Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Jindie Nails Burrrberry, Holo-fied

Hi guys! Today just a quick post since I haven't been feeling all that well (but still have a ton of work to do... booo!) Due to all the snow I'm sure most of you have at least heard of if not experienced I thought it would be punny to finally get around to wearing Jindie Nails Burrrberry, a white crelly base with lots of pink and blue hexes in various sizes (some holo of course!). Of course I adore pink and blue glitters together so I really love this one! After a bit of wear I thought it would be fun to play around with it a little bit, maybe try to holo-fy it. I tested a couple different thinner holos to find the best one to layer over Burrrberry without graying it out too much and Glitter Gal Light as a Feather, as a "white" holo, turned out to be the perfect fit! My holo pics turned out not so holo (it's a subtle effect, but in person it is mesmerizing) so the holo pic is at the end -- take a look!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, overcast
 On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
4 coats Jindie Nails Burrrberry
1 coat KB Shimmer Clearly on Top (I will review this later... probably)
-----
1 coat Glitter Gal Light as a Feather

Holo pic is below.. you can see the linear oval-shape "flame" as some call it best on my index finger. Also you may notice that the glitter placement on my pinky totally changes in this pick -- I used a too-dark silver holo there first and had to fix it up a bit to match better :)

indoors, flash, holo!

Love this mani! I always am a fan of Jen's white glitter polishes, I have a ton and I never get tired of them :) The holo was of course a fun touch, looking forward to doing that to more white polishes like this in the future!

If you'd like to check out Jindie Nails be sure to visit her etsy and Facebook~ you can also buy on Llarowe and MeiMei's Signatures~

You can find Glitter Gal at Llarowe~

Have a lovely day! ♥

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Snow Day!! Darling Diva Polish Snowball + OPI Blue My Mind

Hello hello! Today my world is covered in about 8 inches of snow (and still snowing, too!) and I have an actual university-approved snow day, hurray! I thought there was no better way to celebrate than a with a snowflake mani -- luckily I have the perfect polish just for that :) Darling Diva Polish Snowball is a mix of white hexes, bars, and microglitter, tons of iridescent blue flakies and large hexes, and white snowflake glitters. To make it look super wintry I layered it over OPI Blue My Mind, a bright electric medium blue shimmer. I adore how it turned out, take a look!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, snowvercast
 On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
3 coats OPI Blue My Mind
2 coats Darling Diva Polish Snowball
1 coat OPI Topcoat
1 coat Seche Vite

I just love the way the blue flakies play with the blue base, it's almost magical looking! As for those snowflakes, aren't they so fun? Of course, I'm sure no one is surprised to hear they were a total PITA to apply... I also wish I hadn't placed them on each nail in more or less the same place, since scattering a bit is more visually interesting, but honestly I was just glad at the time to get them out of the bottle without worrying about placement. Also they still stick out quite a bit, but I tend to compare glitters like these more to accents like studs or rhinestones (you wouldn't expect topcoat to smooth those out right?) so I don't let that bother me too much. Overall such a fun and snowy mani! I have been easing slowly into spring already, but when it's 20 degrees out and a total winter wonderland, it's hard to not slide back into winter :)

indoors, natural light lamp - blurry but pretty I thought

 If you'd like to check out Darling Diva Polish be sure to visit their Etsy and Facebook!


outdoors, snowvercast

Have a great day! ♥

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

UP Colors Holografico Verde 360

Hi guys! Today I have a gorgeous holo to share with you - yay holos! This past Saturday it was almost 60 degrees out and sunny and I was feeling very summery and needed my nails to match that (crazy, since today it was like 20 and snowy...ahh, Kansas weather) so I picked out a lovely polish from new-to-me brand UP Colors. Verde 360 is a scattered aqua/blue-green holo. While I dunno if  this polish is actually all that summery, there is nothing quite like a holo mani in full sun to cheer me up, and this one sure was pretty! Take a look:

outdoors, sun
outdoors, sun
 On my nails:
1 coat Nfu Aqua Base
2 coats UP Colors Verde 360

Some shade shots:

outdoors, shade
outdoors, shade

Such a pretty color! I confess I have no idea if the aqua base was necessary or not, but since I have the thing I like to use it under holos, it just seems to make sense, haha. Probably was good though, because I always find that holos that exhibit traditional holo behavior (like terrible wear, weakening under topcoat, streaky application, etc) benefit from aqua bases, and while I didn't bother to test it under topcoat either, it had awful wear within a few hours, alas, and I was able to basically scratch it off. You kind of expect that sort nasty attitude from most holos though, since they are pretty enough to put up with.. and it sure was pretty! Next time though I will try topcoating anyway to see if it lasts longer.

outdoors, sun

 You can find UP Colors at Llarowe or Ninja Polish~

outdoors, sun

Have a great day! ♥

Friday, February 15, 2013

My Ten Friends Lunar Love Song

Hey guys! Today I have another lovely polish from My Ten Friends to share with you! Lunar Love Song is a sheer shimmery pale dusty jade green base with matte pink and red squares/hexes/microglitter and holo gold hexes/microglitter. It can reach opacity on its own, but to deepen the color I layered it over butter LONDON Victoriana, a teal with silver shimmer. I love love love this mani, take a look!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, sun
On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
2 coats butter LONDON Victoriana
2 coats My Ten Friends Lunar Love Song
1 coat OPI Topcoat
1 coat Seche Vite

So pretty! As far as application everything was excellent -- a little thick, but just use thinner coats and then the polish should spread out on the nail nicely. While this is listed as a Valentine's Day polish, it is not in your face bright pink hearts or anything -- but it is definitely whimsical and romantic, and I adore it. This polish was inspired by a dream of cherry blossoms blooming on the moon, which is such a lovely image, I think :)

Some solo shots of butter LONDON Victoriana because it is so pretty! I am going to try to include more solo shots of base colors when I can, because they are always pretty enough to deserve them :)

outdoors, shade
outdoors, sun

If you'd like to buy My Ten Friends polish check out their etsy shop and Facebook ~
Also sign up for their newsletter here!

outdoors, shade

Have a great day! ♥

outdoors, sun

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day! Lynnderella Mon Petit Chouchou & Matter of the Heart

Happy Valentine's Day lovelies! I hope however you ended up spending today, you had a grand ol' time doing so  :) To celebrate, I have two manis to share today! Both are pretty glitter-filled pink milky-base polishes from Lynnderella -- same idea in basic concept but they ended up looking quite different on the nail! I layered both over OPI You Callin' Me A Lyre? a sheer pink jelly. Take a look!

Matter of the Heart is a sheer bubblegum pink base full of various purple, pink, red, and silver shiny/holo hexes and squares as well as silver holo hearts. There was not a whole lot of glitter in the first coat but I think it glittered up quite nicely by the second; these were mostly just regular coats with not much dabbing needed. I will say that I had a hard time snagging the silver hearts out of the bottle and ended up stealing a few from Revlon Heart of Gold FX (which I will post on its own soon enough) so sorry if a few gold microglitters are stuck to the hearts; it doesn't show in person but macro has never been the most forgiving soul :) This one is super fun, super Valentine's Day!

outdoors, shade
indoors, natural light

On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
4 coats OPI You Callin' Me a Lyre?
2 coats Lynnderella Matter of the Heart
(dabbed on hearts only) Revlon Heart of Gold FX
1 coat OPI Topcoat
1 coat Seche Vite

outdoors, partial sun

Mon Petit Chouchou (My Little Darling/Cabbage Head, depending on whether you listen to Google Translate or Lynn herself... either way adorable name!) is a sheer peachy base with matte/shiny/holo purple, pink, and white hexes, squares, hearts and flowers as well as lavender microglitter. What a mouthful! From the description, it sounds like a lot more going on here than Matter of the Heart, but this one actually has a more mellow look. 
I must say I definitely prefer this peachy shade of base with my skin tone. Application here was about the same. The only bummer was major curling on the large square glitters, which would not flatten down completely even with three coats of topcoat, alas (says one coat below; I was doing my typical race against the setting sun and did not want to chance losing light, so I did the remaining two coats after pictures). I did find though that if you can just rearrange them before application so the concave side faces down on the nail, they will lay flat... easier said than done, though :)
Still, I love this polish! Pink is low on my list of preferred nail colors (despite being my all-time favorite color otherwise, weird right?) but a peachy almost neutral shade is definitely one of my favorite ways to wear it :)

outdoors, partial sun
outdoors, shade
 On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
3 coats OPI You Callin' Me A Lyre?
2 coats Lynnderella Mon Petit Chouchou
1 coat Seche Vite

outdoors, shade

And a few of OPI You Callin' Me A Lyre? on its own, because I have fallen in love with this polish! I just used it for the first time with these two manis, and while I struggled with some streakiness the first time through, once you figure out how to apply it best (three thick coats, don't let the brush touch the nail if possible, let dry in between coats is what I'd recommend) it is amazing :) Officially my new go-to sheer pink!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, partial sun


Overall, while Mon Petit Chouchou is more my style, both in terms of flattering base and the glitters themselves, both it and Matter of the Heart were super cute, very Valentine's Day manis! I love celebrating holidays with my nails, so these were both lots of fun :)

You can find Lynnderella polishes at her eBay store~

Have a great day! ♥

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Jindie Nails Love Conquers All

Hey guys! Today I have to share with you a fun Valentine's Day polish from Jindie Nails. Love Conquers All is a white base full of black, white, pink, lavender, dark purple, deep/bright red small hexes, microglitter, and hearts. A lot going on here, but so pretty -- check it out!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, sun
On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
3 coats Jindie Nails Love Conquers All
2 coats Seche Vite

It built up better than I was even expecting (and having tried and loved several Jindie Nails crelly base polishes at this point, I was expecting a lot). There are tons of heart glitters in the one! You can see that easily in the pictures, how I have them layered and even overlapping at times, which is somewhat unusual (but definitely appreciated!) for accent-type glitters like these. I really like this polish! Been saving it for my actual Valentine's Day mani -- I love that it is obviously very Valentine's Day without being a pink or red base -- I love me my white polishes!

outdoors, shade

If you'd like to check out Jindie Nails be sure to visit her etsy and Facebook~ you can also buy on Llarowe and MeiMei's Signatures~


outdoors, sun
Have a lovely day! ♥

Monday, February 11, 2013

Darling Diva Polish Ti Amo + L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition

Hey guys! Today I am excited to share with you one of the first indie polishes I bought way back before I was really into the indie scene at all (barely even into the polish scene, actually!). When I got this lovely Darling Diva Polish I figured it would be perfect to save for Valentine's Day, and I was definitely right on the money there :) Ti Amo is a pink-tinted base full of red and white hexes and hearts, white microglitter, and awesome great big squishy white glitter! The squishy white hearts are absolutely the reason this polish called out to me -- even now, I have never seen anything like them :) I wanted both the glitter colors to pop, so I layered over L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition, my favorite black with silver glitter. I adore how this one turned out!

outdoors, sun
outdoors, shade
 On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
2 coats LOreal The Queen's Ambition
2 coats Darling Diva Polish Ti Amo
1 coat Seche Vite

I just love those big white hearts! Of course, as you can imagine they were an ultra-pain to fish out of the bottle (and I totally gunked up the neck of the bottle trying, alas) but it was worth it, and I managed to find enough to have one each for my ring fingers and thumbs, hurray. They actually stuck down quite nicely with just the one coat of top coat, but after these pictures I ended up adding an extra coat of SV because some of the other glitters were still a little pokey. Such a cute polish! Glad I picked it up back when I did :)

outdoors, sun
 If you'd like to check out Darling Diva Polish be sure to visit their Etsy and Facebook!

 Have a great day! ♥

Sunday, February 10, 2013

My Ten Friends Hailing Frequencies Open

Hey guys! Today I have a darling Valentine's Day mani for you from one of my favorite newer indie brands, My Ten Friends! Hailing Frequencies Open is a shimmery pale lilac base with various sizes of matte pink/red/purple glitter and microglitter and silver holo glitter and microglitter. I believe it can reach opacity in three or so coats, but just to be safe I layered it over Catherine Arley 670, a pale lilac linear holo. 670 is about the exact same shade as Hailing Frequencies Open's base color, but none of the holo of 670 ended up in the final look, so clearly it is pretty opaque! :) I just love this mani, take a look!

outdoors, shade
outdoors, weak sunlight

On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off base coat
2 coats Catherine Arley 670-
2 coats My Ten Friends Hailing Frequencies Open
1 coat Seche Vite

Such a cute polish! Application on this was really lovely too -- the glitters spread out really nicely and layered with the base color really well. I really like this one, very Valentine's without being in-your-face red and pink hearts -- although I love those too! :)

outdoors, overcast

If you'd like to buy My Ten Friends polish check out their etsy shop and Facebook ~
Also sign up for their newsletter here!

Have a great day! ♥

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Swatches and Review

Hey guys! Today I have a cool new Etsy brand to share with you called Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish. When I first saw their shop I was totally loved the variety of pretty cremes and shimmers, as well as their dedication to creating water-based, eco-friendly non-toxic polish, so I was super excited to get a chance to try of them out!

pretty purple plum, cherry chocolate, amped up red, raindrop clear

All swatches are shown with no base coat and one top coat of Raindrop Clear

Amped Up Red is a bright red creme. This one had amazing pigmentation -- only one coat on my pinky! More coats were totally not necessary, but just because I added an extra to the rest of my fingers. Red is not always my favorite color, but if you like red cremes at all, this is absolutely a great one! Can't beat 1-coaters, in my opinion :)

outdoors, sun
outdoors, shade

indoors, natural light
On my nails:
1-2 coats Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Amped Up Red
1 coat Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Raindrop Clear

~~~~~

Cherry Chocolate is a deep chocolate brown creme; it doesn't show on the nail really but it does have a purple-red "cherry" tinge to it in the bottle. I love this one! Seriously a flawless brown, and this here is one coat also -- amazing, yes? I love how pigmented these are. I see this polish being used a lot in the future :) (I know it looks streaky but that is just shadows dancing in my fantastically deep nail ridges; more on that at the bottom)

outdoors, sun
outdoors, shade
indoors, natural light -- crazy effect here! will discuss below
On my nails:
1 coat Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Cherry Chocolate
1 coat Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Raindrop Clear

~~~~~

Pretty Plum Purple is a bright blue-toned violet shimmer. I believe this was two coats here; not quite as crazy opaque as the other two but still pretty awesome. I adore this, very lovely shade of purple!



oudoors, sun
outdoors, shade
indoors, natural light
On my nails:
1  coat Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish Pretty Plum Purple
1 coat Raindrop Clear

~~~~~

Raindrop Clear (no individual pictures but pictured as a topcoat in each of the above photos) is a clear polish intended for top coat use. It added a nice shine (these polishes otherwise dried slightly matte if I recall) but it was a bit runny (I used it on Amped Up Red after several minutes of air drying and both of them ran into and flooded my cuticles like nobody's business) and is definitely not quick-dry. If you wait a bit though after your final coat so that there is no running, it is definitely a nice clear polish!

~~~~~

Overall I love these polishes for their pretty shades and insane opacity. One thing that is a bit weird is how much they emphasize the ridges in my nails (you can easily count each ridge in every single picture, alas). I am not sure if I was just having a bad ridge day when I swatched these, or it's because I didn't use base coat, or if it's something to do with the polish itself (I suspect it is a combo of all three). However while this can cause all my pictures to look weird and streaky, they weren't streaky, just ridge-clingy.

Another thing that worth mentioning is that removal took a little more effort than a usual creme/shimmer -- probably that is the flipside of them being so pigmented, that the pigment doesn't want to leave your nails :)

No big deal, though. I'd say the positives outweigh the negatives -- I adore one-coat wonders, they are amazing for nail art/quick manis/glitter base colors/everything! And they really have a lovely variety of these pretty colors... if they are all just as good, may have to check a few more out :)

If you'd like to check out Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish be sure to visit their Facebook or Etsy!

Have a great day! ♥

~This polish was provided by Sprout Non-Toxic Nail Polish for an honest review~

Friday, February 8, 2013

Daily Lacquer Satine

Hey guys! Today I have a lovely new polish from Daily Lacquer to share with you from Maggie's new Moulin Rouge-inspired collection! Satine is an amazing charcoal gray holo with holo silver microglitter and holo silver diamonds as well! Talk about a holofest! This polish is seriously so sparkly, I just about cried when it chipped and I had to take it off. It absolutely can reach opacity on its own (2-3 coats depending on how careful you are) but since I had some issues with the holo base covering up the diamond glitter (which can create a bit of a lumpy effect) I ended up layering it over Catherine Arley 667, a medium gray linear holo, but it doesn't really show up in the final mani as Satine is much darker than 667 -- it just helped with opacity so that I didn't have to deal with layering the glitters. Seriously loved the way this mani turned out, take a look!

outdoors, sun - don't you love the cute red bow?!
outdoors, shade
 On my nails:
1 coat Innisfree Eco Peel-off Base coat
3 coats Catherine Arley 667
1 coat Daily Lacquer Satine
1 coat Seche Vite

I just love how much holo is going on in this polish -- not only the holo base (which I confess I was not aware just how holo the base was until I stepped outside this morning to grab my mail and was blinded - nearly dropped my keys) but then the holo microglitter, and even holo diamonds! I like how sparse the diamonds are, because it really gives it a classy, interesting look. Overall I just love the inclusion of the glitters, because it makes it super sparkly and pretty, even in the shade :)

outdoors, sun
outdoors, sun

If you'd like to check out Daily Lacquer be sure to visit her website, Etsy or Facebook


outdoors, sun

Have a great day! ♥