Smitten Polish: Be Mine
Today I’ll be showing you the stunning Be Mine from Smitten Polish! I actually took these photos for Valentines Day, and then you know… never posted them. Posting fail 😦
This beauty was originally released with Smitten Polish’s Valentines Day Collection- and thankfully it is still available!
Be Mine is a yummy bubblegum pink holographic polish.
Be Mine applied well- smooth and even, no pooling or other issues. I used 2 coats with no topcoat for these pictures.
Look at the cute heart on the label! ❤
You can buy this polish and other beauties from the Smitten Polish storefront. Be Mine is in stock right now, but if you’re interested in any of the out of stock colors, there’s a restock coming on July 26 at 2pm CST!
You can follow Smitten Polish on Facebook and Instagram for upcoming colors, restocks and other information!
Any other Smitten Polishes you’re interested in seeing? Let me know in the comments! I don’t have them all, but I have a good amount- so I may have it!
Peita’s Polish Miss Dixie and Enchanted Polish Seven Nation Army
Nothing like a giveaway to see a crazy spike in traffic- welcome to all my new friends and followers! If you didn’t already enter, go check out my Big Birthday Bloviversary Giveaway!
Speaking of friends, this is one of my very favorite aspects of being part of the nail polish community. I’ve made so many wonderful, close friends over the past year and a half. And the polishes in this post came from 2 of them!
My awesome friend Peita is super sweet, and is also the genius behind Peita’s Polish. I have a few of her creations now, including the original Miss Dixie, and now the reformulated version that is part of the giveaway! We’ve been sending each other enormous swap packages back and forth for over a year now- if you love swapping, I really encourage girls (or guys!) to find ‘polish pen pals’ in other countries! Enchanted Polish Seven Nation Army was a birthday gift from my friend Jen of Jen’s Nail Files- who is also incredibly sweet and generous (and also loves to swap- if you’re new to swapping, Jen tends to find you! If you love candy, she’s your girl for sure!).
Anywho- first up is Peita’s Polish Miss Dixie!
Miss Dixie is a neon pink holographic polish with a faint blue flash. The holo effect is subtle, but it adds a beautiful shimmery sparkle throughout.
Application was great- it was almost fully opaque at just 1 coat, but 2 made it perfect. Photos show 2 coats plus topcoat.
Then I added 1 coat of Enchanted Polish Seven Nation Army on top of Miss Dixie!
Seven Nation Army is a holographic topcoat filled with itty bitty black and white hex glitters. All of the glitters are very small, which makes it a bit different than most black and white glitter offerings.
Application was good, as you can see I got a good amount of glitter with just 1 coat. I did a tiny bit of dabbing to ensure I didn’t have a large empty spot, but otherwise the glitter went on with regular brush strokes.
I LOVE this mani- I keep staring at my nails! Of course it’s pink and sparkly and fun- it’s impossible that I wouldn’t love it 🙂
There’s only one downside to these polishes- neither are the easiest to get! I know, I’m sorry for that.
Peita’s Polish is an Australian indie brand- though she DOES ship internationally! You’ll just be paying a bit more (if you’re in the US) for shipping and have to wait patiently a bit longer. Enchanted Polish- well, I think most of us know how challenging Enchanted Polishes can be to snag 🙂 Monthly restocks are fast and furious, and there’s not always a guarantee a particular color will be restocked. I feel it’s worth it- but it can be stressful and intimidating if it’s your first time (or 50th time).
Peita’s Polish: https://www.facebook.com/PeitasPolish & http://www.etsy.com/shop/peitaspolish
Enchanted Polish: https://www.facebook.com/EnchantedPolishPage & http://www.enchantedpolish.com/
Polish Monster’s Big Birthday Blogiversary Giveaway!
Well, it’s unsurprisingly a little later than I planned- but it’s finally here! My giveaway!
My big 3-0 birthday was at the end of August, and my blog turned 1 year old at the end of June. My blog’s birthday sort of snuck past me, and so I decided to celebrate it alongside my birthday!
I’ve always loved the movie 13 Going on 30, so for my 30th I decided to run with that as the theme. You’ll notice a few of the prizes are inspired by it!
Enough talking- on to the prizes you could win!
Prize #1 contains the Above the Curve duo Arrivederci and Au Revoir, Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer Floppy. Hoppy. BUNNIES! and a custom Little Lazy called Cutie Beebee!
Prize #2 Contains Above the Curve Darling Diana, Takko Lacquer Muse, Contrary Polish Anniversary Monster, Lucky 13 Lacquer Softening the Bad Things, and Nailz Craze stamping plate NC01!
Prize #3 contains Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer Oh, We’re Not Together, Lucky 13 Lacquer Fight Like a Girl, Takko Lacquer Heads Will Roll, Contrary Polish Gift Wrap, and Peita’s Polish Miss Dixie!
And last but not least- each prize pack gets these! A custom For Goodness Grape lip shimmer in Razzle Red (it’s a red, shimmery lip tint with a razzleberry flavor), and 2 Monster Polishes (that’s what my own polishes are called, for those that didn’t know!) made specifically for these events. Please excuse the lack of labels in the photo- I just ordered some new ones that will arrive before the giveaway ends!
The first is Razzle Red, which I created for my birthday. It’s a glitter topcoat filled with every shape, shade and size of red and pink glitter I had in my glitter tub with a pink shimmer. The second is Monster’s Ball, which I created for my blog’s anniversary. It’s a frosty holographic purple polish filled with color shifting glitters and flakes. Swatches of both of these will be on the blog in the next few days!
And now onto the official stuff.
I will be verifying winning entries, so please don’t lie. I’ve had to throw out winning entries with every giveaway in the past because people have lied about finishing tasks- it makes me sad. Please don’t do it!
If you cannot enter using Rafflecopter, please leave me a comment and/or email with your information and I can enter it manually for you.
Please follow the link RIGHT BELOW THIS to enter!!! And GOOD LUCK!!!
Polish Monster’s Big Birthday Blogiversary Rafflecopter Giveaway
Contrary Polish: Gift Wrap and Anniversary Monster (custom)
Good morning everyone! Three posts in a row? This must be a new recent record for me 🙂 I told you all having the kids in school now would help me get back on track! *knocks on wood*
In keeping with this week’s trend of showing off giveaway polishes, today I bring you Contrary Polish!
Contrary Polish is one of my favorite indie brands. Since around fall I’ve been really drawn to non-glitter bomb polishes (with a few exceptions of course!), and Contrary Polish is one of the best at amazing shimmers. I own a good chunk of her creations (you can check my stash list, though it’s not up to date- I also have the new colors and a few more older ones), so if there’s any you’ve been wanting to see- let me know in the comments and I’ll try and post them next week if I have them!
A few months ago I contacted Carrie about creating a custom polish, and I LOVE what she came up with! We decided to name it ‘Anniversary Monster’ in celebration of my 1 year blogging anniversary (which was in June, but I’m slow) 🙂 A second bottle of Anniversary Monster will be a prize in my upcoming giveaway!
Along with Anniversary Monster, I decided to swatch Gift Wrap, which was created to celebrate Contrary Polish’s one year anniversary! It seems fitting 🙂
First up, I’ll show off Gift Wrap!
Gift Wrap is a beautiful dark purple polish filled with very noticeable blue green shimmer. Application was good, I used 2 coats plus topcoat for the photos. Gift Wrap dries to a semi-matte finish without topcoat- also pretty, but I prefer shiny 🙂
When I first bought this polish I thought it might look a bit of RBL Scrangie (one of my favorites), but in person it didn’t. The colors are a bit different, but the major difference is the shimmer. Gift Wrap’s is much more noticeable, and it’s also more of a scattered, larger particle shimmer rather than a smooth shimmer (does that make any sense? I can’t figure out a better way to describe it!). This alone makes it appear completely different. If you like that color combination you will adore Gift Wrap!
Agh, the sparkle. This polish was so gorgeous and stunning outside in the sun- though it was beautiful indoors as well!
And now for Anniversary Monster!
When Carrie asked what I would like for my polish, I just gave her a list of colors I loved and let her have free reign. I said that I love pink (of course!), grey, tiffany blue, green and purple- so whatever she thought would look great and use some of those colors would be awesome.
What I got was this beautiful blue-grey polish filled with bright pink shimmer. The base is almost green-leaning in some lights, and a bit blue in others. Definitely something unique, and very ‘me’, and it even seems to fit the ‘Anniversary Monster’ name perfectly!
Again the application was great- I used 2 coats and topcoat for these photos. Like Gift Wrap, Anniversary Monster dries to a bit of a satin finish without topcoat.
So what do you think? I love it! If you’d like to try and win a bottle, be sure to be watching my blog- I’m hoping to start the giveaway early next week!
Be sure to follow Contrary Polish on Facebook to stay up to date on new releases and information!
You can purchase Contrary Polish from the Contrary Polish website (via email on Fridays) for mini sizes and certain full sizes, and also through a number of international stockists: Llarowe, Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Shoppe Eclecticco and Norway Nails. Bottles are $5 for mini sizes and $10 for full size via Contrary Polish’s website, and full size prices vary for international stockists.
Above the Curve: Galactic Party, Party Polish Pink, Darling Diana, and Risen Angel 2.0 Swatch and Review
*Press Sample*
Hey guys! I have a lot of beautiful Above the Curve polishes to show you today!
If you didn’t already know- $1 from every single bottle of Above the Curve polish purchased is donated to Shriner’s Hospitals! Their mission with Above the Curve is to raise awareness for Shriner’s Hospitals, and for scoliosis. Even when they’re on sale- they still donate $1 from each bottle! Just another thing that makes ATC so awesome.
First up is Galactic Party!
Galactic Party is a beautiful dark blackened purple/maroon holographic polish. Application was wonderful, as I always expect from Above the Curve polishes- the pictures show 2 coats with topcoat.
Next is Party Polish Pink- one of my new favorites!
Party Polish Pink is a bright reddish pink holographic polish filled with small holographic pink glitter. Application was wonderful, pictures show 2 coats plus topcoat.
Next is a fun polish called Darling Diana! I don’t believe ATC will be producing this- Angel showed me a picture to get my opinion because she didn’t think she liked it. When I mentioned that I loved it, she decided to send me it with my package!
Darling Diana is a grey polish filled with pink, yellow, blue and white glitters, some blue iridescent glitters and neon green stars. Application was good- I opted to thin this a little (I now have 2 bottles- and one will be part of the giveaway along with other ATC customs!), so it took 3 coats instead of the original 2 for opacity.
The last polish for today is Risen Angel 2.0!
I actually bought this polish and swatched it a month or so ago, so my nails are a little different in these photos. Risen Angel 2.0 is a beautiful dark plum linear holographic polish. I used 2 coats for these photos with no topcoat.
I don’t own the original Risen Angel to compare to, but the 2.0 Angels are a LOT more holographic! I’ll have a Fallen Angel vs. Fallen Angel 2.0 comparison post in a few days.
Just look at that holo!
You can find Above the Curve polishes in their Big Cartel store, their Etsy store, and also at Overall Beauty. You can also follow the ATC Facebook page for news and updates. Polishes range from $7 to $9 (for holos- though sometimes you can get them for $7 on sale!)- and don’t forget, $1 from every bottle is donated to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children!
For further information on what Above the Curve is supporting, please visit these websites to learn more: http://www.shrinershq.org/ and http://www.scoliosis.org/.
*Some products in this post were provided for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Silly Bee’s Chickadees: Mini Monster Review
Press Sample
If you follow my blog on Facebook, you may have already heard about this. A month or so ago, Melissa of Silly Bee’s Chickadees asked if my oldest kiddo, Syd, would be interested in doing kid swatches of some of her colors. Syd loves polishes almost as much as I do, so of course she wanted to do it- and having a chance to ‘be like mommy’ was exciting too. I thought it might be fun to let her show off her pictures on the blog- but no hard feelings if you aren’t interested in looking at a 5 year old’s swatch photos and you skip this post 🙂
This was the cute collage that was posted on Silly Bee’s Chickadee’s Facebook page when she was ‘announced’- everything on there is from her ‘interview’ about her favorite things. Yes, Dr. Who is actually one of her favorite things- her favorite is 11, and Amy Pond. She’s pretty crushed he won’t be around much longer. She even has her own talking Dalek she plays with.
Melissa was sweet enough to send out 2 mini polishes addressed specifically to her, all wrapped up in pink paper and bubble wrap. She felt like quite the princess!
I let Syd paint her own nails, and then I went behind her and cleaned up with my normal polish remover/concealer brush. We didn’t do any prep work/cleanup beforehand on her nails- the only thing she does use semi-regularly is her own container of Sunny’s Hand Cream (she chose Strawberry Buttercream- which is a scent I don’t like, so she never has to worry about me touching hers). It’s the only lotion/cream we were able to find last winter that helped the severely dry, cracking skin on her hands. I’ve said it before, but I highly recommend it!
First, we swatched Silly Bee’s Chickadee’s Raspberry Sorbet. Pictures are 2 coats with no topcoat (she didn’t want to use the ‘shiny polish’).
This was Syd’s favorite- because it’s pink. Could you guess from the picture above that her favorite color is pink? 🙂 I asked her what her favorite part of this polish was, and she said ‘It’s pink and sparkly’. Then I asked what it reminded her of- she said ‘bubble gum’.
Melissa also sent Everything Nice- another pink themed polish!
I think Syd had a little trouble putting this polish because it had more glitter, but she got the hang of it. Her favorite part- surprise surprise- was the ‘big pink glitters and birdie (label) because it’s so cuteeeee’. When I asked her what this polish reminded her of, her answer was ‘a sprinkle cookie like we get from the store (Publix)’.
So there you have it, my kiddo’s blogging debut. This won’t be a recurring thing, though I may post more of her photos in a Facebook album specifically for her pictures. She’s definitely had a lot of fun doing this- thank you so much Silly Bee’s Chickadees!
You can keep up with Silly Bee’s Chickadees on Facebook, and buy these pretty polishes on Etsy (though the store is closed through Sept 15). Melissa mentioned that mini bottles will be joining her store at some point in the future- perfect time to think about getting that little chickadee in your life some pretty indies for stocking stuffers! It’s never too early to start a mini stash 😉
*Some products in this post were provided for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots: Pretty in Polka
Quick swatch post! I spotted the Maybelline Color Show Polka Dot display at my Target last week, and of course couldn’t leave without one. I’ve been *trying* to be better about not buying ALL THE THINGS, so I limited myself to just 1. Being an indie nut, I already have a few great black and white toppers- so I grabbed the pink color, Pretty in Polka. If you don’t already have a black and white glitter topper, I think Maybelline’s version looks to be a pretty good one (only hexes in different sizes, no bar glitter) and best of all, it’s cheap!
I initially thought this polish would be really sheer and need a lot of coats, but it didn’t- these pictures show just 2 coats with no topcoat. I didn’t have to do too much in the way of glitter placement, but I did do a bit of dabbing for the occasional empty spot.
Application was pretty good- like I said, it built up very well, and the glitter went on smoothly and without any issue. There’s a lot of glitter payoff with minimal effort- no fishing required. Very pretty! I also thought the teal color was very beautiful- I may break my rule and go back for it 🙂
Maybelline Color Show Polka Dot polishes can be found at various drug stores in a display (Walgreens, CVS, Target) though as always not all stores will have them. You can also buy them online now at Target.com for $2.99 each!
Sally Hansen Sugar Coat: Royal Icing
Just a quick post today- we have sunshine again (hurrah!) so I took some pictures of my sparkly mani to share!
Last night I put on one of my Sally Hansen Sugar Coats I recently bought, Royal Icing. I also grabbed Pink Sprinkles (first, the name, second, it has flakes and is pink- so naturally it was calling to me). I think I’m on the fence about the textured nail polish trend- some I love, some I hate. I usually am not a big fan of the more ‘matte’ finishes- the Milani ones, China Glaze, original Sally Hansen Sugar Coats. I adore the Julie G Gumdrops and Zoya Pixie Dusts, and really like the look of the Nails Inc Leather/Demin Effects.
So yeah, rambling aside- when I saw pictures of the newest Sugar Coats, I knew I’d have to grab the sparkly ones. Royal Icing is like Sinful Colors Cinderella with texture- a pretty baby blue with a strong pink/gold shimmer.
This is SUCH a pretty polish. I really tried to get good pictures of the shimmer, but failed. The shine you see inside the bottle is what I see on the nail even inside my house. Strong gold-pink shimmer, pretty blue base. I had heard that this was a sheer polish, so I used 1 coat of Cult Nails Tempest and layered over that.
And now for the bad. For as pretty as this polish is, it was a huge pain the butt. I ended up using 4 coats over the white base- 4! I know people needed 3-4 without a base, so my advice would be to use a base coat that’s very similar to the blue in Royal Icing. I had issues with white peeking through and uneven spots, which is why I needed so many layers. After it’s dried there’s been some shrinkage, so now I have white nail tips (which aren’t really visible in the pictures, but it’s there).
The dry time on this polish is RIDICULOUS. I know textured polishes tend to take a long time to dry- I expect that. I’m guessing it’s because of how many layers are needed, but getting dressed for bed last night put multiple dents in my polish- 3.5 hours after I painted them. Right now, 16 hours after painting, I can still stick another nail into the polish and leave an indentation, though they are pretty dry otherwise.
So overall- I’m still glad I bought this polish, because it’s very stunning in person. I just need to figure out a better way to wear it, because I don’t plan on repeating this process! Maybe 1-2 coats over 365 Days of Color’s Bora Bora or Girly Bits Arctic Sunrise? 🙂
I found the new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes recently at Walgreens, but they’ve been popping up at most places you find Sally Hansen. I just saw via Nouveau Cheap that all the Sally Hansen Sugar Coats are on clearance at Target- which is great, because I paid around $6 each! At my Target, they did not have Royal Icing on their display, and didn’t have a spot for it- but all stores are different.
What are your thoughts on the texture polishes, and which are your favorites?
Fantasy Nail Lacquer: Camillia, Magic, and Sapphire Rose
*Press Sample*
Today I have a new indie brand to show off- Fantasy Nail Lacquer! I love getting a chance to try out new lines that I’ve never used before 🙂 I received 3 shades to review- Camillia, Magic, and Sapphire Rose. Magic is available now, but Camillia and Sapphire Rose are new shades due to be released later this week!
First up is Camillia, a beautiful pink! You all know how I love my pinks!
Camillia is a pretty rose pink filed with fine silver holographic glitter. The picture above shows Camillia inside in my light box, the second 2 photos show it outside on a sunny day. All 3 of these colors were beautiful inside, but they popped outside in the sun! My camera wasn’t able to pick up all the sparkles these were showing off.
The lightbox photos were taken this weekend, and used 2 coats of Camillia. The outdoor photos were taken yesterday, and used 3 coats. I trimmed my nails down a tiny bit in between (*squee!* my first time in awhile cutting my nails shorter by CHOICE!). Camillia dried a tiny bit matte (maybe a bit of a suede finish?), so I chose to add a coat of Essence Gel-Look topcoat to really bring out the shine.
Application was smooth and easy. I did add a few drops of thinner to all 3 polishes, but that’s not a necessity- I just prefer to do multiple thin coats rather than 2 thick coats.
Next up is Magic!
Magic is a gorgeous grey jelly polish filled with ultrafine silver glitter and fine holographic purple, pink and blue glitters. Like with Camillia, the first photo is inside in my lightbox and the next 2 are outside in the sun. The first photo shows 2 coats of Magic, the second 2 photos are both of 2 coats.
Coverage was really really outstanding for a glitter/jelly polish. You get pretty good coverage with just 1 coat, but things are completely opaque with 2. My nails were sparkling like crazy outside! This reminds me a little of OPI’s Excuse Moi! and other polishes that are filled to the brim with microglitter and cover so well. Because of how much glitter there was, this polish was a little thicker but nothing hard to work with.
Last but not least, we have Sapphire Rose!
This is just like Camillia, only in a bright beautiful blue. Sapphire Rose is a pretty sapphire blue filled with fine silver holographic glitter. Like the other two (no surprise by now I’m sure), the first photo is 2 coats in my lightbox, and the second 2 photos are 3 coats outside.
Like Camillia, Sapphire Rose dried a tiny bit matte (more like a suede), so I used 1 coat of Essence Gel-Look topcoat to bring out the shimmer. Application was great, and went on wonderfully.
Aren’t these colors so pretty? If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be Sapphire Rose (I didn’t pick the pink, what?!)- the blue is just so bright and pretty and really pops with all the sparkles in the sunlight.
You can grab Magic along with other gorgeous colors right now in Fantasy Lacquer’s Etsy Shop for $8/full size and $4/mini size- Camillia and Sapphire Rose are going to be released this Saturday, June 15.
Be sure to follow the Fantasy Lacquer Facebook page to keep up to date on news and new releases!
*Press Sample*
Go Pink Wednesday: Zoya Lara and Lynnderella Boy-Girl Party
Hi guys! It’s time for another Go Pink Wendesday!
Today I started off with 1 coat of Zoya Lara, one of my very favorite pink creams, and added 1 coat of Lynnderella’s Boy-Girl Party on top.
Now, those of you familiar with Lynnderella colors may be questioning my sanity about now- since Boy-Girl Party is a mix of primarily pink and blue glitter. But no, I haven’t lost my mind, this was intentional. Aside from just being very pretty, I decided to add the touch of blue this week as a reminder that not just women are affected by breast cancer. Yes, it predominately affects women- but it’s easy to forget men do suffer from this as well. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2012 just over 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 400 will die from it.
So while we’re surrounded by pink this month, this is my nod to all the men affected by this terrible disease as well as women.
Both polishes applied wonderfully. I ADORE Zoya’s polishes, especially their creams- they’re almost always 1 coat and apply like a dream. Boy-Girl Party is a little tricky- it’s a very thick, full glitter, so I used a bit of the dabbing method for placement.
1 coat Zoya Lara, 1 coat Lynnderella Boy-Girl Party, topped with 1 coat Gelous.
You can find Zoya at ULTA as well as on their website at http://www.zoya.com. Lynnderella can be found on Ebay at http://myworld.ebay.com/lynnderella-lynnderella.
Interested in a free Zoya? If you haven’t signed up for their Share the Love program yet, you can use my referral link here– once you sign up, you’ll get a coupon code (in your ‘My Promotion Codes’ section of your account page) for a free polish! Just pay shipping! If you add 2 more polishes to your order with this coupon, you’ll get free shipping (so 3 Zoyas for $16 even). Not bad!
Tomorrow I’ll be showing off a few colors by Pams & Kin, so be sure to check back!
Want to see the other lovely manis for Go Pink Wednesday! Look no further! Click the link below!
Go Pink Wednesday: International Brands and Indies!
Good afternoon everyone! I couldn’t decide which mani to use for today’s Go Pink Wednesday- so I decided to show off both!
My first look is using 2 international polishes- Tip Top Nails Popsicle that you saw in yesterday’s post, topped with Passe Nati Sabrina Sato- Quero Amor.
How fun! Quero Amor is a gorgeous green-shift flakie in a light pink jelly base, filled with glitter!
Of course flakes don’t show up as well over colors that aren’t black or dark, but when I put my hand in the shade it was easy to spot them!
And now for my second mani- This one is a gorgeous color from Fanchromatic Nails!
It’s called Layer Cake- and I knew I needed it just for the name! This polish is inspired by Kaylee from the amazing show Firefly- which was sadly only on for 1 season.
Inara: I see Kaylee’s here.
Mal: Yeah, crying Cinderella tears. You should have seen her when I told her she could have that layer cake she’s wearing.
Inara: I think she looks adorable.
So this polish is a homage to Kaylee’s completely over the top, adorable, so ‘her’ dress that she had to wear to the big shindig. I love Kaylee 🙂
This polish is so beautiful! It’s an amazing light pink linear holo, spotted with holographic pink glitter.
For these photos I wore 2 coats of Layer Cake over 1 coat of Zoya’s Rory, but it can easily be worn on it’s own. I previously wore 3 coats of Layer Cake alone just fine! It was just too cloudy for photos that day 🙂
Hope you enjoyed the different looks!
Sadly- Tip Top Nails can only be purchased in South Africa, and Passe Nati can be found in Brazil (Llarowe does carry some of the brand, but not this particular polish).
Fanchromatic Nails can be found here on Etsy, and you can follow their Facebook Page for news and updates! I’ll be showing off a few other beautiful colors from Lynae at Fanchromatic tomorrow, so be sure to check back!
Check out all the other awesome Go Pink Wednesday posts here:
A Look at Tip Top Nails
A few weeks ago, Tip Top Nails contacted me and were sweet enough to send me a few of their beautiful colors all the way from South Africa to try out! If you’re not already following Tip Top’s Facebook page, I highly reccomend it! They frequently give out awesome tips and tutorials 🙂
I recieved 5 beautiful colors- Perfect For Me, Perfect Look, Wild Thing, Popsicle, and Turbulence- as well as a combination base coat and topcoat All-In-One. I used the All-In-One as my basecoat for each color and it worked wonderfully! Now on to pretty pictures!
First up is Perfect For Me, a bright neon pink!
This is a bright, glossy neon pink- not too blindingly bright, but still neon! I used 2 coats for these photos and no topcoat. A neon that’s glossy and not matte!
Next is Perfect Look, a sheer white jelly.
It wasn’t clear from the bottle, but this is definitely more of a jelly polish- it’d be perfect for jelly sandwiches. The photos are of 4 coats, and there was still NVL. It reminds me a lot of a slightly whiter version of Essie Marshmallow, which is (was) my favorite go-to polish for jelly sandwiches!
Tip Top’s Popsicle, a gorgeous peach-leaning pink with a strong pink-silver shimmer.
This was my very favorite of the bunch- and I did love them all! The photos show 2 coats, no topcoat.
Wild Thing, a beautiful shimmering ocean blue.
This photo shows 2 coats, no topcoat. You’ll see it again Thursday playing underwear duty for another polish!
And last but not least, I have Turbulance- a gorgeous shimmering midnight blue that leans a tiny bit purple.
These photos are 2 coats, no topcoat, just like all the others. They’re all just so shiny and pretty!
I hope you enjoyed my photo spam! Sadly Tip Top Nails is only available in South Africa 😦 But you can check out their Facebook page, and you can find their main webpage here! Be sure to check back tomorrow for Go Pink Wednesday- I’ll be showing off 2 separate manis!
LynBDesigns: Jarvis and Five Orange Pips
I have 2 beautiful colors from LynBDesigns to show off today- Jarvis and Five Orange Pips!
Pretty neat bottles, right?
LynBDesigns has a TON of colors to choose from on her etsy site– there’s 95 polish listings! She also has a lot of other fun things to check out.
So first up: Jarvis!
Jarvis is part of LynBDesigns’ Gender-Benders collection- 14 colors that all share men’s names. From etsy: ‘It’s hot pink, it’s color shifting; what’s not to love? Jarvis has a sheer hot pink base and is loaded with color shifting awesomeness. It changes from pink to blue to purple, and on occasion even a little orange.’
You all know I love pink, especially the bright variety- so I was sold!
This is 4 coats of Jarvis alone. 3 would have been sufficient, but without a base coat I had a tiny bit of VNL.
This color is SO gorgeous! There’s a beautiful light color shift and the application is great. Even with 4 coats, the polish wasn’t too thick and was very wearable.
This is 2 coats of Jarvis over Cult Nails Nevermore (my go-to black). WOW! Look at how pretty! I love a color-shifting topcoat that can be worn on its own- it makes it very versatile!
The second polish I have to show off from LynBDesigns is Five Orange Pips!
Five Orange Pips is from the Baker Street Collection, which is inspired by Sherlock Holmes. The description from the store sums up this color perfectly: ‘It’s a collection of orange glitters in a sheer orange base. It has orange holographic glitter, orange hearts, fine orange matte, and glitter that look black in some light, orange in others.’
Even though it’s not part of LynBDesigns’ Halloween collection, this color is absolutely perfect for a holiday look.
This is 2 coats of Five Orange Pips over Sally Hansen’s Ivory Skull (one of the new Fall Complete Manicure colors; a plain white).
This was an easy color to work with- the only hard part was (as expected) the cute orange hearts- but they didn’t require too much effort to get them to come out and play! The white in these photos really shows off the orange jelly of Five Orange Pips.
This is my favorite combo- 2 coats of Five Orange Pips over Cult Nails Nevermore. Does this scream Halloween or what?!
I really, really loved these 2 polishes. Both were super easy to work with and covered nicely- and most importantly, they both looked so very beautiful! I play on getting a lot of use out of Five Orange Pips this fall!
LynBDesigns is currently offering a Buy Two, Get One Free sale (as of 9/19)! Just write a note requesting which color you would like as your free choice.
These polishes and more can be found on LynBDesign’s Etsy store for $8.50 each and unless my eyes deceive me- shipping is free! Which makes these a great deal for some beautiful indie polishes 🙂
Be sure to check out LynBDesign’s Facebook page for new colors and updates. She has a pretty Nightmare Before Christmas-inspired Halloween collection just released!
*The polishes featured in this post were sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Indie Wednesday: Darling Diva Polish, Take 1
Hello All! I have a TON of Darling Diva Polishes to show off, so I’ve decided to split them into 2 posts. Today I will feature Cotton Candy, Sophia, and Princess Luna! Friday I’ll be showing off Ringer and Dangerous Driver.
Earlier this week, I had a big swatch-a-thon with all of these beautiful colors. Everything looked nice in person, however, I’m not entirely happy with the photos for this particular post (I think Friday’s pictures look great though). I already promised this write up for today, and I won’t be home tomorrow, so I wanted to go forward with posting. But I think I’m going to retake some photos this weekend and add them in.
First up, we have Cotton Candy!
Cotton Candy is a pretty shade of pink, with various sizes and shapes of white glitter- but not a ton of glitter, so it gives the polish a dainty feel. These photos were taken with 2 coats of polish.
I only used Cotton Candy for the photos, but I think next time I’ll try layering over a very similar pink (maybe Zoya Lara?)- since the second layer does cover up the first layer’s glitter almost completely. Either way, you’ll have a beautiful look!
Next up, we have Sophia!
For Sophia, I opted to use an underwear coat of Love My Nails Electric Blue, with 2 coats of Sophia.
Sophia is a beautiful periwinkle blue fine glitter, sprinkled with the occasional gold holographic hex glitter. I had to work to get the ones I did on my nail! I’d say average use would be closer to 1-2 on each nail without any fishing. This color would look beautiful over black or white, and I bet it would look pretty over a red for a patriotic look.
And last but certainly not least, we have Princess Luna!
Princess Luna is inspired by the lovely Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I’ve said it before, but I actually recommend MLP even for grownups. Seasons 1 and 2 are available for streaming on Netflix, and they’re awesome. Princess Luna is the sister to Princess Celestia, who is inspiration for another polish by Darling Diva Polish!
Much like her inspiration, the polish version of Princess Luna is a beautiful blue, full of sparkles, accented by deep purple and teal glitter, with a bit of white thrown in.
Like Sophia, I layered 2 coats over Love My Nails Electric Blue.
I placed some of the larger glitters, but I didn’t have to fish for any of these, they came right out to play! I think this is my favorite of tonight’s colors 🙂 But I may be partial due to the reference!
You can find Darling Diva Polish on Facebook, and you can buy her beautiful colors at her Etsy shop. All of her colors are $8.00 with the exception of holo colors, like Dangerous Driver, which are $12.00. And she ships internationally for a reasonable rate!
Be sure to check her out, and also check back on Friday for Part 2! Ringer and Dangerous Driver are SO GORGEOUS- I’m definitely saving the best for last. You won’t want to miss it!
*Some of the products shown in this post were provided to me without cost for an honest review*
Battle of the Blues: A Comparison
When I first became interested in nail polish, one of my early favorites was Sinful Color’s Cinderella. I loved the name, the shade, and adored the pink shimmer.
I did not, however, adore how sheer it was, or that it took 4-5 coats to build up.
Unsurprisingly, I’m attracted to this ‘type’ of color- and I recently realized I have quite a few that look similar! So I decided to compare all 5 that I own in 1 post.
Girly Bits Arctic Sunrise, Cult Nails Princess, Models Own Indian Ocean, 365 Days of Color Bora Bora, and Sinful Colors Cinderella.
As you can see, none of these are really the same, though a lot have the same qualities. All 5 are blue with a pink color shift- but that’s where the similarities end.
Girly Bits Arctic Sunrise and Models Own Indian Ocean are the most similar, with the Models Own being a bit more ‘in your face’ sparkly. However, Indian Ocean required 4 coats to be opaque (it’s better to layer), and Arctic Sunrise was opaque at 2 coats. Indian Ocean is a bit stinky, as well (not 3-free), for those with sensitive senses.
Though it shows a pink shift in the photo, Cult Nails Princess is a bit more of a gold/pink shift. 365’s Bora Bora has the most subtle shimmer, but it’s a gorgeous blue with just the tiniest ‘bling’… it’s one of my favorites to use in combination with glitter layering polishes (see here and here).
And then of course we have Cinderella herself. It’s a BEAUTIFUL color- the most baby blue of the bunch, with a pretty significant shimmer. The biggest downside is just how sheer it is… but layered over another blue or white, it works out well.
Here’s where you can get each of these pretties!
Girly Bits Arctic Sunrise: Girly Bits Big Cartel site $10; Harlow & Co. $12; Llarowe $12
Cult Nails Princess: Cult Nails website $10; Overall Beauty $10
Models Own Indian Ocean: Ninja Polish $8; Harlow & Co. $10
365 Days of Color Bora Bora: 365’s Big Cartel Site, $8
Sinful Colors Cinderella: Walgreens, $1.99 (not available online at the moment, but I’ve bought it via their site in the past)
Polish Monster 