Try It On Tuesday: LynBDesigns Ametrine

*Unsolicited review. Gothic Gala Lacquers Smooth Me Over provided for separate unbiased review. All other products purchased by me.*

Hey there!  It's been a few weeks since I managed to get a Try It On Tuesday post done, but with all the polishes I snagged with the holiday sales, I better get back on the bandwagon cuz my untrieds bin is overflowing again!  I'm loving the polish I picked for today's post...give a look!

Ametrine from LynBDesigns is part of her Gem Show collection inspired by semi-precious stones.  If you're unfamiliar with the real life stone ametrine, it's a combination of amethyst and citrine.  I'm not sure how it forms but it is a lovely stone with purple, amber, and yellow tones.  Jenna has done a great job recreating the colors in this polish! 
 

Ametrine is a squishy purple jelly base with bunches of large lavender holographic dots, gold hexes in three sizes, bright purple hexes, and small lavender hexes.  The glitter mix is gorgeous and this baby is chock-full!  And I had no issues getting the glitters out of the bottle.  In fact, the large dots practically overwhelmed this mani, I got so many of them each time I dipped lol She's a stunner of a polish!  I'm wearing 3 coats here with one coat of Gothic Gala Lacquers Smooth Me Over top coat and one coat of Seche Vite. You will want a smoothing top coat with Ametrine, she's a little bumpy but totally worth the extra work!

*Unsolicited review. Gothic Gala Lacquers Smooth Me Over provided for separate unbiased review. All other products purchased by me.*

Ametrine is currently available on LynBDesigns' Etsy shop and retails for $8.00 for a full size 15ml bottle.  Jenna has some awesome fandom collections and her holos are gorgeous!  Be sure to follow LBD on Facebook to keep up with new releases, updates, and she always has fantastic sales...you won't want to miss them!  Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Lucky 13 Lacquer Now Wrath, Now Ruin, and A Red Dawn

Hi there!  I've missed the last couple of Try It On Tuesday posts, I've just been so busy.  But I have such a pretty, pretty to show this week and, as it was a gift from our lovely founder Gini from SassyPaints, I knew I had to show it off!  Lucky 13 Lacquer is a brand I stalk regularly and covet with a passion, but until recently did not own.  She has so many lovely creations and I drool over all of them.  The Mish Mash Challenge girls did a Halloween polish exchange and Gini ended up being my secret polish buddy for which I count my lucky stars cuz she sent me not one but TWO L13Ls and I have one to show you today! 

Now Wrath, Now Ruin, and A Red Dawn is part of L13L's There and Back Again collection, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  The whole collection is a knock out and I full intend on grabbing more once my budget allows. 

NWNRAARD is a dark teal-ish green jelly brimming with silver, red and turquoise glitters in several sizes.  This polish is breathtaking, truly!  The color glows and the glitters give it just the right sparkle!  I actually think this will make a great holiday polish because the color combo reminds me of Christmas, which I'm sure is a side effect that Jessica (the creator of Lucky 13) may not have intended but I love it! 

Being a jelly, NWNRAARD is sheer and I used between 4-5 coats for these photos but who cares?!  The depth is totally worth it and the formula, dry time and finish were all near perfect.  I did top it with a coat of Seche Vite to smooth out the glitter a bit, but nothing more bumpy than normal. 

Lucky 13 Lacquer is currently on vacation, orders are being taken but won't start to be filled until Nov. 5th...which is tomorrow now that I think about it lol  Most of her polishes retail for $8.50 for a 15ml bottle and $6.00 for a 10ml, with a few priced a couple bucks higher depending on the glitter mix.  If you haven't perused her site yet, I highly suggest you do so and pick out some lovelies for yourself!  And don't forget to follow her on Facebook to keep up with the latest releases and updates!  Trust me, you'll want to keep an eye on this one, folks!

Thank you so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Private I

Hi, guys!  I can't believe we're back around to Tuesday already!  But, since we are, I've got a new Try It on Tuesday post for you all.  Let's get right to it, shall we?

I must have been living under a rock when Sally Hansen released their Diamond Strength LE Summer 2013 collection because I don't remember seeing swatches of this lovely, lovely at all!  This polish is Private I from that collection and I'm so thrilled I found it on clearance at Ulta!  A deep magenta/plum jelly base filled with fuchsia and gold glass flecks, PI is a vampy beauty perfect for the season.  I'm actually quite surprised that this was a summer release polish as it's almost black in certain lights.

Look at all that fleck-y goodness!  If you didn't grab this over the summer and are loving it, do check out your local Ulta.  They had all the SH DS Summer 2013 polishes on clearance a couple of weeks ago.  This polish was the only color left at mine, so I bought two lol  The other bottle is currently up for grabs in my Fall Hallow's Eve giveaway, so be sure to enter for a chance to win it and other goodies!

If you're interested in joining up with the Try It On Tuesday groups, all you need to do is "Like" SassyPaints Facebook page.  Then, every Tuesday, simply post a photo of your chosen TIOT polish to her Wall.  Super easy, right?  The best part is that you don't have to have a blog to join!  You can post using Istagram, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, or whatever...the more the merrier so stop on by!

Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Hit Polish Galaxy Quest

 Hello, hello!  It's Tuesday (for a couple more hours) and that means it's time for another Try It On Tuesday post!  This week, I'm featuring a polish from Hit Polish Nail Lacquer.  I can't say enough nice things about this brand.  Not only are her polishes unique and fantastic to use, Rachel is such a wonderful, sweet person.  She really went out of her way for me when a shipment got lost in the mail a couple of weeks ago (through no fault of her own!).  Her customer service can't be beat and her shipping times are lightning fast!  

Anyway, let's talk about this week's TIOT's polish, shall we? :)

Meet Galaxy Quest!  With a shimmery grey lavender base chock full of holographic and metallic hexes and dots in fuchsia, turquoise, and silver, Galaxy Quest is definitely out of this world :)  This polish was actually named by a Facebook follower, but it's easy to imagine the inspiration as The Final Frontier itself.  And Galaxy Quest is also a favorite movie of mine, so combine that with the dots, and I'm hooked, lined, and sinkered!
 

Application was easy, with a little fishing for the larger glitters as you'd expect.  I'm showing 2 coats of GQ with one coat of Seche Vite here and you'll definitely want a top coat to smooth things out.  But a little bumpiness is totally worth the shine and shimmer in this polish!  The blackened base makes this a little more understated than I usually see with these large dot glitters, but it's all the more interesting for it.

Currently, Hit Polish is updating the regular store site but you can still purchase polish over on Etsy. Rachel is having a super huge clearance sale on Etsy right now and mini bottles start at $1.88 each(!) and full size at $4.13.  If you've been waiting to try Hit Polish, now is the time!  Less than 2 bucks for the minis is an absolute steal!  I've got a new shipment coming full of goodies so I'm sure you'll be seeing more in the coming weeks.  I'm actually trying to restrain myself from buying more because they're so pretty and such a great price!  So you guys go buy them all so I won't be tempted, k? Thanks!  :)

Don't forget to follow Hit Polish on Facebook to keep up with new products, release dates, and other pertinent info!

Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Pretty & Polished For Sweater or Worse

*Product won in giveaway.  Unsolicited review*

Can you guys believe it's October already?!  I really can't...this year has gone so quickly.  I never believed my parents when they said time sped up the older you got...but it appears to be all too true!  Before you know it, it'll be Christmas and then New Year's and it starts all over again.  *sigh*  For now, however, it's just Tuesday which means we're due for a Try It On Tuesday post!  If you're interested in joining the TIOT crew, all you need to do is go to SassyPaints' Facebook page and "like" it.  Then, every Tuesday, post your chosen polish pic (just one), along with the brand/name of the polish and link to  your post (does NOT have to be a blog; instagram, flickr, tumblr, or whatever!) to her Wall.  That's it!  Easy peasy, yes?

For my TIOT this week, I have my very first Pretty & Polished polish to show you.  I actually won this polish via a Facebook giveaway hosted by Pretty & Polished and I'll definitely be buying them on my own in the future!  Anyway, on to the pics!

For Sweater or Worse is part of Pretty & Polished's Fall In Love collection and, lemme tell ya, love is definitely what I'm feelin'!  FSOW is a red-toned, plummy purple creme.  So often in the indie world, we're so busy "Ooo"ing and "Ah"ing over all the gorgeous glitter bombs, jellies, holographics, and duochromes (and rightfully so, don't get me wrong on that!) that we often forget what a miracle it is to make a good creme polish.  FSOW certainly made me remember.  Smooth and perfectly opaque, with a beautiful shine, this polish is everything a creme should be.

The color is also stunning and I don't say that just because purple is my favorite.  Aptly named, FSOW calls to mind warm, cozy sweaters worn in front of crackling fires in ski lodges.  It's a perfect Fall shade and I can envision all the polish pairing with FSOW as a base.  Oh! the possibilities!

*Product won in giveaway.  Unsolicited review*

I'm wearing 2 coats of FSOW for these photos, although it really is just about a one-coater.  I topped everything with a coat of Seche Vite, but the shine was evident before the top coat.  There was a little bit of tip wear after a couple days, but no chips. Just a beautiful polish all around!  For Sweater or Worse is currently available on the Pretty & Polished website for $8.50 for a full sized 15ml bottle, a small price to pay for a little bit of heaven!  Be sure to follow Pretty & Polished on Facebook to keep up with new releases, giveaways, sales and all other important info!

Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Glitzy Glazes It's a Confetti Party!

Hello, hello!  It's been a Monday all over in my neck of the woods.  I know I'm posting for Try It On Tuesday, but it's only 11:30 here yet.  I'm counting down the minutes.  I've got a missing package in the mail and my phone is currently incommunicado, no calls, no texts, and TMobile doesn't seem to be hustling to fix the issue.  Blah!  At least I did get a couple of awesome things in the mail, one of which I'm about to show you!

This pretty lavender girl is It's a Confetti Party! by Glitzy Glazes.  GG is a new-to-me brand and I was lucky enough to win Kathi's latest giveaway to get my paws on this lovely.  IACP is a sheer lilac jelly packed with two sizes of metallic and matte squares in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink; small metallic and matte hexes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink; white bars; and a generous sprinkling of holographic glitter as well. 

I just love these jelly sandwiches in a bottle!  Look at the depth and the layers...squeee!  IACP is rather sheer so you may want to layer it over some undies.  I did not and used 4 coats here.  You can still see a bit of nail line, but I actually like the sheerness for this one.
 

Glitzy Glazes polishes are available on Storenvy where a full size bottle will run you $10.  I can attest to the friendliness of the maker, Kathi, and the speediness of shipping.  Even though mine was a giveaway prize, it was in my hot, little hands within 3 business days after she'd told me I won!  You'll want to like her Facebook page to keep abreast of new polishes, updates, and future giveaways!

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday Times Three: I Love Nail Polish UltraChromes

*All polishes purchased by me.*

Hi there!  I have an epic Try It On Tuesday for you guys today!  Not just one but three polishes!  And not just any three polishes, three I Love Nail Polish UltraChromes!  I'm sure that by now you guys have seen swatch after swatch of these lovelies but they're just so pretty, I know I haven't gotten tired of looking at them yet, so I'm hoping you all feel the same.  I've already shown Birefringence to you, so today I have the other three in the collection: Mutagen, My Little Glacier, and Cygnus Loop.

 Outdoor shade

First up is Mutagen.  (I've tried to get a few different lights in my photos so you can get an idea of the shift in these polishes.  That said, once you get these babies on your nails, no pictures compare!)  Mutagen is a brilliant green multichrome that shifts through a spectrum of colors; bright green to blue to purple to an orange-y gold.  

 Indoor, lightbox

The greens in this polish really wanted to come out and play, so much so that I couldn't seem to capture much else in the way of shift.  You can see the purple shift in the above and below photo.  And the shift is there in real life, but the green is the most pronounce color.  Lucky thing it's a gorgeous, glowing color!
 

 Indoor, lightbox

The application was great.  As I said in my Birefringence review, these ILNP UltraChromes are formulated to be opaque in 2-3 coats and they totally deliver.  
 

 Underwater

I recently discovered the beauty of photographing multichrome polishes underwater.  It really brings out their full spectrum of color and shift, so I've got an example of that for each of the UltraChromes.  Yay!  

 Outdoor Sun

Next we have My Little Glacier, a surprise favorite for me.  MLG is a steely, icy blue multichrome that appears silver in some lights.  You'll also catch glimpses of red, purple, teal and yellow as you move.  I'm not sure what I expected from MLG but I did not expect to love it as much as I do.  It's the least shifty of the bunch, but the base titanium blue color is just so lovely that I don't care!

 Indoor with flash

 The above photo shows what you can expect from MLG indoors in ambient light.  IRL it's a bit lighter, but it definitely reads as a silvery blue. 

Indoor, lightbox

Again, application was great; smooth and opaque in 2-3 coats.  I swear all I've done for the past 2 days is stare at my hands lol

 Underwater

As you can see in the underwater shot, MLG does have a lovely shift, although it's not as evident in normal lighting as in the other three.  I would still recommend this polish for it's gorgeous color!

 Indoor, lightbox

Lastly, but far from least, is Cygnus Loop.  CL and Birefringence are no doubt my absolute favorites of this collection.  I knew from the moment I saw the first swatches of them that I'd love them.  How could I not?!  CL is a multichrome stunner that shifts from bright purple to deep red to orange to yellow and back. 

Indoor, lightbox

I can't wax poetic enough about this polish!  The only thing that can make a bright metallic purple polish better is to give it shift (or holo, but that's another story!) like this. 

 Outdoor, full sun

I should also mention the finish of these polishes.  Each of the UltraChromes has a nice, shiny finish with that sort of frostiness that all metallics seem to have.  The wear was fairly good, I did have some tip wear after 24 hours but nothing drastic.

Underwater

As if you needed more convincing about the beautiousness of this polish, here's an underwater shot of CL.  I simply can't care about anything else whilst looking at this loveliness!

I urge you guys to give these polishes a shot...they're just so pretty, I know you'll love them as much as I do!  They each retail for $12.50 for a 12ml full size bottle.  I know it might seem steep, but trust me, this is one collection that's worth it!  

*All polishes purchased by me.*

 

If you're interested in joining the Try It On Tuesday group, all you need to do is "like" SassyPaints Facebook page.  Every week on Tuesday, simply post a single photo of your Try It On Tuesday polish, add a link (it can be instagram/flickr/tumblr/whatever, not just blogs!) and the brand/name of your chosen polish.  Easy peasy, right? :)

Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Rainbow Honey's Hoof Wrassle

Good evening!  I'm in on the 11th hour (quite literally) with getting my Try It On Tuesday post up, but I'm gonna get it done!  If you'd like to join in the Tuesday fun, all you need to do is "like" SassyPaints on Facebook and every Tuesday, post one photo to her wall of your TIOT polish pick with a link to your post/instagram/facebook/etc. and the name of your pick.  Super simple, yes?  

My TIOT this week is Hoof Wrassle by Rainbow Honey.  I actually won this lovely in a giveaway a few weeks ago hosted by Esther's Nail Center.  I was pretty excited about winning it, since I don't own many RH polishes and this will actually be the first one I've tried.

Part of RH's The Equestria Collection, Hoof Wrassle (aside from having that awesome name!) is a sheer warm orange base with a golden shimmer.  It's got a gorgeous, perfect-for-Fall, glitter mix of copper, orange, and gold hexes and squares and some holographic bits thrown in for good measure.

HF is very sheer, I'm wearing 3 coats here over 2 coats of Sinful Color's Skylark as undies.  You *might* be able to build this up to opacity, but I'd expect it to take at least 5 coats.  I'm totally in love with this polish!  It makes me think of autumn leaves crunching underfoot and warm, cozy sweaters.  Can you tell that I'm jonesin' for fall like nobody's business?  Temperatures are in the 90's for most of the week here in Chicago, but it's looking like we might get a breath of autumn come Friday or so...yay!

Anyway, I'd highly recommend grabbing Hoof Wrassle if you'd like a fun, glittery autumn layering polish.  You can find it on the Rainbow Honey website retailing at $5 for a 10ml bottle and $10 for a 15ml bottle.  

Be sure to check back in tomorrow to see what the Mish Mash Challengers have up our sleeves for this week!  Thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Above the Curve The Cat in The Hat

Good evening everyone!  I missed last Tuesday's Try It On Tuesday because I just had too much on my plate to get a post up.  Not so this week!  I took photos of this beauty last Thursday and held it in reserve just for today :)  Yay for being prepared!  Alright, enough about that. let's look at the polish!

Above the Curve has been celebrating their 1 year anniversary for the last couple of weeks and has had some awesome sales.  I managed to snag this gorgeous jelly glitter polish named The Cat in The Hat during one of those sales.  TCITH is a royal blue jelly packed with white and dark red hexes and bars.  Normally, I really dislike bar glitter.  They hang off the edges of the nail and they just look sloppy to me (no, you won't be seeing any of those China Glaze "feather" polishes from me lol) but this one has just the right amount of bars to add interest without irritation.

I wore this in 3 coats, although it was opaque in 2.  I love the depth of all the layers of jelly and glitter...it's just so fun to look at!  Application was a breeze, no excessive fishing for the larger glitters.

Again, I've got to be the bearer of sad news.  The Cat in The Hat is no longer available from Above the Curve, but they have so many other fabulous creations, you're really missing out if you don't at least go look!  You can also follow Shawn and Angel (creators of ATC) via their Facebook page, to keep updated on sales, new products, and giveaways (P.S. they do a TON of giveaways!). 

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Try It On Tuesday: Above The Curve's Party Polish Pink V.2

  

Hi, everyone!  As you might deduce from the title of my post, I've decided to join Gini from Sassy Paints with Try It On Tuesday.  TIOT is a laid back challenge where every Tuesday, we post a manicure with a polish we haven't tried before.  Since my stack of untrieds seems to grow weekly (er...daily), I though this was a good way to kick myself in the pants and try a few of them out!  Check out Sassy Paint's Facebook page for information on how to join in the fun!

Today's TIOT is Above The Curve's Party Polish Pink V.2.  

PPP is a raspberry pink polish with a linear holographic finish and holographic glitter throughout.  I'm pretty sure the only thing that can make a linear holo better is holo glitter!  This polish is so pretty!
 

Check out that macro!  The color by itself is pretty, but that rainbow inside really makes it shine.
 

I regret to inform you, however, that PPP was a limited edition polish that ATC put out in honor of their one-year business anniversary.  At this time, it's no longer available :(  But the good news is that ALL of ATC polishes are currently on sale over at their shop, again in honor of their anniversary.  I have several of their polishes and have yet to be disappointed so I highly suggest you get your buns on over to Big Cartel and snap up something gorgeous at a great price!  In addition, Shawn and Angel (ATC creators) donate $1 from every bottle sold to Shriner's Hospitals for Children as well as various other charities throughout the year...so you can feel even better about buying yourself a little pressie ;)  To keep up with updates, new products and any other important info, be sure to "like" ATC's Facebook page!

Thanks so much for reading!