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Pretty & Polished – Swatches and Review

Mar21

Nothing to Disclose

A couple of weeks ago, or last week, it’s so hard to keep track Pretty & Polished had a pretty awesome sale to “celebrate” Daylight Savings Time.  I chose this opportunity to snag up a couple of polishes I’ve been eyeing!  It’s been awhile since I had some Pretty & Polished polishes so I was definitely due to add some more to my collection!  I wanted to share them with you as they are both still available at Pretty & Polished along with a whole host of other amazing polishes as well as some hand care items!  Not to keep you waiting any longer allow me to start this review!

First up is Maleficium:

Pretty & Polished - Maleficium

Pretty & Polished – Maleficium

Palest gray – check!  Flakies – check!  Wait…Multi-Chrome Flakies??? – check…Check…CHECK!  Oh I’m sorry I was just checking off all the ways that you could tell that this was an amazing polish!  This stunner is a super pale gray crelly (I initially thought it was white but I really think it’s super pale gray, either that or the flakies are shifting the white a bit gray) with a slew of multi-chrome flakies in all different color shifting colors.

Pretty & Polished - Maleficium

Pretty & Polished – Maleficium

The formula on this is really impeccable.  It is a crelly so it is sheer but it builds up to opacity quite nicely.  It’s squishy and packed to the brim with the color-shifting flakies.  I didn’t have any problems with application such as streaking or dragging and the pictures show three thin coats plus topcoat!

Pretty & Polished - Maleficium

Pretty & Polished – Maleficium

Bonus Macro Shot!  I’m working on getting better at these you’ll have to tell me if you like them – I might make it part of my repertoire.

Polishes used:  Barielle – Nail Rebuilding Protein; Pretty & Polished – Maleficium; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is May Flowers:

Pretty & Polished - May Flowers (Cold)

Pretty & Polished – May Flowers (Cold)

Now ya’ll know me and how I’m surprised to find polishes to be thermal when I’m not expecting it well..it happened again!  I bought this because of the pretty turquoise color and all the fun springy glitter.  So I start swiping it on and realized that the tips were staying turquoise but the polish over the nailbeds was getting decidedly lighter!  May Flowers is a turquoise to white thermal crelly polish filled with raspberry and peach metallic dots, lavender matte hexes, green and gold microglitter, and light pink flower glitter.  Whew that’s a lot of glitter!

Pretty & Polished - May Flowers (Warm)

Pretty & Polished – May Flowers (Warm)

Pretty & Polished - May Flowers (Transition)

Pretty & Polished – May Flowers (Transition)

Here are some pictures of it in the warm and transitional states.

Pretty & Polished - May Flowers (Transition)

Pretty & Polished – May Flowers (Transition)

Application was really nice…I’ve been pleased with the Pretty & Polished crelly polishes that I’ve tried in the past.  Even the jumbo flowers didn’t need a lot of work to come out of the bottle or get on the nail.  The glitter spread is very nice and I didn’t have to fish, manipulate, stand on my head, or employ any other drastic measures to get a good coverage of glitter!  Pictures show three thin coats plus topcoat!

Polishes used:  Barielle – Nail Rebuilding Protein; Pretty & Polished – May Flowers; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Pretty & Polished actually just launched their 2015 Spring Line as well as a limited run of some of their most popular retired polishes.  You’ll definitely want to get in on the action of those because who knows when they might come back again…if EVER!  You can follow Pretty & Polished on Facebook and Instagram and make sure to head on over to their Shop to pick up some gorgeous polishes and lovely handcare products!

 

 

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Spring In Your Step Collection part 2 of 2

Mar16

Provided for Honest Review

I am no less excited today than I was when I posted part one of this collection!  Seriously I love the mixing and matching capabilities.  This one is going to be heavy on the pictures even though I only have two polishes left to show you today.  Don’t forget this collection releases NEXT SATURDAY.  Set your clocks, set an alarm, send yourself an email, tell your friends…ok ok ok so maybe that’s just slightly overboard (but do tell your friends!).  Let’s get on with the show and tell portion of this post and not waste anymore time on my ramblings!

First up is Eat Me:

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Eat Me

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me

First…I LOVE the name of this polish I literally cannot wait to tell people the name of it next time I wear it.  I love names that are a bit off-color or a little risque because I have the sense of humor of a teenaged boy and I can’t help but giggle like crazy.  Now this beauty is a gorgeous milk chocolate crelly packed with matte pastel pink, peach, and blue glitters.  The inspiration for this one was chocolate bunnies for Easter and I think that the inspiration is very clear here!

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Eat Me

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me

This is a great formula glitter crelly polish.  Took two coats and I didn’t have to manipulate glitter at all.  There is a nice spread and a good density to the glitter part of this polish and because it’s all smaller gauged glitter it’s not topcoat hungry or overwhelming!  Oh and did I mention it smells like chocolate?  Through TOPCOAT?  Oh yeah.

Polishes used:  Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Eat Me; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is She Works Hard for the Honey:

Ok – I’m going to break my pattern a little here because this is a glitter topper.  Not only that it’s a topper that works perfectly with three of the other polishes in the collection so naturally I swatched it over all three of those colors.  She Works Hard for the Honey is a honey scented matte black and satin gold glitter topper.  There is a variety of sizes of glitter and it’s a super fun topper over a multitude of colors.  I swatched over Quite Contrary, Peachy Keen, and Lilac Festival and loved it with all three.  The formula is perfect I just lightly dabbed it over the polish, it wasn’t overly topcoat hungry, and I didn’t have to manipulate the glitter.  So you wanna see it?  Ok!

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Peachy Keen

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Peachy Keen

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - She Works Hard for the Honey over Peachy Keen

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – She Works Hard for the Honey over Peachy Keen

 

Well that’s it for this collection.  Be sure to check out the stalker links below so that you can get your own Spring in Your Step collection polishes next weekend when they are released!

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New to Me Brand – Finger Lickin’ Lacquer “Spring In Your Step” Collection – Part 1 of 2

Mar14

Provided for Honest Review

I am seriously having a case of excitement so large I can hardly stand it!  I have a new to me indie to share with you today and for me the coolest thing?  The brand is based out of South Carolina which is where *I* am from!  So stinking awesome!

So…Finger Lickin’ Lacquer has been on my radar for awhile but I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to try them (so many polishes so little time!) but when I got chosen to be one of the bloggers to receive this line I was over the moon excited.  Then I got the box and oh my goodness ya’ll…just wait.  This is a solidly cohesive line that mixes and matches beautifully!

I guess I’ve teased ya’ll enough what with the press release and all…Let’s get down to the swatches and on to the review.

First up let’s start with Quite Contrary:

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Love.love.love.  I’m sorry but I’m *always* on the lookout for nudes that look good on me and so few do.  This is a beautiful cream colored polish with the vaguest hint of green (barely there, I’m thinking that it’s just enough to make this color work for me) and tiny pink microflakies.  It has a subtle holographic effect (I’m guessing that it would have probably been more prominent if we weren’t having rain here in South Carolina).  I will reach for this one over and over.  It’s a perfect base for nail art and glitter toppers!

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Quite Contrary

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Oh yeah baby!  Ok so this one has a lovely formula as well.  Self-levels beautifully (big huge deal for me).  It is a touch sheer but my nails are super long right now so it’s a bit more difficult to cover my VNL, people with shorter nails will not find it as sheer as I did.  Picture shows three coats, sans topcoat.  That’s right it was just that shiny!!!!  This one is unscented.

Polishes used:  Tip Top – Toughen Up Base Coat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary

Next up is Birthday Suit:

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Birthday Suit

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Birthday Suit

Again what is not to love about this.  Another slightly different nude crelly with a mix of satin pastel glitters mixed throughout!  I’m not usually all about the nudes but this one really hits it out of the park.  I love it.

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Birthday Suit

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Birthday Suit

Oh did I mention it smells like birthday cake?  Yeah it makes me want to nibble on my fingers which I would like to take a moment and discourage you from doing.  Nail polish may smell good but it does not taste good and I’m pretty sure that it’s not so healthy for you to ingest either.  This one is definitely on the sheer side…but good news Quite Contrary makes PERFECT undies for this beauty.  So this is one lightly dabbed coat over one coat of Quite Contrary plus topcoat.

Polishes used:  Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Quite Contrary and Birthday Suit; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Now we have Lilac Festival:

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival

Here we have the third beautiful polish to show you.  Lilac Festival is a lovely lilac colored cream with subtle holographic effect and a strong golden yellow microflakie shimmer.  All efforts to accurately depict this color were for naught.  This picture shows it leaning more blurple but it is a definite lilac color in person.

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Lilac Festival

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival

This one is closer to the color…definite lilac less with the blurple.  Anyway formula was very nice on this.  I was worried after the first coat though I thought it was going to be tough to build due to the sheerness of the first coat but I need not have worried because THIS is two coats!  Yes!  Self-leveled like a dream.

Polishes used:  Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Lilac Festival; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Last (for today) but not least we have Peachy Keen:

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Peachy Keen

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen

Hubba hubba!  That’s what I have to say about this color!  Peachy Keen is a pastel coral/peach crelly with tons of beautiful golden microflakies.  Depending on light it’s more peachy, sometimes more corally, sometimes even a bit coral pink.  In all lights its GORGEOUS.

Finger Lickin' Lacquer - Peachy Keen

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen

Oh and this?  This smells like peaches yo!  Now, here we have my frightfully long (for me) nails and lighting set up tricking you into thinking that you can’t reach opacity on this but trust me in person I could see nary a VNL.  This is however one of the sheerer polishes and it did take me three coats to reach opacity.  It leveled beautifully and the flakies just sparkle and twinkle in the light and it makes me happy happy!

Polishes used:  Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Finger Lickin’ Lacquer – Peachy Keen; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

So ya’ll wanna know how to get your hands on this collection???  It will be available on March 20, 2015. That is next Saturday!  I cannot recommend them enough so you best get yourself down to the Finger Lickin’ Lacquer Website.  To hold you over be sure to check out Instagram and Facebook as I’m sure you’re going to be seeing a lot of pictures of this collection coming in over there as well!

 

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer Spring Line – Press Release

Mar12

FingerLickin'Lacquer Logo

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer releases Spring 2015 collection

Spring has sprung at Finger Lickin’ Lacquer headquarters, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with the new spring collection called “Spring In Your Step!”

The line of 6 polishes, inspired by spring and all the wonderful things it brings, will launch on March 20th and retail individually for $9. “There’s nothing like spring – especially here in the South! It’s time to break out the sandals and the Easter dresses and gear up for everything from egg hunts to the Carolina Cup to watching the first blossoms of spring appear,” says Finger Lickin’ Lacquer owner Jennifer Diringer. “There’s no better way to celebrate this season than with some lusciously scented polishes that evoke so many wonderful spring memories!”

Peachy Keen: This fruity coral holo with golden flakies smells like spring in the South, with the peach orchards in blossom again.

Quite Contrary: Cream with the slightest hint of green, this holo with pink flakes recalls hardy wildflowers poking through the last of winter’s snow.

Lilac Festival: A celebration of the flowers coming back into bloom, this violet holo with tiny yellow flakies brings spring to life. Inspired by the Lilac Festival that takes place yearly in our second home of Rochester, New York, this polish comes unscented.

Eat Me: A warm cocoa crelly with pastel pink and blue flecks, its sweet chocolate scent will make you want to bite the ears off your Easter bunnies.

She Works Hard for the Honey: You better BEElieve this black and gold glitter topper will HIVE you all aBUZZ with its superFLY look and delicious honeyed fragrance!

And in honor of FLL passing the one-year mark:

Birthday Suit – A nude crelly with confetti-like flecks of pastel glitters and the sweet smell of  success–and birthday cake.

The Spring In Your Step collection will be available at the new and improved fingerlickinlacquer.com on March 20th, 2015.

Finger Lickin’ Lacquer was founded in 2014 by Jennifer and Jeremy Diringer. Finger Lickin’ Lacquer offers unique and fragrant nail polishes that are 5-free, with all formulas being completely free of chemicals such as camphor, toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). Finger Lickin’ Lacquer polishes feature a flat brush for easy application. Finger Lickin’ Lacquer also offers cuticle oils. If you would like more information about Finger Lickin’ Lacquer, contact Jennifer Diringer by emailing fingerlickinlacquer@gmail.com or visiting http://www.FingerLickinLacquer.com