Elevation Polish: Naughty by Nature Collection
*Press Sample*
Hello everyone! Today I have the gorgeous new polishes from Elevation Polish to show you all! The Naughty by Nature collection was just released on Thursday. I *really* wanted to have this post up on release day- but the universe had other plans! My family was super sick the whole week- and by the end of the week of taking care of them, I was down for the count too. But better a little late than never!
There are 6 BEAUTIFUL colors in this collection- and the exciting part is that they’re all water based! I don’t know about you guys, but my experiences with water based polishes in the past haven’t been that great (though they’ve also been limited). I could barely tell a difference between these polishes and other Elevations! I did notice that all 6 got a bit thick when exposed to air more quickly than my ‘normal’ polish does, and a few were thicker in general. I probably will add a few drops of thinner later (I did not for photos). That’s more of a personal preference- as you can see from the pictures, they all apply wonderfully! I could barely smell a polish smell at all (it was very subtle), and the dry time was just fine. Lulu has really impressed me with these- and that’s just the formula, not the beautiful colors!
First is Forest of the Fog- a beautiful teal jelly polish filled with blue and purple shimmer.
This polish is so pretty! I really love the purple shimmer with the teal base- it’s a fun combination. The shimmer is definitely a little shy- it’s noticeable, but it’s not super in-your-face and instead is more subtle. These photos are outside in the sunshine, which is why it’s cooperating! Inside, you have more of a dark teal jelly polish. Photos show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Then I topped Forest of the Fog with Pitaraq, a gorgeous flake topcoat!
After years of being a polishaholic- my love for flakies of all types has never diminished. So of course, this is one of my favorites of the collection! Pitaraq is a fun topper filled with white, silver, and blue flakies and blue microshimmer! This polish will be PERFECT for the winter months coming up- it feels like I just spread frost over my nails! This is 1 coat (no topcoat) over Forest of the Fog.
Next is a wonderful red cream, Volcanic Dust!
This polish really surprised me and was another favorite in the collection. I’m normally not a fan of creams- I have a good amount of them, but I rarely get excited for them. But Volcanic Dust looked great on, and applied great! Pictures show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Ah, and now for my favorite of the collection- Darkest Storm, a beautiful dark blue holographic stunner!
Darkest Storm is a very dark, almost midnight blue holographic polish. Because of the darker shade, the holographic effect is blinding outside in the sun! Photos show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Next is Black Ice, a charcoal polish filled with lots of shimmer!
Black Ice dries to a velvet matte finish on it’s own. I ADORE how it looks with topcoat on top though! This beauty sparkled so much in the sun that it almost looks holographic. But it’s not! It’s filled with a silver and white shimmer that is always visible, and also with multicolored shimmer that comes alive with topcoat. This polish applied like a DREAM- I didn’t have to do any cleanup at all! Photos are 2 coats with topcoat.
Last but not least is Naked Night Sky, a brown jelly polish accented with aqua and blue glitters!
I actually ended up liking this polish a bit more than I had anticipated- unlike Lulu, the creator, I don’t love brown nail polish (her blog is http://lovebrownnailpolish.wordpress.com/ lol). But I did really like this! On her store listing, Lulu advises to wait for each coat to dry before applying the next one, and I would agree with this completely. This polish is actually the only one that gave me a bit of trouble, and it was because I was initially not following that advice, and the second coat would pull and ruin the first coat. Once I waited, I had no more issues. Photos are 2 thick coats plus topcoat.
And there you have it, the Naughty by Nature collection! As I said earlier, these polishes were released on Thursday- Darkest Storm is sold out for now, but the rest are still available! Elevation Polish restocks on the 7th and 22nd of the month, so Darkest Storm will be available again then. The collection is also going to be launched at Llarowe.com, though I don’t believe the restock date has been announced yet.
Elevation Polish: http://elevationpolish.bigcartel.com/ and http://www.llarowe.com/
Also, Elevation Polish is now on Instagram! Be sure to go follow- @elevationpolish!
*Some products in this post were provided for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Different Dimension: Set It Free Collection
Good afternoon everyone! I hope to have another post up this evening, but while I’m waiting on the sun to come back out- I thought I’d post some pictures I recently took of one of my very favorite collections!
Different Dimension’s Set It Free collection was first released last February- though it is still available! This stunning collection is made of 3 polishes- Black Dahlia, Wide Awake, and Stronger. I love everything about this trio of polishes- they’re holo, sparkling, shimmering bottles of beauty!
First up is Black Dahlia.
This is probably my favorite of the collection. While I feel like you should get all 3, if you can only get 1- make it be this one. Black Dahlia is a beautiful black flake polish (the flakes in all 3 build up to opacity in just 2 coats), filled with tons of holographic pigment, blue/pink shimmer, and color shifting glitters.
This polish comes alive outside, but it is just as beautiful indoors too. I used 2 coats with no topcoat for these photos. As with every Different Dimension polish I’ve tried, the formula was perfect and went on wonderfully with no issues.
Next in the trio is Wide Awake.
Although this is a pink, this is probably my least favorite of the bunch. Shocking, right? Wide Awake is absolutely beautiful, but didn’t want to play nice with my skin tone. That’s the only negative thing about it though- because it’s just as stunning as it’s siblings, and applies like a dream.
Wide Awake is a very pale pink holographic polish filled with light pink flecks and a hot pink flash (seen best in the photo below). As I said before- application was wonderful. Photos show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Last but not least, is Stronger.
This one ALMOST tied with Black Dahlia for the favorite spot- I think Black Dahlia edged it out because of it’s extra color shifting glitters 😉
Stronger is a *stunning* light blue holographic polish filled with blue flecks and a blue/pink flash. Like Black Dahlia, the strong holographic pigment plays very nicely with this shade, and it’s almost always visible- even indoors a bit. The pop of pink is not subtle, and is so beautiful!
Like the others, application on Stronger was amazing. Every polish I own by Different Dimension is like this, so I’m not surprised! Photos show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Though Missi has been pumping out some AMAZING holographic colors lately- I highly recommend you pick up at least 1 of these beauties! You won’t regret it!
Different Dimension polishes are available at Different Dimension’s Etsy shop and range from $8.50 to $10.00, as well as Llarowe and Mei Mei’s Signatures.
Be sure to follow Different Dimension on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and sneak peeks at upcoming shades!
Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer Discontinued Limited Edition and Lumina Lacquer Mick or Treat
Happy Halloween everyone! I have quite a few posts scheduled for today- hopefully to make up for my couple of missed days 🙂
The first halloween mani of the day features Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer and Lumina Lacquer!
First up is Discontinued Limited Edition- which is a Limited Edition! This polish is part of Julie’s Nail Polish Frights Halloween collection. It’s a beautiful charcoal holographic polish filled with orange sparks and shimmer. A perfect Halloween polish! Application was wonderful- photos show 2 coats with no topcoat.
Then, I topped Discontinued Limited Edition with Lumina Lacquer’s Mick or Treat!
Mick or Treat is a fun glitter bomb that features holographic Mickey Mouse heads, as well as lots of red, orange, yellow, black and holographic glitters. Photos show 1 coat of Mick or Treat- I applied by dabbing. I was able to get 1 Mickey head out naturally, the others I did fish a little bit for- but Lumina Lacquer glitter bombs are so dense you rarely have to fish for long!
Mick or Treat also has big pumpkins in it- but they completely eluded me this time! I think they’re all hiding in the middle 😉
Both of these polish are Limited Edition- while Mick or Treat is sold out (you can check sales groups and blog sales though!), there are still a few bottles left of Discontinued Limited Edition if you hurry!
Here’s the polish brand info:
Lumina Lacquer: Facebook Page and Big Cartel Store
Blue Eyed Girl Lacquer: Facebook Page and Big Cartel Store
OPI Alcatraz… Rocks Swatches and Review
The other day at ULTA I spotted the OPI San Francisco collection- there’s a lot of pretty colors, but the one that jumped out at me most (and into my bag) was Alcatraz… Rocks. I’d seen it in photos, but it was SO much prettier in person!
I’m still a bit on the fence when it comes to the textured polish trend- I don’t like many, but super sparkly ones (like Zoya’s Pixie Dusts or JulieG Gumdrops) I LOVE! And Alactraz… Rocks is definitely sparkly!
Alcatraz… Rocks is a dark blurple base (more purple leaning than I initially realized) filled with lots of different shimmer. I definitely saw blue, pink, and gold, though there could be a touch of green in there as well.
Application was great- I had good coverage with 1 coat, and complete coverage with 2. Photos show 2 coats with no topcoat. The dry time was pretty good- textured polishes can sometimes take a bit longer to dry, but it seemed like this one was touch-dry in around the same length of time my normal polishes are.
This is my first Liquid Sand polish, though I have quite a few textured offerings from other brands- and I can definitely say OPI did a great job with it. Dry time seemed to be superior to others I have used, and the sparkle was over the top (in a good way). If you like textures, definitely be sure to pick this one up!
I bought my bottle at ULTA for $9, but you can find this at most places OPI nail polish is sold!
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.*
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?
Above the Curve Review Part 2: Polish Addiction Set!
*Press Sample*
Time for the second half of my Above the Curve review! This time I have the Polish Addiction set. These are some BEAUTIFUL polishes! If you follow my Facebook page, you may have already seen my pictures there 😉
As I said last time- ATC is an amazing indie company run by the super sweet Angel and Shawn. $1 from every single bottle is donated to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children! Their mission with Above the Curve is to raise awareness for Shriner’s Hospitals, and for scoliosis. See, more reason to buy polish (and be polish addicted)- you’re donating to a good cause!
This collection is made up of Husbands Just Don’t Understand, Dusty Huntin’, What No Buy?!?!, and Lemming Have It!
All 4 polishes are incredibly stunning holographic polishes. What No Buy?!?! has gold holographic glitter, while the other 3 all have a subtle bit of color shifting sparkle to them. All 4 apply absolutely beautifully- smooth, no cleanup needed.
First up is Husbands Just Don’t Understand- which is true, they don’t! Mine tends to just smile and nod 😉 This is a beautiful dark teal holographic polish with a bit of a green flash to it.
I used 2 coats with no topcoat. Like I said before- applied beautifully! This polish is really stunning, especially outside in the sunlight where all 4 really shine.
The second polish in this collection is Dusty Huntin’! If you’re unfamiliar with what Dusty Huntin’ is, it’s when you visit older salons to try and find valuable older polishes sitting ‘gathering dust’ on the shelves and buy them from the salon. Often they’ll sell them to you (used) for relatively cheap- they think they’re getting a great deal, while you, the polish addict, are overjoyed at snagging a hard to find beauty.
This is a beautiful pink leaning red holographic polish with a beautiful purple flash. The holographic effect is a bit more faint on this one than the others, but it ‘s still a shining stunner! I used 2 coats with no topcoat.
Next is What No Buy?!?!- a beautiful golden holographic polish with scattered gold holographic glitter. I tried to go on a no-buy one time- I’m not sure I even made it through the week. Instead I (attempt) to go on low-buys- but even then I usually fail 😉
I don’t normally care for gold polish, but this one is super pretty, and worked well with my skin tone. And even though it’s filled with holographic glitter, it came off just as easily as the other holo polishes- no need for the foil method or excessive scrubbing! This is 3 coats with no topcoat.
And last but certainly not least, is Lemming Have It!- my personal favorite, and seems to be a lot of people’s favorite. Lemming Have It is a drop dead gorgeous blurple holographic with a blue shimmering shift to it. The blue shimmer really comes out to play in sunlight- I couldn’t stop staring at my nails!
The pigmentation is great across the board with this collection, but is especially great in Lemming Have It!. I could almost get away with 1 coat, but for pictures I was sure to use 2 coats (no topcoat). Applied like a dream. I think I gushed enough in my last post about how well ATC polishes apply, so I’ll spare you this time 😉 (they apply wonderfully!)
This polish is easily tied for my very favorite ATC polish with Fallen Angel- both are must have polishes (unless you don’t like holographic polishes of course- but not many people dislike holos!). The extra shimmer flash in these is what really sets them apart and makes them shine.
Interested in grabbing any Above the Curve beauties? You can find them 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)- and don’t forget, $1 from every bottle is donated to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children!
If you didn’t see it the other day, be sure to check out Part 1 of my Above the Curve polish review HERE!
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.*
(Just Another) Mani Monday: Dotting fun with Orly Miss Conduct
Hello all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! We were super busy around here- still getting into the swing of things with school back in session, combined with each kiddo getting sick at separate times. So I’m sorry for the sporadic posting, I just didn’t get much of a chance to sit down and take some ‘me’ time!
For today, I just have a pretty but simple look. All you’ll need is some polishes, and some dotting tools! Dotting tools can be found at tons of different places- the set I use is almost identical to this set found at Born Pretty. You can also find them on Ebay, and on Dollish Polish’s site.
First I painted my nails with the absolutely gorgeous Miss Conduct by Orly. This shade is part of the Naughty or Nice 2012 Holiday Collection, which I bought from Transdesign.
Miss Conduct is a stunning magenta pink color, filled to the brim with holographic particles. It was a fairly thin polish, but it applied well and was almost opaque at 1 coat and completely opaque at 2. The polish remained smooth, sparkly and shiny when dry, so I didn’t use a topcoat.
Then I just used black and white polish, just barely dipped the dotting tools into them, and dotted away. I didn’t really use a set pattern or ‘look’, just sort of filled it in on the sides.
Dots are a great way to liven up any single color mani!
Be sure to be on the lookout for this Orly color- in my opinion it’s a must-have if you love pink or bling! 🙂
Polish Monster 