Lumina Lacquer Sugar Skulls 2.0
While Halloween is over, Dia de los Muertos is still being celebrated- so I decided to bring out Lumina Lacquer’s Sugar Skulls 2.0!
The original Sugar Skulls was offered last fall, and was very similar to the 2.0 version. Sugar Skulls 2.0 is filled with small matte glitters in white, blue, green, pink, and a hint of color shifting sparkle. I had always wanted the original but never bought it- so I grabbed up this one when it was released!
Photos show 2 coats of Sugar Skulls 2.0 over Different Dimension’s Excelsior (which will have it’s own post in a few days), with a Sugar Skull Nail Thins as on over Excelsior as an accent nail. Application was great, the coverage on Sugar Skulls was wonderful- sometimes with micro matte glitter polishes, it can take a lot of coats to build up a decent opacity- but 2 thin coats was all that was needed.
The Nail Thin was incredibly easy to apply again- but this time, while in a hurry, I didn’t wait for the base polish to completely dry before applying. It still worked well, but I had a bit of smudging- completely user error on my part. I highly recommend giving them a look! You can get 3 packs for $10 on Etsy, and there’s tons of fun things to choose from.
Coming up this weekend I’ll have posts featuring Femme Fatale, the upcoming Elevation Polish collection, and some beautiful colors from Different Dimension- be sure to check back!
Featured Polish Information:
Lumina Lacquer: Store, Facebook Page
Nail Thins: Store, Facebook Page
Different Dimension: Store, Facebook Page
Happy Halloween!
I hope everyone has had a great Halloween! Ours wasn’t super- it’s been pouring rain and storming all night. But we tried to have fun here at home!
Tonight wraps up Halloween inspired manis 😦 I have a couple to show you tonight!
First up is Lumina Lacquer’s Mickey’s Moonlit Masquerade over Takko Lacquer Kiss the Sky (post coming in a week or so)!
I really love this Micky polish- and it looks so lovely over Kiss the Sky! As with most of my Luminas, I applied using the dabbing method. I didn’t have to fish for any glitters- such a fun variety!
Next up is the pumpkin mani I kept talking about!
Like I said- simple, but festive and fun! I never got a chance to take ‘real’ photos of this one before there was so much chipping I couldn’t save it. But I was able to enjoy it for almost a full week! I got a bunch of compliments!
The base color is Sinful Colors Citrine. I picked it up last summer from the Wow! Pop! display, but I’ve heard that it’s part of *this years* Halloween display! So if you want to grab it- hurry! My phone picture is showing this as more red than it actually is- it is a red orange, but a bit more orange leaning. For the jack o lantern face, I used Nail Thins- SUPER easy to apply, just like a sticker- but it’s incredibly thin, so you can’t see a ridge where it’s applied. I’ll provide links at the end of the post!
Last but not least, is my official Halloween mani for this year!
I finished my nails up last night right as the clouds rolled in, so I wasn’t able to get good photos- and then I smudge my ring finger. Still wearable, but not as pretty to photograph 😉
This is a gradient mani using Different Dimension’s Gnarly, Totally, and Tubular (green, yellow and orange). I did 1 coat of Cult Nails Tempest (white), and then sponged the 3 colors on top. This was a super fast, quick gradient- I think it took me 5 minutes. It’s also very messy, and you can probably see a bit of green still on my fingers. After I was finished I did a TON of cleanup! I knew I was going to add glitter though, so I wasn’t worried about it looking good on it’s own. Then I topped it with 1 coat of Lumina Lacquer’s Desfile de Mickey! Such a fun, bright look to compliment my bright pink and purple monster hat 🙂
Information!
Takko Lacquer: Store , Twitter
Lumina Lacquer: Store, Facebook Page
Nail Thins: Store, Facebook Page
Different Dimension: Store, Facebook Page
Sinful Colors: Available at most drug stores (Walgreens, CVS, Walmart) for $1.99
China Glaze Immortal Swatches
Quick post this morning to make up for forgetting last night- I should have today’s normal post up this evening!
China Glaze Immmortal is from last year’s Halloween 2012 Wicked Collection. Though no longer available in stores, you can still nab this one on blog sales and sometimes some online stores.
Immortal is a really pretty concrete grey polish filled with blue and pink shimmer. I love grey polishes- don’t ask me why, it’s a very random favorite since I don’t otherwise enjoy grey- so last year I knew I had to grab this one!
My only issue with this polish was it’s application- which wasn’t terrible, I used 3 coats for coverage- but it’s opaque enough that it should have been 2 coats. But even though I let the first coat dry a reasonable amount, I still had random bald patches after the second.
Overall I really love Immortal, and most of the Wicked collection in general. Make a Spectacle and Cast a Spell are my other 2 favorites- this year’s Halloween collection just didn’t excite me as much 😉
365 Days of Color After All This Time? Swatches
I managed to miss posting my pumpkin mani *again* last night- I’ll try and get that up tomorrow! It’s a pretty basic, simplistic mani, but I still love it 🙂
Tonight I’m going to be showing off a new favorite- 365 Days of Color’s After All This Time?. For Halloween this year, Sunny released The Horcrux collection- an amazing set of 7 polishes inspired by the horcruxes of the Harry Potter series. To tie in with the Harry Potter theme, the October polish of the month is After All This Time?, a *gorgeous* polish in honor of Snape’s love for Lily Potter. *sniffle* I don’t know many fans that don’t get seriously emotional over this scene in the book/movie.
After All This Time? is a light grey crelly base filled with holographic silver glitters. It is reminiscent of a pantronus- which is featured in the scene. Application was good- I needed 3 coats for opacity, and it was still a bit see through in some spots. I think the sheerness works well for the polish’s inspiration though!
After All This Time? also glows in the dark!!! It has a beautiful blue glow, just like a patronus. The glow is very sensitive- I went outside for photos, and next picture is what the polish looked like without a flash *in my hallway* in the middle of the day. Darkness is not needed for this baby to shine bright!
After All This Time? is sold out at the moment, but I know it will return! Be sure to check it and the other Horcrux collection polishes at the 365 Days of Color store!
Store: http://www.365daysofcolorpolishes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/365daysofcolor
This is honestly my favorite book/movie moment of all time- I LOVE that so many amazing indie polish makers are letting it inspire such gorgeous creations! What are some of your favorite book/movie moments that you’d love to see in a nail polish?
Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s Swatches
Today I’m going to show off a BEAUTIFUL polish- Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s!
Julie made this gorgeous mint polish for me as a surprise birthday present, and then decided to sell it in her store! So though it began as a custom, now everyone can enjoy it!
Monster’s Tea at Tiffany’s is a pretty mint green/Tiffany blue that has a gorgeous bright green shimmer. Simple, gorgeous, and a bit different from a lot of other Tiffany blue polishes out there.
I used 2 coats and Out the Door topcoat for these photos. Application was great, the polish went on smoothly and I didn’t have any issues. While the shimmer is a bit subtle due to the color, it’s also obvious- it doesn’t hide indoors and is always noticeable (does that make sense? It does in my head!).
You can follow Wishes of a Blue Eyed Girl via her blog, her Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram! To follow her polish line, check out Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer page and her Big Cartel page! Prices range from $8.00 to $10.00 per bottle.
Elevation Polish Grotte et Cascade, Trift, and Rapa Nui Swatches
Happy Thursday everyone! Have you entered my Blogiversary/Birthday giveaway yet? If not, it ends TONIGHT! Be sure to get your entries in!
I apologize for the lack of posts this past week- I’ve actually been contemplating a blog move from WordPress to Blogger (I’ve already imported all of my posts, so PolishMonster.blogspot.com IS me- I’m just not active over there yet). A more ideal time to make that move would have been *before* my giveaway, but hopefully a lot of you will follow me there! I didn’t want to keep waiting to post until I finalized everything though.
Today’s post I’m going to be showing off Elevation Polish Grotte et Cascade, Trift, and Rapa Nui. I received these 3 polishes as a birthday gift, and decided I had to show them off!
First is Grotte et Cascade.
This is a gorgeous dark brown polish filled with beautiful pink and blue shimmer. The shimmer is subtle- it’s very obvious out in the sun, but when you’re indoors it tends to hide a bit.
Application was great- it went on smoothly and I used 2 coats and Out The Door topcoat for photos. 1 coat gave good coverage, and 2 coats evened everything out.
Then I added 1 coat of Trift on top of Grotte et Cascade!
I’ll be honest- I probably would have never bought Trift on my own. I thought it was pretty, but it didn’t grab my attention like some of the others did. But I am SO GLAD I got this as a present- because I would’ve been missing out on a gorgeous topper!
Trift is a color shifting glitter topper- simple, pretty, and very versatile. This is one of those polishes you can grab to add some ‘oompf’ to any color you own- I can’t think of anything it wouldn’t look good over! Sadly, Trift has been discontinued- BUT there are still some bottles left on the Elevation Polish website- AND it’s only $6.50!
Last but not least is Rapa Nui!
Rapa Nui is one of those Elevations that I never really noticed for a long time- but when I did, I couldn’t understand what took me so long.
It is a gorgeous steel blue grey color with a very strong purple/red shimmer. The shimmer is incredibly strong outside in the sun, it’s a bit more subdued (but still there) inside. When outside, it almost appears to be a duochrome- the shimmer is that noticeable. Very, very pretty.
You can find these beauties at the Elevation Polish Big Cartel Store and also at Llarowe. As I said before, Trift is discontinued, but is still available until it sells out- there just won’t be more once it’s gone. You can also keep up with Elevation Polish updates by following Lulu’s blog, I Dig Brown Nail Polish. Restocks are on the 7th and 22nd of each month, though no restocks are planned for October (be sure to check out Lulu’s Auction site this next week!)
A Rainy Day Duo: Lumina Lacquer Polishes
I am a little behind (I know this is terribly shocking, right?)- but my second part of my Above the Curve review is set and ready to go for this evening. But in the meantime, I thought I’d post a quick mani I wore a few days ago. I’m up late writing this because it’s storming pretty heavily, and these polishes felt appropriate to show off! I chose to pair up I’m Only Happy When It Rains and Purple Rain- LOVE the result!
Also- Lumina Lacquer is restocking tomorrow at 11:oo am PST (2EST/1CST/12MST)- so maybe this can add something to your wish list!
First up is I’m Only Happy When It Rains, a beautiful light gray with a gorgeous blue-green sparkle. Sadly, this one isn’t being restocked today and may not return. (You definitely have to grab Lumina Lacquers you love when you can- there’s never a guarantee they’ll be back!) This polish began as a custom for a friend, and I’m so glad Tatiana opted to make a larger batch for all of us to enjoy!
I’m Only Happy When It Rains has great coverage- this is 2 coats. The shimmer is really obvious in person! It’s such a delicate, pretty gray color- and I’m definitely a sucker for gray polish!
Then I added 1 coat of Purple Rain on top! Yes, ya’ll- that’s just 1 coat.
This is one tightly packed glitter bomb- which is what Lumina Lacquer does best in my opinion! You’ll find just about every type of purple glitter in this polish- large, small, shapes, holos, even shards- all in there. There’s even some beautiful iridescent glitters that peek through in the sun!
I used the dabbing method to apply the glitters- if you’re wondering how to do that, you can follow this link to an amazing video by More Nail Polish showing exactly how! It’s a great way to apply glitter bombs like this one.
Remember, Lumina Lacquer restocks tomorrow at 11am PST! You can visit her Big Cartel store to see the polishes being sold- Purple Rain is included, along with a lot of other amazing colors! And be sure to follow on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on new colors and restocks!
Summer Beauty VoxBox Review
I’ve been meaning to get this written up for a bit- and what’s better than a rainy day to sit down and finish up blog posts and reviews!
Are you familiar with Influenster? I signed up a few months ago, and was very excited when I was selected to be one of the recipients of their Summer VoxBox- a small box filled with 5-6 samples of summer-related items! After you receive the box and have a chance to test the items out, you’re then encouraged to review all of the products. What better forum to do that than right here? So here we go!
The box I got contained 5 things: A full size bottle of Sally Hansen’s Magnetic Nail Polish in Graphite Gravity, a deluxe sample size of Sally Hansen’s Nails & Cuticles Hand Creme, deluxe sample size of Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Sunscreen, a Quaker Soft Baked Bar in Banana Nut Bread, and a sample box of Tampax Radiant collection products.
First up: Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen
I’ve been a bit of a hermit this summer, so I haven’t had much of a chance to use this. I was hoping to use it at the pool today, but then mother nature decided it should storm instead.
I did, however, put it on just to test everything but it’s sunburn protection feature 🙂
I really love the scent- it’s nothing too unusual, it does remind me of the coconut-tropical scent you find with most sunscreens, though this one has a delicate floral smell along with it. Overall the scent isn’t overpowering and smells very nice but subtle.
It made my arms feel very silky smooth just like a moisturizing lotion would, and was absorbed in quickly. There was no greasiness or excess lotion once I rubbed it on. Right now and with my kids I tend to use the quick spray-on sunscreen, but I think I may switch to this one for myself in the future!
Next up: Quaker Soft Baked Bar in Banana Nut Bread
I found this photo on Quaker’s listing for this very bread– because I forgot to photograph it before we ate it.
I only got to try a little bit of this, because it did set off a minor allergic reaction when I ate some (I have a lot of minor food allergies and there’s never any telling if I’ll have an oral reaction, or just be itchy). What I did have, though, was very good! It’s fairly moist, didn’t crumble, and definitely tasted like banana bread. The saltiness of the nuts was a good contrast to the sweeter banana taste. My husband, who ate most of it, said he wouldn’t mind me buying more- so I guess that’s a positive review! 🙂
Now we’re getting into more of my blog’s comfort zone! Sally Hansen’s Nails & Cuticles Hand Cream!
I really loved this product. Since I began blogging, I’m a lot more aware of how my hands and specifically my cuticles look. This lotion made my hands super soft and smooth, and did soften my cuticles a bit. The scent- I’m not sure if I like or hate the scent. I’m really not even sure what the scent is? It’s a bit citrus like, so maybe lemon- but it honestly smells like a starburst candy and a skittle blended together. Not a bad smell- but not exactly what I want to smell like, either. And the scent is not subtle at all, its quite strong.
I also received a full size bottle of Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish in Graphite Gravity.
While not my first magnetic polish, this was my first by Sally Hansen. I’ve only tried a few other brands, but this one in particular is the best I own.
The application was very smooth, the instructions were very clear, and the magnet was easy to work with. In some of my past experiences, I had trouble keeping the magnet from bumping the wet polish- and with 1 major brand, I couldn’t get the magnetic waves to show a majority of them time!
With this polish, though, every single nail was perfect on the first try. I simply held the magnet over the nail for 10 seconds, pulled it away, and the swirled design was there!
While these aren’t the cheapest (Most stores sell them for around $10), they’re absolutely one of the higher quality magnetic polishes. Big thumbs up!
My last item to review is the Tampax package. If you’re squeamish about slightly personal topics, feel free to stop reading now! I promise not to get graphic, but I know some ladies (or men!) aren’t exactly comfortable talking about these things.
The Tampax items all came in this cute little zippered bag. I have no idea if this is available for sale- but I love it! I’ve always meant to get a small container to keep personal products in, but never remember to actually do it. This is the perfect size to fit in my purse and keep everything organized!
I haven’t had a chance to actually USE the products, but as a long-term user of Tampax and Always products, I know they’ll be wonderful. I’ve been a very loyal Tampax user for about 17 years now (I think- give or take), and will continue to be.
The package included 3 unscented panty liners, 1 scented pad, 1 regular tampon, and 1 super tampon. These are all part of Always/Tampax’s new Radiant line.
For the panty liners- they are very thin around the sides, but the center absorbent area looks to be thick enough to perform it’s job well. I don’t often use panty liners or pads, but I tried this one out to see if it was noticeable- one of the tag phrases of this new line is ‘Invisible Protection, Invisible Fit’. The entire liner is a soft, non-plastic material with an adhesive backing, so it actually isn’t very noticeable at all. It’s also a bit smaller than other panty liners I’ve used in the past, while not being too small to function. Definitely worth another look!
The scented pad- I don’t use them. The only time I ever have is when my mother wouldn’t let me use tampons yet, and when the doctor forced me to after I had both kids. So I’m not going to be a very good judge on this one! The scent isn’t bad, but I personally don’t like scented feminine protection items. The scent is quite strong actually, and its a bit of a fruity/flower scent. I’m not a big fan. On the plus side however- the pad itself looks to be a super-absorbent material. When I push down on it, it takes a second to come back up- almost like a memory foam. It’s very thin, and not overly large from side to side, either. There’s 2 long wings to help keep it in place.
The tampons… well, this is interesting. I took one out to take a picture and examine!
Have you ever seen such a *fancy* tampon? I mean, I won’t lie, I am a sucker for things with details like this, but… it just seems a bit unnecessary given the function of a tampon.
So yeah, the applicator has scrolled designs on it. It’s also the soft plastic material that we’ve already seen on the Tampax Pearls- which I think is a good thing. I removed the tampon from the applicator, and rather than being stiff cotton, it’s actually a bit softer and definitely smoother. Not to get overly TMI, but I think it’s a good thing. I’m sure ladies can figure out why.
One of the other new features that I really like is the reusable wrapper. Each one is wrapped in the typical plastic wrapper, but rather than opening it, you pull up a sticker section to remove the tampon, which can then be re-sealed. Why is a removable wrapper needed or important, you may ask? It’s for disposal purposes, of course! You can now neatly dispose of both the applicator and tampon in a sealed package. These will definitely be what I pick up next time I have to buy more!
So that’s it for this box- if you stayed for the whole thing, I hope maybe you’re interested in one of the products, or at least know more about them! Everything in this box was completely new to me, so it was fun trying the new things! Thank you, Influenster!
Polish Monster 