*Pretty & Polished products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me*
Hello, hello! I hope everyone is ready for autumn because the indie Fall Collections are starting hit the virtual shelves and there's a lot to love! I was fortunate to get to swatch from not one but THREE upcoming Pretty & Polished collections and I'll be showing you polishes from two of those collections today. Both P&P's Fall 2014 Collection and their Supernatural-inspired collection, It's Funnier in Enochian, are currently available for purchase on their site and I'm sure you'll love them all so let's check out some swatches!
I Can Quit Anytime I Want is a polish from the 5-polish collection It's Funnier in Enochian. I used to watch Supernatural forever ago but I went several years without cable TV and just never got back into it. That said, it was always entertaining and great for the eye candy! ICQAIW is a deep, deep brick red jelly (it looked like espresso in the bottle) that dries to a velvety matte finish. I was very surprised by how much I loved the finish on this one as I don't generally care for mattes (unless there's glitter involved). However, ICQAIW's finish is so perfect I can't help but love it!
I'm showing 4 coats of ICQAIW in these photos; it is quite sheer and because of that, it's going to be great for layering, jelly sandwiches (as you'll see in a few moments), and leadlighting. The formula is just about flawless, although my bottle did have a little bit of pigment that was unmixed. A good shake fixed that problem though and it did not affect my finished swatches at all. Additionally, because of the matte finish, there's almost no drying time to worry about...bonus!
I mentioned earlier that the versatility of this polish is great, check out the photos below!
I decided to add a coat of Seche Vite to ICQAIW in the photo on the left. It really brings out that jelly squishiness that we all love so much. Then, of course, I had to do a jelly sandwich! I added on coat of Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's Wedded Bliss and then one coat of ICQAIW with a final coat of SV on top. Beautiful! I Can Quit Anytime I Want is available on the Pretty & Polish website for $8 for a full size bottle. This is a beautiful polish, with a lot of versatility and you definitely don't want to miss it!
Take the Long Way Home is the first of the Fall 2014 Collection polishes I have to show you. An eye-catching gold glitter, TtLWH is greatly changed by light variation. In bright light, it's a sunny, vivid gold, but takes on an antiqued, burnished color in the shade. You'll definitely want to check out all the listing swatches on this one to see how much difference the light makes!
TtLWH is fully opaque in 2-3 coats (I'm showing 3 here with one coat of Seche Vite). I always worry that full coverage glitters will be an issue, but TtLWH has a great formula; not too thick or gloppy. Application was a breeze!
Gold is a big color for the fall collections this year (this is the second one I've swatched for the season already) and Take the Long Way Home is a great polish, if you need a full coverage gold glitter to add to your stash!
There is S'more to Life is a crelly glitter polish and I love it! The inspiration and this polish match up so well! The creamy, almost white base is the marshmallow with the golden caramel hexes as the graham crackers and deep, chocolate glitters as the Hersey's bar (because it's not really a S'more with a Hersey bar!)...and the total is greater than the sum of its parts, just like the original!
I wore TiStL in 3 coats with one coat of Seche Vite to smooth out any rough glitter bits (not that there were many). Application was easy, with little to no fishing for glitters. Just a great polish with a lovely visual payoff!
In addition to being a dead on dupe for its inspiration, There is S'more to Life is perfect for autumn. The sparkle of gold from the glitter gives it a touch of sophistication that will have you sighing every time you catch a glance of it!
Last and my favorite of this set is Ninjas Hate Crunchy Leaves...makes sense, right? ;) This bright glitter topper consists of autumnal-hued glitters in varying sizes. It's like Vermont in the fall in a bottle!
NHCL is packed with glitter so I had no trouble getting a good distribution onto my nails. I chose to show this polish over a candy corn inspired gradient (comprised of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Wet 'n' Wild in Cursed and Get Lucky) because I'm totally jonesing for Halloween already lol It turned out to be the perfect way to show off this colorful topper, doncha think? So much fun!
The Fall 2014 Collection is currently available on the Pretty & Polished website and each of these polishes retail for $8.50 for a full size bottle. Be sure to follow P&P on Facebook as well to keep updated on new releases, sales, and other important info!
I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
Hello again! I've got a full Sunday Similarities post for you guys today so let's get a-movin'! Mint remains a popular color choice no matter what the season and since I have about a billion of them in my stash, I decided to swatch a few and compare them for you.
These mints are in the teal family and are all cremes. I'm comparing 4 polishes in this post: from left to right in the photo above are Sinful Colors Teal the End, NYC Tudor City Teal, Sally Hansen Triple Shine Dive In, and Sinful Colors Open Seas.
As you can see, Open Seas and Tudor City Teal have a bit more green and grey to them than Dive In and Teal the End, which are pretty much dupes. Of the 4, Tudor City Teal has the sheerest formula, requiring 4 coats to get the opacity shown here. Each of the others are shown in 2 coats here with no top coat on any of them.
Do you need each of these polishes in your life? Probably not, unless you're a nut like me ;) Obviously, Teal the End and Dive In may be redundant, but Open Seas and Tudor City Teal differ by a shade or two. I don't think Open Seas is still available in stores, being from a couple of seasons ago but I just picked up Teal the End for $1.99 at Walgreen's last week. Tudor City Teal is available anywhere NYC is sold for $0.99 a bottle on average and Dive In tops the price list at around $4.99 wherever you find Sally Hansen products.
I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hi everyone! I've got the second set of polishes from No Blank Paper that I promised you all on Sunday, including my favorite of the bunch! If you missed the first set, you check them out here. I'm so excited about this bunch I say we just get right to the photos, how 'bout it?
Starting things off is Between Rage and Serenity, a blackened purple creme with fine blue and pink glitter and pink and lavender hexes. Mysterious and dark, this polish is saved from murkiness by the glitter picking up the light and creating a lovely sparkle.
I'm showing 2 coats of Between Rage and Serenity and I did use one coat of Seche Vite with this as the polish has a slightly matte finish on its own. It was slightly streaky on the first coat, but did even out nicely on the second. Other than that, the formula was smooth and easy to work with.
Between Rage and Serenity will make a great Fall polish, or a sultry one for a night out. A beautiful color with just the right amount of sparkle!
Spoilers, Sweetie is a dark teal shimmer with silver and blue hexes and a smattering of pink squares. I love the color here! The shimmer adds a lovely depth to this polish as well.
Another great formula, very smooth and easy to apply. I'm showing just two coats here, with one coat of Seche Vite. Spoilers, Sweetie does dry with a semi-matte finish so if you like a shine, you'll want a top coat. I also think the shiny finish helps show off the shimmer in the polish.
I can't think of any real criticisms for this polish. Beautiful color plus great formula equals an easy, gorgeous manicure!
And now we come to my favorite polish of the six, I Stole a Time Lord. This midnight blue beauty is packed with all kinds of blue glitters and holographic sparkle. It's like wearing a galaxy on your fingertips!
I'm showing 2 flawless coats here with one coat of Seche Vite. Again, I think the top coat is called for here to bring out the depth of sparkle in this polish. The formula was perfect, no dragging or streaking and I can't get over the color! If you're a fan of blues and sparkle, you really want to grab this one!
Currently, all of Erin's polishes are offered in 5ml mini bottles that retail for $3 each. Pretty much a steal if you ask me! You can skip on over to her Etsy store to nab these and other lovelies. To sweeten an already pretty sweet deal, Erin has generously offered a 15% discount to my readers with code: TOPCOAT15. You might want to hurry though, the discount expires in a couple of weeks!
I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
*Spellbound Nails products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Hello, everyone! I've got a collection of cremes plus a holo
topper to show you all today from Spellbound Nails. Ashely, the owner
and creator of Spellbound Nails, has just opened up a new website
to sell her lovely wares and has released some beautiful new
collections to go with the fabulous new site. I was lucky enough to get
to try out one of these collections and wanted to share them with you!
The collection I received to swatch is called The Darks, a witchcraft-inspired set of 5 cremes. I have to mention upfront that the bottles I received were testers, so the bottles you decide to purchase will possibly be a touch different (as far as any formula issues go). All of Ashley's finished products I've tried have had great formulas, so I never worry about quality issues. Just felt I should make you guys aware that you'll be getting a fully tested, 100% finished product if you choose to buy!
First up is Velvet, a deep, eggplant purple. As purples are always my favorites, I was excited to try this color in particular. The color is beautiful with a smoky edge, very fitting for the witchy theme! I'm wearing 3 coats of Velvet here with one coat of Seche Vite. My bottle was a little streaky up until the third coat but evened out quite nicely in the end. If you're in need of a dark-but-not-black polish for your stash, Velvet is a great option!
Witching Hour is a blackened teal and one of my favorites of this collection. The color is touch less green than my photo in real life, absolutely gorgeous! Witching Hour reminds me of the swatches I've seen of O.P.I.'s Amazon Amazoff and now I'll just have to grab a bottle so I can do a comparison. Oh no! :) No formula issues with this one at all, opaque in 2-3 coats (2 coats shown here with one coat of Seche Vite) and a smooth, easy application.
Next we have Bewitched, a deep, rusty burgundy. This was my least favorite of the colors as I just don't think it goes with my skin tone very well. The color itself is lovely, just not for me! I had no trouble with the formula here, this is an easy 2 coats with a coat of Seche Vite.
Salamander is greyed, camouflage-y green; the perfect match for slimy, salamander skin! That said, it's actually a very lovely color. I'm a big fan of green polishes right now, I think it's because we had such a long winter and I'm just thrilled to see anything that looks like growing things lol I'm showing 3 coats of Salamander here with one coat of Seche Vite. Again, easy application with no dragging or streaking, just a great polish!
Hearthstone, a mid-tone grey with a touch of earthiness, completes the collection. This color was my top fave of the bunch! Something about the perfect grey polish gets to me every time, what can I say? I'm showing 3 coats of Hearthstone here with one coat of Seche Vite. Like Velvet, my bottle of Hearthstone gave me a little streaky trouble, but did even out just fine with the third coat.
The Darks are currently available on the Spellbound Nails website and retail for $8 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. Should you decide to purchase the entire full-size collection ($40), Ashley is currently offering a free full-size bottle of her scattered holographic topper, Holo Back Girl! which I was also lucky enough to swatch :)
This is one coat of Holo Back Girl! over 2 coats of Witching Hour. The sparkle on this beauty is incredible! A great holo topper is an easy way to freshen up a days-old mani that's still in good shape or revitalize the boring polish colors. Holo Back Girl! essentially doubles the polishes in your stash by giving you the option to make each one a holographic! I love the versatility with this one.
I wanted to show you a blurry photo so you could get a better idea of the sparkle factor going on here. So many rainbows! And one coat will do ya, easy application and a great payoff!
If you want to keep apprised of new releases, sales, and other important information be sure to follow the Spellbound Nails Facebook page. I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hi there! I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. It's been kind of a lay-around-the-house sort of weekend for me, which was much needed. I did manage to get some swatching done and I've got a new-to-me brand to show you all. I first heard of this brand through The Good Witch of the Midwest and I knew I had to try them out for myself! No Blank Paper is run by a lovely gal named Erin who frankens up a pretty mean set of pretties! I'll be showing off these polishes in two posts, three polishes a piece.
First up is Dashwood Sensibilities. I have to mention that Erin does a fabulous job naming her polishes...I just think they're so fitting! Anyway back to the polish at hand (if you'll pardon the pun), DS is salmon-y coral creme with a hint of golden shimmer. This polish is just perfect for summer, the color and shimmer capture warm breezes and sand between your toes.
DS has a great formula, I'm showing three easy coats here with no top coat. I did have a little tip wear on this after a day, but I'm chalking that up to no top coat. I had no issues with gloppiness or streaking, just an overall nice polish.
I'm very pleased with the cremes from No Blank Paper that I've tried so far, Dashwood Sensibilities is no exception. Sometimes with a newer brand, you'll run into opacity issues with cremes but I can say that Erin seems to have no issue with that at all.
Next I've got a lovely crelly called Blonde With a Union Jack (remember what I said about the names?). This barely-there baby pink beauty is chock full of metallic pink, white, and blue hexes with a sprinkling of fine holographic glitter thrown in for sparkle. Colors like this always remind me of Soft Kitty from Big Bang Theory for some reason :)
I layered up 4 coats (no top coat) of BWAUJ for these photos and still had a little visible nail line. This isn't an issue for me, but if you dislike the sheerness you can always wear it over a base polish. Good formula, no application issues, and I didn't have to fish for the glitter.
BWAUJ might be a great work polish. The soft color and sheerness give it a conservative feel but the glitter and holographic sparkle keep it from seeming boring.
From a sheer softy we're heading into uncharted territory! This is Captain's Log, a sheer gold shimmer with multi-colored stars and holographic bars, squares, and hexes. If you're looking for a polish to boldly go places with, Captain's Log might be for you ;)
Since the stars are a bit heavier, you may have to fish a little and do some placing. You can also turn the bottle upside down for a few minutes before application to help distribute them a bit more evenly. I'm showing 3 coats of Captain's Log with no top coat here. I knew from looking at the bottle that this would be sheer, so I didn't bother trying to cover up any VNL. Again, a base polish will help in the opacity department if you don't like the look. The only application issue I had was the aforementioned heavy stars, everything else was great!
Overall, I'm really impressed with Erin's polishes. She's got some unique color combinations and her formulas are fantastic! I have yet to mention the prices, as they're so jaw-droppingly great I thought I should save them for last. Since she makes small batches of frankens, Erin currently offers only 5ml mini bottles which will set you back a measly $3 a piece! Even better than that, she's offering a 15% discount to my readers here for a couple of weeks with code: TOPCOAT15. Let's run through the fabulousity one more time. Great colors, wonderful formulas, fantastic prices, plus a discount?! You should run to her Etsy store immediately and grab yourself somethin' purdy!
If you're interested in seeing more swatches before you buy, be sure to check back on Wednesday, as I'll have the second set of three polishes from No Blank Paper to show you! Thank you 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!
*Nothing to disclose*
Hey there! Who's excited to see a Sunday Similarities post? I certainly am! It's been ages since I've done one, but thanks to my friend Liz from A Mani Maniac, I have a pretty sweet set to compare for you today!
The polishes I'm comparing today are all orange-toned linear holographics. From left to right in the photo above are: Literary Lacquers More Like Fire Than Light, Studio M's Sunrise Canyon, and LynBDesigns Am I Ginger?. Both the Literary Lacquers and the Studio M (an affiliate of ColorClub sold only at Mejier grocery stores, I believe) were gifted to me by Liz and I'm ever so grateful because they're both gorgeous! Let's take a peek at how these gals stack up against each other, shall we?
As you can see, I'm wearing More Like Fire Than Light on my index and pinky nails, Sunrise Canyon on my middle nail, and Am I Ginger? on my ring finger. Sunrise Canyon is very obviously the odd girl out here, with a much lighter orange tone. It's a very hard to describe color as it almost has a metallic pink color to it in certain lights. MLFTL and AIG? are much more similar to each other and practically dupes, with AIG? being just a shade or two darker orange. MLFTL has a bit more yellow to it as well. All of these polishes have a strong linear holographic effect which shows in most light; most prominently of course, in sunlight.
Sunrise Canyon is fully opaque in 2 coats and that's what I'm showing here. AIG? took 3 coats for opacity and MLFTL took 4 thin coats. I did not apply a top coat for these photos so you can see the actual finish of each polish. All the formulas are lovely, smooth with no application issues. Does one need both AIG? and MLFTL? Probably not since they are so similar, but I like to support my favorite indie brands and these two definitely fit that category!
If you are lucky enough to live in a area serviced by Mejier, you can find Sunrise Canyon and other Studio M nail polishes for $2.99 each. Am I Ginger? is currently stocked over on LynBDesigns Etsy store and is $10 for a full-size bottle. More Like Fire Than Light is available on Literary Lacquers Etsy store, also for $10 for a full-size, 15ml bottle. You may also want to keep an eye on the Facebook pages for LynBDesigns and Literary Lacquers, as you'll find updated info on restocks, new products, sales and other fun stuff for each brand there.
Don't forget to enter my latest giveaway here! I hope you enjoyed the post and thanks so much for reading!
*Nothing to disclose*
Happy Friday everyone! I'm enjoying an unexpected day off. Since I have some free time, I figured it was a great idea to post the second half of swatches from my Sinful Colors Destination Color haul! I've got 3 more polishes to show you today and if you missed the first half of the post, you can find it here. Let's get started shall we?
I'm going to start with my least favorite of the new colors I nabbed. Green With Ivy is one of the 9 Walgreens exclusive polishes from this set of collections. I love the name but really dislike pretty much everything else about this polish. Don't get me wrong, look at the color in the bottle. Isn't it pretty? If that was the color that showed up on the nail, I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately, this polish is so sheer, I'm not sure what you can do with it.
Green With Ivy is a teal jelly with holographic hexes and bars. In these photos, I'm wearing SIX coats! With the exception of my middle nail, where I started with an undies base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. That nail has 4 coats of Green With Ivy over the base. Even as a layering polish, I'm not sure how you'd use it. One coat over the white base was barely visible, and it was completely invisible (except for the glitter) on my bare nail. I'm very disappointed in this polish because I can't find a practical purpose for it. The formula was fine, it didn't drag or get gloppy but it's just so sheer!
I'll be interested to see if any other blogger/nail fanatics come up with a great way to use this polish. As for me, this one may be going straight to my blog sale :( The good news is that Sinful Colors is so reasonably priced at $1.99 a bottle, it's hard to get too upset about it.
On to happier reviews! Yellow Out There is the third Walgreens-exclusive jelly polish. The bright, lemony yellow jelly base is sprinkled with holographic hexes and bars. My only real complaint about this polish is that I wish they had been a little more liberal with the glitter. It's a tad sparse and somewhat difficult to get a good application of it over the whole nail.
Overall though, I like this polish. The color is perfect for summer and, though it's a bit sheer (4 coats shown here with a bit of visible nail line still showing), it would build up nicely in 2 coats over undies. The finish on this polish is shiny and I'm showing it without top coat to give you an idea of what it looks like alone. I had no issues with the formula, just a nice, smooth application.
A pretty color, a nice formula, and a little sparkle...what more could you want? ;)
Curry Up is one of my favorite polishes from this haul. A bright, limey green creme with flecks of rusty red and a bright turquoise shimmer, Curry Up is another unique color combination. Another hit with the name as well, I'm always a fan of a good, punny name!
I almost didn't notice the red flecks in the bottle, so I'm pleased they showed up rather well on the nail. I hesitate to call them glitters as I think they might be actual glass flecks since they don't seem to have a regular shape. Either way, they're neat-o! I'm showing 3 coats here with no top coat. You will most likely be able to get by with 2 coats here, although I still had a bit of streakiness after the second coat...so I went with 3! Other than that, no application issues to report.
I'm going to have purchase a few more of the polishes from this set! Overall, I'm really happy with the ones I bought and I know there are 3 Walgreens-exclusive textured polishes in the display, as well as 3 "opalescent" toppers exclusive to the store. Additionally, on the top of the display, there are 4 (I believe) different sets of nail "tattoos" which seem to be just water decals. They had some cute designs so I may have to grab a couple of those, too! It seems as there's a bit of everything for everybody!
I hope you enjoyed my post and thank you so much for reading!
