*Spellbound Nails products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me*
Hello, hello! I'm continuing with the Halloween theme today with a gorgeous Spellbound Nails polish. Ashley, owner and creator of Spellbound Nails, has a created a beautiful Halloween collection inspired by the movie Casper. Along with Hocus Pocus, Casper is a movie I make sure to watch around Halloween every year...it's just so cute! So when I found out Ashley was making a polish collection inspired by it, I knew it would be really special. The collection is titled Give Up the Ghost and contains 6 polishes, 5 of which glow in the dark. I've got one of these to show you today and it just so happens to be my favorite of the collection!
Can I Keep You? is obviously (at least if you've seen the movie) inspired by the line Casper whispers to Kat after they first meet and later when he becomes human for the night. Can I Keep You? is an amethyst crelly base with bright yellow stars and hexes and orange shreds.
There's no two ways about it, this polish is just fun! You guys know I was sunk at purple, but I love the glitter combo in it as well! The formula here is also good, opaque in 2-3 coats (I'm wearing 3 here with one coat of Seche Vite on top) and the glitters were quite easy to get out of the bottle. Please ignore the bubbly you see in the macro shot...that was an application error (cuz I was going too fast!) and has nothing to do with the polish itself. If you give a bit more time between layers to let the polish dry, you won't have an issue. I know better, but I was just in a hurry to get this lovely on my nails!
In addition to beautiful color, fun glitter, and a great formula, Can I Keep You? has a super strong glow in the dark effect! My poor camera isn't well equipped to deal with photos in the dark, but even it grabbed a pretty good shot of the glow on this beauty.
Ashley's creations never let me down and, if you're looking for a fun
Halloween collection to try out this year, I highly recommend the Give
Up the Ghost collection! Can I Keep You? is currently available on the Spellbound Nails site for $9 for a full size bottle. If you love the whole collection, you can nab it in full size for $53 or mini for $27 (which is a great deal on both counts!). Be sure to check out Spellbound Nails on Facebook to keep up to date on new releases, swatch photos, and other important info!
Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post!
*Spellbound Nails products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you're having a nice holiday if you're in the States. It's been a relaxing long weekend for me and I'm really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow lol I've got some fun polishes to show today from Spellbound Nails. Ashley, the mastermind behind the brand, created and is donating some polishes to the Chicago English Bulldog Rescue's Bully Bash, which is scheduled for October 4, 2014 from 11 AM to 6 PM (CST). These polishes will be put up for silent auction to help raise some fund for the rescue and the wonderful work they do. Additionally, Ashely will be donating $2 per each bottle of these polishes sold to CEBR...it's always great to get a lovely polish whilst doing good for the dogs!
There are three polishes included in this fundraiser and I have swatches of all of them to show you guys so let's get to it!
Bully For You is a bright, lime green jelly with a unique fuchsia shimmer and flakie shards. This polish is on the sheer side, so I've shown it alone in 4 coats on my thumb, index and pinky nails, in 1 coat over 2 coats of Sinful Colors Olympia, and in 2 coats over Sinful Colors Black on Black. Bully For You is a very versatile polish with tons of layering possibilities!
I chose to show you a macro of this over black so you could really see the interesting shimmer this polish. It just adds something a little extra...and really, who doesn't dig a little flakie action?! The formula was great here, easy to apply and no dragging or streaking.
Even if a lime green polish isn't your favorite, you may want to give Bully For You a shot. That shimmer is just such a great touch and the layering possibilities will give you more options than just plain green.
Up next is the first half of the Bear Down Duo, #1 Fan. Bear Down is the name of the Chicago Bears fight song...which surprised me when I moved here because I didn't realize NFL teams even had fight songs lol I've always liked the Bears (which is a huge accomplishment for them because I despise many, many NFL teams for various reasons) but since moving here, I've become a fan. I'll clam up on the football speak and get back to polish!
#1 Fan is a dark navy with a beautiful blue shimmer. Navy can sometimes be a bit drab, but the base of this not only matches the Bears' navy perfectly, it's the perfect background for the shimmer! I'm showing 3 coats here with a coat of Seche Vite. The formula was a little tricky on this one for me as it was kind of thick out of the bottle. I added a few drops of polish thinner and that really helped. It was a bit streaky on the first coat for me, but evened out nicely by the second coat. I should also mention that it was fairly warm out when Ashley shipped these to me, so that may have more to do with the thickness than anything. Summer is just not a great time for shipping polish :(
Even with my bottle being tricky, I love the color! I'm sucker for a beautiful blue and #1 Fan certainly fits the bill!
Da Bears is the second half of the Bear Down Duo. A glitter topper comprised of different sizes of orange and white glitter, Da Bears is easily my favorite of these three. The color is perfect not only for the Bears, but for summer, fall, and would make a great addition to a manicure themed by my favorite holiday, Halloween!
I decided to apply Da Bears over a gradient of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and NYC Times Square Tangerine Creme. Isn't it just divine?! I wore this combo for 3 days with no chips and virtually no tip wear. Durability test passed with flying colors! Additionally, the formula was smooth and easy to work with. I did a little specific placement of the glitters but, on the whole, they applied easily right off the brush.
These polishes release today (Monday, Sept. 1) and are available on the Spellbound Nails store page, Etsy and Storenvy. Each polish is $10 for a full size, 15ml bottle with $2 going to the CEBR. You also have the option of purchasing the Bear Down Duo at $20 for the set, with $4 going to CEBR.
You are also welcome to participate in the Bully Bash's silent auction. This year, attendance to the Bash is not required to bid in the auction. If you'd like to see a catalog of auction items, please take a trip on over to the auction page. Some items are already up for bid and they'll be adding more up to and during the Bully Bash!
I hope you enjoyed this post and, should you decide to order any of Spellbound Nails charity polishes, I'd love to hear what you think of them! Feel free to leave me a comment :) 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!
*Spellbound Nails products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
Hello Readers! Spring is in the air! Well...maybe not here in Chicago, but somewhere, somewhere I'm just certain it is! To that effect, we're starting to see some lovely Spring and Easter themed polish collections from the fabulous indie makers out there. This means pastel, pastel, pastel and in the case of Spellbound Nails, holo!
Ashely was kind enough to send me a few samples of her Easter Eggs Gone Holo collection to swatch up. The collection releases this weekend and is very well suited to the season ;)
We'll start out with one of my favorites from the collection, Bunny Bait! This pastel blue holo has an almost icy feel but that holo keeps things warm for Spring.
Bunny Bait is fairly sheer, but built up nicely in 3 coats which is what I'm showing here. The formula was great with no dragging or streaking. While it's subtle, the linear holographic on this polish is so pretty...it almost gives Bunny Bait a pink tone, which offsets the blue very nicely.
I'm a sucker for a pretty blue polish...you throw in a holo and I'm done for! Bunny Bait is definitely a favorite and totally worth nabbing before it's gone!
Carrot Top is the most unique polish in the collection, in my opinion. I don't think I have anything quite like it in my stash and haven't really seen anything lately that compares. My photos are showing this a bit more orange than it appeared to me in real life, but my camera was being a pain so we'll just have to wing it!
A coral-ish base with a pink shimmer, Carrot Top is further enhanced by a subtle scattered holographic effect. I'm showing 3 coats of the buttery smooth formula here with a coat of Seche Vite. I found that most of this collection dried to a semi-matte finish, so you'll probably want a top coat for shine.
I'm just drawn to this polish for some reason. If you're in the market for a unique holo, I don't think you could go wrong with Carrot Top!
Easter Grass is somewhere between gold and lime green in color and has a scattered holo effect. I have to say, I'm loving all these colors that Ashley has come up with! When I saw this one in the bottle, I really wasn't sure about the color but once I applied it I kind of fell in love.
Another beautiful formula here, opaque in 3 coats and topped with one coat of Seche Vite. Look at the holo sparkle!
I know Easter Grass won't appeal to everyone because of it's greenish tones, but it really is a lovely color!
Hands down, Hoppy Feet is my favorite of the collection! I mean, it's a lavender holo...what's not to love?! The holo in this one creates that gorgeous glowing aura that you only find in a well-made holo...I wish I could describe it better, but if you've ever seen it, you'll know what I mean.
Hoppy Feet is another sheer one, but was mostly opaque in 3 coats and you can always put undies on if you'd like less layers. The formula was a breeze as expected.
If you're like me and love a purple holo, you'll definitely want to grab a bottle of Hoppy Feet!
Finally we come to Twitchy Little Noses, which is my favorite name of the collection because of the Buffy reference. I'm not sure if that's where Ashley was going with it, but every time I see it I think of Anya's bunny solo in Once More With Feeling :)
A delicate blossom pink holo, Twitchy Little Noses just kind of disappears on me lol The scattered holographic is lovely, but the color is just not my favorite. It would look lovely on someone with a darker skin tone than mine, I think. No other complaints though, the formula was spot on and it was mostly opaque in 3 coats.
*Spellbound Nails products provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*
I'm not sure of the exact release date for the Easter Eggs Gone Holo collection, but it will be at some point this weekend and will be available on Storenvy and Etsy. I believe they will be retailing for around $9 for a full size bottle. You'll also want to follow the Spellbound Nails Facebook page to keep up with new releases and such :)
As always, thank you so much for reading!
*Spellbound Nails nail polish provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchase by me*
Hello, hello! I'm so, so sorry to have been away for so long! I hope I still have a few of you reading after such an absence. Last week was absolutely insane and I'm thrilled that it's over. The One of a Kind Show was fantastic but very time-consuming and tiring and I'm just glad it's all over. Because now I can get back to painting my nails...yay! Of course, I'm still working with my nubbin middle nail after a really bad break last week. It's growing out, but so, so slowly! I scaled back the rest of my nails, but my quicks have grown out so far I wasn't able to get all of them even so I apologize for that.
Today I have 2 polishes from Spellbound Nails' 12-polish 'Twas the Night Before Christmas collection. Ashley has come up with some beautiful polishes for this collection which consists entirely of glitter toppers, jelly glitter bombs and crelly glitter bombs. You had me at sparkly!
And To All A Good-Night is a deep navy blue jelly with navy hexes, holographic micro glitters, and baby blue holographic moons (the Etsy listing states that there are also stars in this glitter mix, but I didn't seem to find any in my bottle. I have a mini bottle though so it's possible that the pour just missed them).
This polish is just lovely, dark and deep...which is completely the wrong poem, I know, but that's what I thought of whilst applying it. The formula is opaque in 2-3 coats, with a little extra fishing for the larger glitters. I used 2 coats of Seche Vite on this and had no issues with any glitters sticking up or causing bumps. I also had no staining issues upon removal, which is always good with a darker polish.
ATAAG-N is a beautiful addition to your holiday polish stash, especially if you're a fan of jellies in general. Gotta love the squishy!
Ashes and Soot was a hard polish to photograph! A black jelly base packed with navy blue and lavender holographic glitters, AAS has sparkle to spare! The base is photographing with a brown tone, which I did not notice in person. If anything, the base has more of a purple tone than brown, but that's most likely because of all the glitter in it.
Another good formula, this was opaque in 2 coats and the glitters flowed evenly over the nail. You will want a top coat on this polish because it dries to a semi-matte finish. A good top coat will help all that squishy jelliness shine, shine, shine! I used Seche Vite again here.
There are several other polishes from this collection that I can't wait to get my hands on, particularly Eight Tiny Reindeer and Happy Christmas To All, but the entire collection is gorgeous! They are currently listed on Etsy and Storenvy for $8 for a full-size 15ml bottle AND Ashley offers them in several yummy scents! If you don't dig the smells, you can always opt for unscented. You'll want to follow Spellbound Nails on Facebook to keep up with new releases and other important info (for instance, the several giveaways Ashley is currently involved in).
*Spellbound Nails nail polish provided for honest and unbiased review. All other products mentioned were purchase by me*
Thanks so much for reading!
*I have to preface this whole review with the sad news that Ashley, the
owner of Spellbound Nails, has had a death in her family recently and
has had to close her stores for an uncertain period of time. My sympathies are with her and her loved ones during this sad time. I had already planned this post before I heard the news, so I'm continuing forward with it, but just be aware that currently her polishes are unavailable. Be sure to follow her Facebook page for updates.*
Happy Halloween everyone! I wish everybody a fun and safe holiday, even those who don't celebrate it. I have a lovely polish to share with you all this evening. A few weeks ago when I was shopping around for my giveaway, I discovered Spellbound Nails' Halloween Collection and just knew I had to have at least one! I ended up getting 3 minis, 2 of which ended up in the giveaway (congrats to the lucky ladies who won them, I had a hard time letting them go!), and the third I kept for me! I think you'll see why here in a second...
Ta Da! I give you Unholy Holo, a thermal color-changing polish with a lovely scattered holographic effect. Oh yeah, ALL of that in one polish! I decided to display the photos as a sort of time-lapse, transitional way. At room temp, UH is a gorgeous caramel-toned orange which shifts to a pistachio green when it warms up (and yes, I realize that my photos are going the wrong direction, but I'm too tired to fix it now!). The color shift is very reminiscent of a caramel apple for me, which is a nice touch for a fall polish.
This is my first thermal polish so, understandably, I was skeptical. I tried to warm the bottle enough to get the polish to change in the bottle which didn't work. So, I was all like "damn! it's broken!...guess I better try it on my nails." I wore it for 2 days and played with it the whole time lol Seriously, any chance I got to stick my hand in cold water, I was there! I took about 400 pics of this I think, because it's just so nifty! Anyway, color me impressed ;)
I don't think I can stress enough how beautiful this polish is! The macros don't hardly do it justice and, as the sun refuses to shine in Chicago, I couldn't get sunlight shots but I hope you get an idea of the pretty. Formula-wise, UH was great. Opaque in 3 coats, dries to a semi-matte finish but shines right up with a top coat (I used Seche Vite here). If you get a chance to snag this one, you definitely should! Ashley has several affordable mini bottle options (my set of 3 cost $13.50) as well as offering the polishes in full-size on their own or in collections.
Thanks so much for reading!
