerial Phenomenon from the same collection.)
Again, the formula was nearly flawless and applied easily, no flooding or dragging. 2-3 coats for opacity (I'm wearing 3 here) and no top coat needed for shine. I can't say enough nice things about Jennifer's polishes! They're just stunning!
Zero Point, as near as I can understand it, is named after a technology used to power UFOs (and I'm probably completely wrong on that lol). For my accent nail, I used a stamp (I'm sorry that I don't have a brand for you to refer to, but it was a random that I picked up off of Ebay I think) that looks a bit like a planet or an atom...either way, kinda spacey so I thought it fit with the theme. I double stamped with a gold and then a black striping polish.
Alien Encounter and Zero Point are currently available on Mod Lacquer's Etsy shop for $11 per each full size, 15ml bottle. If you're interested in keeping up to date on new products, sales, and other important info, be sure to follow Mod Lacquer on Facebook.
I hope you've enjoyed this post and thank you so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hello, hello! Do I have some gorgeousity to show you today! Mod Lacquer LLC is a new-to-me brand and when I saw her latest collection, I knew I had to snag a few! Above Top Secret is an all holo, UFO-themed, 7 polish collection. I would have loved to buy the whole set, but since my budget isn't unlimited I picked my two favorites and I have those to show you today.
Majic Eyes Only is a silvery, lavender linear holographic polish. As far as I can tell from the two I purchased, Mod Lacquer does not skimp on the holo...rainbows everywhere! This color is so beautiful! It's actually a lighter purple than I thought it would be from the listing photos, but I don't care at all.
Seriously, look at that holo halo! This polish will wow you in the sunshine, but the effect is also strong enough to be seen in regular indoor lighting. The formula was easy and smooth, opaque in 2-3 coats. I didn't not top coat this so all the shine is just Majic Eyes Only. After I took these photos, I top coated Majic Eyes Only and wore it for 3 days and noticed only a small amount of tip wear, no chips. Definitely passes for durability! And the top coat did not dull the holographic effect at all.
If you're looking for a purple holographic polish that will knock your socks off, I'd highly recommend Majic Eyes Only. And if you're saying to yourself, "Well, I already have 4 purple holos..." then you're probably in the wrong place ;)
Next up is Men In Black. This gunmetal linear holographic polish is a stunner! I had a hard time describing the base color of this polish. I was expecting black, the listing says charcoal, and my boyfriend thought it was gold lol Whatever you chose to call her, she's mysterious and dark...just like her classified namesake.
Another beautiful formula here, again opaque in 2-3 coats and shown without top coat. And again, the holo effect was easily noticeable in regular indoor lighting, though you'll get the strongest effect in sunlight. I did top coat Men In Black after I took photos and noticed no dulling of the holo.
Overall, I have no complaints to report about either of these polishes and I'm hoping to grab a couple other polishes from this collection in the very near future!
Majic Eyes Only, Men In Black, and the rest of the Above Top Secret collection are currently available on the Mod Lacquer Etsy store for $11 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. Please follow her Facebook page as well, to keep up with new releases, sales and other important info!
Thanks so much for reading!
*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Hello there! I've got a fun collection to show you today from Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer. One of the many things I love about indies are their fandom polishes. If you've fallen in love with a T.V. show or a comic book series, chances are at least one indie has a polish line to go with it. Today's collection was inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you're as old as me, you might remember watching the cartoon in the late 80's and early 90's. I loved the Turtles and even went to the theater to see the live action movie in 1990. So I was thrilled when Cherish asked me to swatch this collection. Her TMNT collection consists of 5 glitter toppers and one shimmer. Four of the glitter toppers are named after the Turtles themselves and are made up of their signature face mask colors. I knew I had to do a little extra outside of your run-of-the-mill swatches for these guys, so take a look see and let me know what you think ;)
Up first, we have Raphael. Raphael is a clear base with red hexes in several sizes, red microglitter, and a sprinkling of holographic glitter. I'm showing it here (and all the other polishes in this collection except April O'Neil) over a gradient created with O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff and Wet 'n' Wild's Get Lucky. My accent nail was created with Essie's Mojito Madness, black striping polish, and Wet 'n' Wild's Red Red. Innit he cute?? :)
As always, Cherish's formula was great. The base is a perfect consistency and I had no trouble getting the glitters out of the bottle. This is two coats of Raphael with a top coat of Seche Vite.
This collection is actually quite versatile, besides being named after a Ninja Turtle, there is nothing to stop you from using this as a Christmas polish or as a great red accent.
Leonardo is a blue glitter topper in a clear base. The glitter mix in this one consists of bright blue squares, blue holographic hexes and baby blue microglitter.
Leonardo was also a dream to apply, not gloppy or weird in any way. Again, two coats of Leonardo with one coat of Seche for a topper. None of the glitter toppers in the collection are exceptionally rough, but I do suggest a good top coat to smooth out any uncooperative bits. Also, in my photo it looks like the squares might be curling, but I assure you that I had no issue with glitter curling at all and it's just some strange camera thing.
Another winner in my book!
Next up is Michelangelo. Another single color glitter topper, Michelangelo has matte and metallic orange hexes in a couple of sizes. This actually turned out to be a favorite of mine. I've noticed that with the long, drawn out winter we're having that I'm gravitating much more towards warm oranges and yellows in the hopes that spring and summer will finally arrive.
I'm afraid we're going to get a little broken-record-y when it comes to formulas on these polishes. Cherish just has a great base for her glitter toppers and Michelangelo follows suit. Again, two coats with one coat of SV.
If you like oranges (which I know not everyone does), Michelangelo is definitely worth adding to your collection!
The last Turtle-named polish is Donatello. It's no surprise that this is another favorite for me with my affinity for purple. Here we have bright purple squares and large lavender and fuchsia hexes suspended in a clear base...what's not to love?
Another great formula and another 2 coats shown with one coat of SV. I guess I should copy and paste these descriptions at this point lol
If you're a purple lover, Donatello is a great topper for you! Radiant orchid is this year's Pantone Color of the Year after all ;)
April O'Neil was the Turtles' friend and sidekick on the show and that's certainly how she comes across here. A cheery golden-toned yellow shimmer (the color of the character's signature jumpsuit), April O'Neil compliments the collection nicely.
This was another good formula, especially for a shimmer as they can be streaky. I didn't have any trouble with streaks, dragging, or anything else here. I'm showing 3 thin coats with a coat of SV to top it.
I created April's face for my accent nail out of O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff, Sally Hansen's Copperhead, Wet 'n' Wild's Get Lucky and Temptation, black striping polish. She was actually a lot easier to paint than those turtle faces, believe it or not...I had to redo those guys like three times before I was happy! lol
The final polish of the collection is fittingly called Turtle Power. TP is the fifth glitter topper of the collection and consists of different sized hexes in green, yellow, and copper. This was my favorite in the bottle and I love how it translate to the nail. However, I can't say that I love my TMNT logo so much here lol I tried my best, but fonts just aren't my thing!
Again, no formula issues, though I did find the glitter a little sparser in this combination. I am still wearing 2 coats, but I had to fish a bit for the larger hexes. Not a big deal, but you may want to turn your bottle upside for a few minutes before application.
*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Overall, I really love this collection! Cherish's glitter toppers are always a treat to apply and she's got such fun combinations. If you're interested in purchasing any of these fantastic polishes, you can find them over at Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's Etsy store. I'd also recommend following her on Facebook to keep updated on new releases, sales, and giveaways.
Thanks so much for reading!
