Indie Spotlight: Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer Storms of Arendelle Collection

*All Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review.  All other products mentioned were purchased by me*

Hi everyone!  I hope everyone is having a great week.  I'm ready for the weekend!  We're moving our studio space at work and I just can't wait for it to be done...not only is moving tedious, tiring, and time-consuming, the possibility of breaking a swatching nail is too much to bear!  

I have a great collection from Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer to show you today!  The Storms of Arendelle collection is a Frozen-themed set that launched this week.  Now, I'm probably the only person (other than my boyfriend) in the U.S. who hasn't seen this movie but I've decided that's a good thing.  It means I won't be prejudiced for or against certain polishes based on the names ;) 

Let's start things off with the hit number, shall we?  Let It Go is a clear-based glitter topper with small periwinkle hexes, blue holographic micro glitter, and blue flakies.  It definitely gives off an icy vibe and I just love the iridescent shimmer from the flakies!
 

I was trying to go with the icy theme for these swatches, but I'm afraid I went a bit beachy with this one.  However, I love it so much I can't be mad!  Actually, I think it helps to see polishes in different ways...you might not look at Let It Go and think beach, even though it's a perfect topper to pull this sand and shore gradient together!  I used Essie's Blanc, O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff, and Barielle's Magna Cum Laude Turquoise for the gradient and then 2 coats of Let It Go on top.  

Let It Go is not a super chunky glitter mix, so I used one coat of Seche Vite to add some shine but didn't need any more than that to smooth things out.  The formula was smooth and I didn't have to fish for any of the glitters.  Is this polish worthy of an Oscar-winning song?  I definitely think so!

Next up is Anna.  This glitter topper is packed with large green squares, large lavender hexes, medium blue hexes, and tons of small pink glitters.  

I'm showing Anna over a gradient of Sinful Colors Sugar Rush, Outrageous, and Truth Or Dare.  I also did an accent nail inspired by Anna's dress in the movie...I may not have seen it, but I can Google with the best of 'em!
 

Again, the formula is great.  I used 2 coats of Anna over the gradient with one coat of Seche Vite.  You may have to do a little fishing for the larger glitters, but I didn't find it to be too much extra work to get the coverage I wanted.  This is definitely a unique color combo with gorgeous results!
 

Elsa is the other leading lady of the film, I believe.  This polish is one of my favorites of the collection.  Elsa has bright purple squares, blue and silver holographic hexes, and itty bitty purple bars.  I've mentioned before that I dislike bar glitter, but since it's so small here, I actually kind of love it!
 

When I looked up pictures of Elsa online, her icy blue dress and white blond braid jumped out at me so that's what I used for inspiration here.  The base color of this mani is Essie's Absolutely Shore and the "braided" accent nail was created using Essie's Blanc, O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff, and Victoria Volainna Polish Designs' City of Gold with Kleancolor's Texan Cowboy to accentuate the lines.  
 

Once again, I used 2 coats of Elsa with one coat of Seche Vite to smooth everything out.  The formula is wonderful and again, a unique color/glitter combo seals the deal on a beautiful polish!

Prince Hans is the next polish in line.  The darkest of the collection, this polish maybe reflects the character's true nature, despite his charming appearance.  Like I said, I haven't seen the movie, but there are a lot of spoilers out there so it's not too hard to figure out who the bad guy is. 

Prince Hans has large bright blue squares, large silver hexes, smaller blue hexes, and little black squares all in a clear base.  I decided to show this over Barielle's Slate of Affairs because of its greyish tone...I thought a bit of murkiness was required ;)  My accent nail is inspired by Hans' uniform-esque suit in the movie.

Again, great formula with easy application.  This wasn't a favorite of mine because the color mix was a little tame for me, but I do think it reflects the character well with the shiny silver glitters hiding in among the darker bits.  Two coats of Prince Hans with one coat of Seche Vite to top it.  Ignore anything that looks like curling in my photos, it's a trick of the light or the camera as I observed no curling at all whilst wearing it.

Here's the comic relief!  Much like its namesake, Olaf is a bright, light-hearted polish.  A mix of white squares, orange, black, and white hexes, and a fun iridescent micro glitter with a green shimmer, Olaf is pretty darn cheery!
 

I chose to show Olaf over a subtle gradient of Barielle's Magna Cum Laude Turquoise and Sinful Colors Burning Bright with an accent nail of Olaf himself.  He's such a cute, silly character (who I'm certain has a heart of gold and offers tons of support to our heroine) that I couldn't resist recreating him in polish!
 

Olaf is another favorite for me. Again I used 2 coats of Olaf with one coat of Seche Vite...sound familiar? ;) The formula is perfect and I love the color combo!  It'll actually be a really great Halloween polish in the future...you all know how I love versatility in a polish!
 

Finally we come to Coronation Day, which I guess is a little backwards but whatever, it's my blog!  This is a clear-based glitter topper with large icy blue flowers, large turquoise hexes, purple squares, baby pink hexes, and a silvery holographic shimmer throughout.  Very celebratory, indeed!

I did my best to capture the holographic shimmer here, but you really need to see this one in person to get the full effect...it's gorgeous!  I went simple with Coronation Day, just showing it over 3 coats of O.P.I.'s My Vampire is Buff, because there's already so much color and sparkle going here I didn't want to take away from it.  You may have to fish for the larger flower glitter, but everything else was a breeze to apply.  I used 2 coats of Coronation Day with one coat of Seche Vite in these photos.

*All Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer products provided for honest and unbiased review.  All other products mentioned were purchased by me*
 
I really can't say enough nice things about Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's polishes!  I'm fortunate to be a swatcher for Cherish because her creations are always so beautiful and well-crafted.  If you're interested in purchasing the Storms of Arendelle collection (or any other of her fabulous creations), they're currently available on Etsy for $6 for a full size bottle.  She's got some of the most reasonably priced indie polish out there and she doesn't skimp on quality!  Be sure to follow Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer on Facebook as well, to keep up with new products, sales, and other pertinent info!

Thanks so much for reading!

Indie Spotlight: Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's TMNT Collection (Photo Heavy)

*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!

1700k (hopefully) Facebook Followers Giveaway

Hi there! If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I've been working on a giveaway to celebrate the almost 1700 likes I've gained since starting the page.  Most of the newer "likers" have found their way to my page via the "Share the Love" links that have been mobbing Facebook feeds over the last several weeks.  It doesn't matter how you found me, I'm just thrilled that that many folks have liked me and have stuck around...it means I must be doing something right!

I'm also lucky enough to have additional sponsors for this giveaway!  Several indie makers and fellow bloggers have donated some fantastic prizes so let's check them out!

Glitzy Glazes- One bottle each of Foolish Mortals, Van Gogh to Bed, and In Your Dreams, Sleigh Boy along with some cute glow in the dark nail decals.

Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer- One bottle each of Wedded Bliss and Tattle Teal.

Black Sheep Lacquer (International)- One bottle of each of Lips Like Sugar and Fire and Ice.

Philly Loves Lacquer- Winner's choice of two bottles from the Fancy Winter Wench Collection

LynBDesigns- One bottle each of Am I Ginger? and Old-Fashioned Villain.

My Nail Polish Is Poppin'- One bottle each of Wet n Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint and On a Trip, Nicole by O.P.I. Pixie Glitter, and a mini bottle of L.A. Colors Energy Source.

Vegan Nail Art, Baby- One bottle each of Incidental Twin in Spectre, Ooky, and Devil's Own.

Sunshine Nails- 4 bottles of Julep nail polish and a mini Zoya Color Lock System.


And I'm throwing in 3 prizes!

Over the Top Coat #1- One bottle each of Wet n Wild Mega Rocks in Stick it to the Man and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Green Rocket, Strobe Flash, and Rosey Shooter.

Over the Top Coat #2- One bottle each of KBShimmer Teal Another Tale and China Glaze in Bells Will Be Blinging and Mingle With Kringle.

Over the Top Coat #3 (International)- One $10 Gift Certificate to Llarowe.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Now for the rules! 

1. Must be 18 or have a parent/guardian's permission to enter.
2. Each prize will be shipped from each sponsor.  Once the prizes are shipped, the sponsor accepts no responsibility for lost or damaged packages.
3. The giveaway starts now and will run through 2/24/2014 at 12 A.M.  One winner will be drawn for each prize and notified via email.  Each winner will have 48 hours to respond or will forfeit their prize.

Pretty simple rules, I hope!  Alright everyone, feel free to enter at will!  Thanks so much and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie Spotlight: Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer Kal-El

*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer provided for honest and unbiased review.*


Good evening!  Who else is ready for winter to be over??  We've had more snow and super cold temps here in Chicago than I believe is called for.  And it just keeps coming; the high for this coming Monday is -2...the high!  Brrr!

To distract myself from the cold, I decided to do a fun manicure for a swatch that Cherish from Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer asked me to do whip up.  The first polish in her Heroes and Heathens collection, Kal-El is inspired by the classic superhero, Superman.

I'd never done a Superman mani (can I call it a Superman-i? Teehee!) before so I thought, instead of just a plain ol' swatch, I'd jazz it up a bit.  So I'm showing 2 coats of Kal-El over 2 coats of a blue no-name Cynthia Rowley polish on each nail except my accent nail which sports Superman's iconic shield.  Now the shield isn't perfect...I freehanded it entirely from polish, though, so I'm pretty proud of it.
 

Kal-El is pretty awesome. I'm usually not a fan of primary colors together, but this is just such a fun, bright glitter mix, I'm not sure how you can resist it!   Using several sizes of hexes in classic red, blue, and yellow, Cherish has perfectly captured the colors of Superman.  In fact, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize at first that Kal-El was synonymous with Superman, so when I saw the polish I said "Huh, that looks like a Superman polish...not sure what the name 'Kal-El' means though...?"  lol
 

The formula was great here, with minimal fishing for the larger glitters.  I used one coat of Gothic Gala Lacquers' Smooth Me Over topcoat with one coat of Seche Vite.  You will want a good topcoat on this to smooth out a bit of bumpiness, but nothing drastic. 

*Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer provided for honest and unbiased review.*

Kal-El is currently available over at Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer's Etsy shop.  A full size bottle retails for $6 (seriously, how awesome are her prices?!).  You can also follow her Facebook page here to keep up on new releases and other important info, including a current giveaway that looks pretty sweet!

Thanks so much for reading!