Indie Spotlight: LynBDesigns Spark of Madness Collection, Part 2

*LynBDesigns products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*

 Happy Tuesday everyone!  I've got the second half of the Spark of Madness collection from LynBDesigns to show you today.  You can see my swatches of the first half of the set here, if you missed it.  This entire collection was inspired by Robin Williams and some of his many beloved films.  Without further ado, let's get going!

Nanu Nanu is up first today.  While technically not a film, Mork was the role that kind of rocketed Mr. Williams to stardom and I think it's completely right for a nod to that to be in this collection.  Nanu Nanu is a creamy, peachy creme base with multicolored small glitters, mostly in red, green, and orange.  If this sounds like a strange combination to you, I'll admit it is.  But it works!  It's definitely a polish that will draw the eye because of its unusual colors.

The formula is great here, with a smooth and creamy consistency.  I'm showing 3 coats here with one coat of Seche Vite to smooth out any bumpiness from the glitters.  I'd also like to note that my camera insisted this polish was more orange than it actually is and no amount of color-correcting could fix it to my satisfaction.  Nanu Nanu is much more of peach shade than an orange, so please keep that in mind if you decide to order.

 If you like unusual color combos, I think Nanu Nanu might just be for you!

Seize the Day, Boys is one of 2 polishes in this collections that pay tribute to Dead Poets Society.  And, rightly so, it's a great movie!  StDB is a lovely teal with a bit of a golden shimmer and a linear holographic finish.  The holo on this one is a little more subtle than others, but no less beautiful for it.

Gosh, isn't that lovely??  I'm wearing 3 coats here with one coat of Seche Vite on top.  The formula is practically flawless here and I had no issues with application whatsoever.

Seize the Day, Boys is a must if you love teals and especially if you love holos.  As I mentioned, it's not an in-your-face holo, but it just adds a little extra to the beautiful color that's already there.

Inspired by Jumanji, Keep Your Chin Up is a shifty bronze that leans towards golden peach and pink depending on the light.  It also has little blue flecks and a subtle holographic effect.  I love the little blue bits in this!  Another great Fall color here as well.

Beautiful formula here, I'm showing 3 coats with one coat of Seche Vite.  I had no streaking, dragging, or other issues at all with KYCU.  

Keep Your Chin Up is definitely one of my favorites of this collection.  The color is lovely and it's kept from being a straight up neutral by the holographic sparkle.

Make Your Life Spectacular is inspired by Jack...such a sweet little movie with a sweet little polish to match.  MYLS is a lovely soft lavender base with a pink shimmer and it has a strong linear holographic effect.  My first thought when I put this on was that it was a bit of a bait and switch.  You grab this pretty lavender bottle and you're thinking it's just a pretty, girly polish and don't get me wrong, it is.  But then the sunlight hits it and you realize that while it's also pretty and girly, it's also pretty damn kickass as well!  Love it!

MYLS is a little on the sheer side and may take 3-4 coats for full opacity.  I'm showing 3 in these photos and you can still see a bit of nail line.  You could, of course, layer it over white or a light color to cut down on layers.  The formula is smooth and easy to apply and I had no problems with it at all.

Another favorite of mine, Make Your Life Spectacular is a gem.  It's definitely one you'll want to snag for your own collection!

Finally we come to my top favorite of this set.  Oh Captain, My Captain is the second polish inspired by Dead Poets Society and Jenna has really outdone herself with this one!  OCMC is a multichrome base that shifts from green to gold to plum with a scattered holographic effect as well.  This very well may be the most perfect Fall polish ever!  It strongly reminds me of the leaves changing color on the trees...so beautiful!

And the sparkle!  The formula is, again, near perfect with no dragging or streaking.  I'm showing 3 coats here with one coat of Seche Vite on top.  Seriously, get ya a bottle of this!  Trust me, you NEED it!

The Spark of Madness collection goes on sale today at noon EST and will be available for purchase on LynBDesigns Etsy site.  Nanu Nanu retails for $8: Oh Captain, My Captain is $12; and all the others in this post are $10 for full size bottles. Be sure to follow LynBDesigns on Facebook for updates on new releases, swatch photos, and other important information!

Thanks you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post!

Indie Spotlight: LynBDesigns Spark of Madness Collection, Part 1

*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!

Indie Spotlight: LynBDesigns The Fault in Our Stars Collection Part 2

*LynBDesigns products provided for honest and unbiased review.  All other products were purchased by me*

Hello, everyone! We've had a lovely cool shift in weather and it's starting to really feel like fall in Chicago.  I know I should be worried that it means winter is just around the corner, but I love autumn so much I just can't care at the moment :)

On to the polish! I promised earlier in the week that I'd have the second half of LynBDesigns The Fault in Our Stars collection to share with you and here they are! (If you'd like a refresher over the first 3 gorgeous shades in this collection, you can see my swatches here.)

An olive-toned antique gold with a hint of pink shimmer, Tasting the Stars kind of snuck up on me.  I wasn't expecting to love it so much just looking at it in the bottle, but once I got it on my nails I didn't want to take it off!  I won't lie; this color is probably not for everyone but to me, it's a gorgeous, sophisticated color (and perfect for fall as well!).

Tasting the Stars was easy to apply and is opaque on its own in 2-3 coats (I'm showing 3 coats with 1 coat of Seche Vite here).  Jenna (LynBDesigns creator) mentioned that this would also look great over black, and I'm pretty sure she's right.  I'll definitely be giving it a try!  No application issues here, just a smooth easy finish.

If you're a sucker for fall colors, be sure to snag Tasting the Stars for your stash.  You won't regret it (I hear crunchy leaves in my head every time I look at it)!

Wish Granting Factory is up next.  In the bottle, this polish looked bronze-y orange but, once I applied it, I discovered a lovely plummy jelly brimming with holographic flash and golden shimmer. 

Opaque in 2-3 coats (I'm wearing 3 with 1 coat of Seche Vite), Wish Granting Factory has a smooth, easy to apply formula.  I wore this polish for about 3 days with little to no tip wear, so durability isn't an issue.

Wish Granting Factory is another shade that will be perfect for fall, the wine-hued base practically screams autumn.  It's another favorite of mine from this set (I seem to have a lot of those)!

Ok, I'm going to gush a bit. Our Little Infinity is by far and away my absolute favorite in this collection and is definitely in my Top 5 favorites of all time.  Not only is it purple, it's a shifter with holographic glitter...it's like Jenna reached into my brain and made this one just for me! A royal blue to rich plum multichrome with flashes of gold and pink, Our Little Infinity is nothing short of spectacular.  It's like a purple disco ball when the sunlight hits it and the shift in lower light is a vision.  Our Little Infinity seems to glow and its distractability factor is off the charts!  I'm thankful I don't drive when I wear this one...I can barely tear my eyes away from it!

*sigh*...I mean, just LOOK. AT. IT!  In addition to her spellbinding good looks, Our Little Infinity has a beautifully smooth formula, though you might need an extra coat for full opacity.  I'm showing 4 thin coats with a coat of Seche Vite in these photos.  I wore this for 3 days on 2 separate occasions and had almost no visible wear.  It's the perfect polish, I swear!

I did my best to capture the gorgeousness of Our Little Infinity, I hope you'll realize how special this one is because if you love purple and sparkly and shifty...you NEED this polish!

The Fault in Our Stars collection will be available on the LynBDesigns Etsy site on Friday, Sept. 19.  Tasting the Stars and Wish Granting Factory will each retail for $8 for a full size bottle with Our Little Infinity at $12.  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 enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!  

Indie Spotlight: LynBDesigns The Fault in Our Stars Collection Part 1

*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!

Indie Spotlight: LynBDesigns Pliny the Elder & The Credible Hulk

*All products purchased by me.  Unsolicited review.*


Happy Sunday, everyone!  Did everyone remember to "spring forward" with Daylight Savings Time?  This is my least favorite switch, I vastly prefer the other where we gain the hour of sleep to this one where we lose it.  I'm sure I'm not alone in that opinion, although I do enjoy the longer days of spring...let's hope the temperatures start to rise accordingly!

Today I wanted to show a couple of LynBDesigns polishes that I picked up during her last sale.  We all know I'm a sucker for holos and a firm believer that a girl can never have too many, so when I saw Jenna's They Say of the Acropolis collection I knew I had to have a couple of the holos.  This collections is based on a British game show called Quite Interesting, or QI for short.  It's gained a cult following here in the States and though I haven't had a chance to check it out, it's on my list to see.

First up is Pliny the Elder.  The photos I saw of this polish made me fall in love long before I got in my hot little hands.  It's described in the listing as "a linear holographic polish with a deep red jelly base and a smattering of orange iridescent glitter".  While Pliny the Elder is a linear holographic with orange glitter, the base comes off much more brown than red, or plum as I heard it described elsewhere.  It is, in fact, quite similar to LynBDesigns' Smoky Quartz (which has been discontinued) once it's on the nail.  I was a bit disappointed in this color, not because it's awful or terrible, but because it was pictured as something much more plummy than it is.  Just goes to show that computer moniters really do make a difference!  I'll continue this review based on the polish's merits, though, and not base upon what color I wish it were.  I just thought it was worth mentioning.  

The holographic effect is great and the orange glitter adds a little extra dimension, it give almost a flakie effect.  As usual, the formula was near perfect, I'm showing 3 coats with one coat of Seche Vite for these photos.  No dragging or drying time issues to report.
 

If you're looking for a darker holographic polish, I don't think you'd be disappointed in Pliny the Elder.  If you're looking for a purple or plum holographic...well, I'd try something else.
 

Next up is The Credible Hulk.  Now, this polish was everything the photos and descriptions promised and then some.  An olive green base with a golden shimmer, The Credible Hulk has a knock-you-out linear holographic effect.  I'm absolutely in love with green holos at the moment, they seem so perfect for spring, and this one is no exception!

The formula is beautifully smooth and easy to apply.  The Credible Hulk is a little on the sheer side, I've used 4 thin coats with one coat of Seche Vite, so you might want to consider undies.  But this is such a beautiful color on its own, I had to show it on its lonesome so you could bask in its loveliness!
 

*All products purchased by me.  Unsolicited review.*

Both Pliny the Elder and The Credible Hulk are currently available at LynBDesigns Etsy store for $10 for a full size, 15ml bottle.  Be sure to follow Jenna over on Facebook to keep up with new releases, sales, and other important info!

Thanks so much for reading!