Baroness X Mele Kalikimaka~♫

Hello friends! Today I have a pretty Christmas gradient from awhile back I forgot to post earlier. I started out with alternating gradients of Aly's Dream Polish Tiffanytea, Who Sencha?, and Bohemian Raspberry, respectively an aqua blue, pistachio green, and creamy pale berry pink scatter holo. I then layered over it Baroness X Mele Kalikimaka, a mix of pink, blue, green and red glitters in a clear base. Finally, I used matte topcoat over the whole thing. I loved this mani - the glitter matched the base gradients perfectly! Take a look~

indoors, Ottlite + flash

You can find Aly's Dream Polish at their Facebook and website~
You can find Baroness X at their Facebook and website~

Have an awesome day! ♥

Penguin Nails!

Hello! Today I have an adorable nail art mani to share with you :) I started out with a base of 3 coats of Ellagee The Only Water in The Forest, a pale turqouise-y blue with pink shimmer. I then used Elevation Polish Wagagai, a creamy vanilla with multicolor shimmer for the dots and the penguin's body. Finally, I used KB Shimmer Turbulence, a dark slate gray with pink and blue shimmery flakes for the eyes, and Orly Cheeky, an orange-y peach shimmer, for the feet and beak.

indoors, daylight lamp + flash

yes, I will find a gif for every Doctor Who polish I blog!

I wore this mani for my nephew's 1st birthday party - I thought it fit the theme of baby boy birthday party perfectly :) So so cute! And ridiculously easy too - I will be doing penguin manis again!

You can find Elevation Polish at their Facebook or website~
You can find Ellagee at their Facebook or website~

Have the bestest day ever! ♥

NOTD: Watercolor Nail Art

Hello! Today I have a fun watercolor-like mani to share with you. I first started out with a white base using Zoya Purity. Then I just dabbed a variety of random colors carefully onto my nails in a random pattern: Colors by Llarowe Grape, Tweety Bird, and Ocean Water, and China Glaze Isle See You Later, Heat Index, and Shell-o. Finally, I topped it all off with Rainbow Honey Sakura Matsuri for a little extra sparkle!

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This mani is from April actually, so it was perfectly springy back in the spring :) I loved this look! Now that I've unearthed it for the blog, I really want to try this kind of nail art again... maybe in a Christmas mani?

To find Colors by Llarowe check out the site and Facebook~

Have a phenomenal day! ♥
 

Enchanted Polish August, September, October 2014

Hello! Today I have Enchanted Polish August 2014, September 2014, and October 2014 to share with you! As you probably know, these polishes are special in that they are mysteries - you don't know what they look like until you get them! So if you haven't gotten yours yet and don't want to ruin it for yourself, I suggest you leave now (but come back later!).

no spoilers (but look at the pretty holo reflection on the counter!)

And now for the pretties!

left to right, up to down: September 2014, October 2014, August 2014

First up is August 2014, a magical green-y teal multichrome that shifts blue and purple. It is totally mesmerizing! Two coats here.

outdoors, sun - see how my slightly angled index finger is more
blue than the other (teal) fingers?

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outdoors, sun - see how at an angle it is more blue than teal?

indoors, near window - attempting to capture more of the
blurple-y purple shift

Next up is September 2014, a bright pink-ish red holo with pink shimmer. This is soooooo beautiful, I am in love! It also happens to be quite similar to Cranberry Cosmo, which is quite difficult to find these days - so if you've dreamed of CC, this would be a much easier to obtain, just as beautiful alternative! Two coats here.

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Lastly is October 2014, a super dark blackened olive green holo with green-y gold shimmer. Very fall, very holo! Two coats here.

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All such beauties! I love them all :) These polishes were a one-time preorder, but if you love them and want them, you should definitely be able to find them in the Facebook polish sale groups or Storenvy pretty easily (and for not too much either)!

You can find Enchanted Polish at their website and Facebook~

Have a wonderful day! ♥ 

Jenna Hipp for Costco: New Brights Collection Swatches & Review

Hello friends! Today I have the other new Jenna Hipp Costco set -- The Brights -- to share with you!

 

First up is Just One Bite, a warm red creme that leads just a touch orange. This is such a lovely bright, summer color! I used 3 coats here + topcoat.

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Next up is Jenna and the Giant Peach, a peachy orange creme. It is more peachy than orange - the shade pictures shows the color better. I used 3 coats plus topcoat here.

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Next up is Say Yellow to My Little Friend, a sunny yellow creme. I love this yellow! It is definitely pastel-leaning, but it isn't chalky or too white at all -- just the perfect yellow for me! This one was a little more streaky/sheer than the first two, which both had excellent formula, but still looked great in 3 coats and topcoat.

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Next is We Are Mint To Be, a lovely bright minty creme. I used 2 coats here (and topcoat) -- it was super opaque, but upon viewing my pictures I would probably use a 3rd coat, because even though it is opaque you can still see my ridges, which I don't like. Great color though!

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Next is I Surf With Boys, a teal/aqua blue creme. I used 2 coats and topcoat here as well -- but now that I look at pics I definitely should have used a 3rd, since it is a touch patchy. Another pretty one though! Reminds me a bit of China Glaze For Audrey or even Too Yacht to Handle.

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Next is Ain't Life Grape?, a pinky purple creme. I love this kind of purple! I again only used 2 coats and topcoat here, but this time I don't think it turned out too patchy or ridgy at all -- weird. Won't complain about an excellent formula though!

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Next is Daft Pink, a warm bright pink creme. It is warm-toned, but not nearly as much as my pictures suggest - it is definitely pink, not coral. Very pretty shade though, pretty much my favorite shade of pink, very summery! I used 3 coats and topcoat.

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 Last of all is I Put a Spell on Blue, a super dark navy jelly/creme. It definitely wasn't straight creme, but it wasn't quite as sheer and squishy as a jelly either -- and yet, I don't think crelly is the correct terminology either, lol. It had great formula though and was super shiny! I used 2 coats plus topcoat.

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 And that's that! Again, I was very happy with all of these polishes -- great formulas and lovely colors, what more could you want? (A great price, you say? Got that too! Only $8 for the entire set!) I would have to say that after playing with these two sets from Jenna Hipp, I definitely hope I get a chance to try more of her polishes in the future!

You can find these pretties at Costco or on their website here~
If you want to find out more about Jenna Hipp check out her website~

Have a great day! ♥

Enchanted Polish Mani-palooza

Hello friends! As one can expect, the shocking lack of blog posts on PTR as of late (read: like the last year) means that I have a whole bunch of mani pics saved up. Today, I want to share some of the Enchanted Polish ones!

First up is Don't Ever Call Me Doll, a sheer holo pink base with rainbow glitter. It's been a year since I did this mani, lol, but I think I layered two coats over three coats of China Glaze Pink Plumeria, a bubblegum pink neon shimmer. I loved this mani! This was one of my first EPs, too, so it is extra special to me :)

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 Next up is a Saran wrap marble mani! I first did two coats of Love the Way You Lilac, topcoated it, 1 coat of I'm Kind of a Big Deal, then dabbed balled up Saran wrap on the nail to create a marbled effect. Make sure to topcoat again afterwards, as this method does create some texture -- I love it though! These colors go perfectly together, and such an easy way to do such cool-looking nail art -- should definitely do it more often.

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Next up is what I like to think of affectionately, to this day (I did this mani last August...) as my Lisa Frank mani! I started out with a skittles base using Yellow Submarine, a bright yellow holo, Disco Barbie, a hot pink holo, and Ocean Potion, an aqua/teal holo. I then used my dotting tool to draw on flowers in alternating colors. Loved this, so bright and cheerful!

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 Lastly, I have Shrimp Cocktail, a bright pinky coral with gold and pink shimmer. I believe I used two coats here. Fantastic application and a gorgeous, super summery color!

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Such lovely manis/polishes! I remember almost posting all of these a long time ago, but for some reason I just never got around to it... until now. Oh well, better late than never!

So... most of these pretties are DCed and likely VHTF (sorry! try looking on Storenvy/Ebay/blog sales/FB groups!) but if you'd like to check out Enchanted Polish, be sure to visit their Facebook and website~

Have a wonderful day! ♥

A Couple Comparisons - Hot Pinks and Teal Blues

Hello friends! I don't have much to post today- sun has been spotty and with all the Colors by Llarowe round-up posts I have done recently I actually have already posted most of my recent manis - odd! I know I probably have post-worthy pictures tucked away somewhere on my computer, but ever since I got my new computer (which was all the way back in October, alas) my file organization has been a little jumbled - maybe someday I'll find the inspiration to straighten it out. But I have had fun posting daily the past few days, and I don't really want to break my streak! So while it's not much, enjoy a couple comparisons I did recently, as well as a mani I did with the ...comparees.

Aly's Dream Polish Deep Steel Blue is a dark, navy-ish teal with a strong scatter holo effect. By comparison, Steel Blue is more of a sky blue-leaning teal, with that same strong holo effect. Application is great! A little sheer at the first coat but builds easily in three. Obviously here I did mostly Deep Steel Blue in an accent of Steel Blue with Deep Steel Blue polka dots.

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Someone in a nail polish comparison group I'm in on Facebook wanted to see the two pretties above compared with Enchanted Polish August 2013, which is also a blue-ish teal holo. It is most close to Steel Blue, but is a little darker, leans more green, and of course has a linear holo effect instead of scattered.

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It really is not that similar to Deep Steel Blue at all - Deep Steel Blue seems much bluer and of course much darker than both of them, as shown below. And overall, the formulas are a different, though both are good - the EP is heavier and more creme-based and covers completely in two coats, vs. the slightly more sheer ADPs that need three. Basically all three polishes are different enough that if you like teal polish you need them all :)

indoors, Ott Lite

Another comparison that was requested was Colors by Llarowe It's Shocking (which can be seen on its own here), which is a warm-leaning hot pink linear holo) and Enchanted Polish Disco Barbie, which is a more cool-toned hot pink scatter holo. Obviously by looking at the picture Disco Barbie is much cooler-toned than It's Shocking, and appears brighter. Though Disco Barbie is typically called a scatter holo and It's Shocking is definitely linear, the holo effect doesn't seem that different in the below photo - neither are terribly strong but definitely are visible. They clearly are quite different and pink lovers definitely will want both of these as well :)

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It was really fun doing comparisons like this! I don't think I've ever done a comparison post on my blog before, but I would definitely be interested in doing more in the future! If any one has any requests just let me know in the comments - as long as I have the polishes I would be happy to give it a go! ;)

Have a fantastic day! ♥ 

Several More Colors by Llarowe Pretties

Hi guys! Today I will wrap up what has been somewhat of a Colors by Llarowe streak here on the blog - that is, until the sun decides to come out and play, and I can photograph more of the pretties, of course :)

Again, to save us both from writing and reading the same thing over and over again, unless specified each pic is of three coats + Seche Vite.

left to right, up to down: Vamp, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Dora the Explora,
It's Spring Somewhere, & Piece of Me

Dora the Explora (aka Cherry Bomb) is a deep red jelly base full of various sparkly hexes and large holo dots. This one is actually deeper in color than the photos show - I remember thinking it was more vampy than bright, on my skin at least. I love the sparkle to this one, and how the glitters peek through the jelly base.

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Piece of Me is a dusty teal holo. This is a creme-based holo so the rainbow is a little more subtle but super lovely. I don't believe I have any other holos quite this shade of teal, so definitely unique in my collection!

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It's Spring Somewhere is an orangey-coral jelly packed with golden shimmer. This one is a little sheer so I used four coats here. As I am sure most of my US readers know weather has been absurd all over the country this winter, so I took the opportunity to wear this baby on one of the 50 degree days in a sea of -10 ones. And cheerful and springy it definitely is! I don't typically wear oranges that much but I love how bright and shimmery this one is.

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 Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a deep navy blue jelly packed with silver microglitter. This one is meant to be a dupe of the much-coveted and equally difficult to find Essie Starry Starry Night. I actually do have SSN, but have yet to compare them on my own - check out Pointless Cafe's review to see how they match up. It definitely does look like a twinkling night sky - super pretty! I recall SSN being much more difficult to work with as well (sheer and runny), so it honestly might be better than the original, since it has a great formula.

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And lastly for now, Vamp is a deep red holo. Vampy it is for sure! Nothing much to say here; it has a crazy holo effect and a great formula, like pretty much all CbL holos I have tried.

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And that's that! I am totally enamored with CbL these days - plan on taking a bit of a break in the next two weeks to do all Valentine's, all the time, but can't wait to play with more of these pretties soon!

To check out Colors by Llarowe check out the Llarowe site and Facebook - and the brand new Colors by Llarowe page on Facebook as well!

Have a magical day! ♥