My FIRST Chaos & Crocodiles! Swatches and Review

Nothing to disclose

Dearest readers have I got a treat for you. If you haven’t taken the leap into the Chaos & Crocodile unknown well then allow me to help you take the plunge! I have a pair of polishes to show you that will certainly help you make that final decision!

First up is a long time lemming of mine, Narwhals are Unicorns Too! Now you might be saying “what IS a narwhal anyway?” If you are then I say you haven’t been on the internet for very long! Narwhals are a type of whale that live up near Iceland and Greenland and they have a long spiraled tusk not UNLIKE what we visualize Unicorns have! Narwhals have the extra coolness of not being mythical!

Chaos & Crocodiles – Narwhals are Unicorns Too

Narwhals is a beautiful tiffany blue creme polish with some subtle glitter thrown into the mix for some extra sparkle and panache. There are teal, golden, and aqua holographic and metallic glitters.

Chaos & Crocodiles – Narwhals are Unicorns Too

I thought that the formula was really good. I have to admit that I was expecting a crelly based polish that went on in sheerer layers that shows off the glitter better but this is definitely leaning more to the creme end of the spectrum, I think next time I use it I might swipe a brush dipped in acetone lightly over the top to reveal the glitters a little more. I found it very self-leveling and I had no problem with the glitter being textured and these pictures show two coats with a layer of topcoat.

Polishes Used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Chaos & Crocodiles – Narwhals are Unicorns Too!; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

During the restock that I purchased this polish there were some delays and so Chaos & Crocodiles sent out an extra little goodie to those who had to wait and it’s from an upcoming collection. I’m telling you now that I will probably need all three of the colors in a full size when they are released. This is Echoes:

Chaos & Crocodiles – Echoes

Oh.Em.Gee. While my pictures read red it is actually slightly more magenta in person. It is definitely a very dark pink and nearly red though so that’s probably why it appears much more of a berry red in the pictures. This is a magenta jelly based scattered holographic polish. It is so sparkly and decadent and I think it’s a lovely holiday polish!

Chaos & Crocodiles – Echoes

The formula on this is just gorgeous. Pictures show two coats plus topcoat. I had no problems with the application and it went on smoothly and looks so squishy when it’s finished!

Polishes Used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Chaos & Crocodiles – Echoes; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

I highly recommend following Chaos & Crocodiles on Facebook, Instagram and their Blog to keep up with all the news and updates about pre-orders and restocks. You can order Chaos & Crocodiles polishes and other swag items (files, mirrors, etc.) in their shop.

Bring on the Bling! New Collection from Gothic Gala Lacquers

Aug17

Provided for Honest Review

I have an exciting trio of Gothic Gala Lacquers polishes to show you today! If you love in your face sparkle look no further. I cannot wait to show you…so I won’t!

First up in this tantalizing trio of sparkletastic beauties we have 24kt Bling!

Gothic Gala Lacquers – 24kt Bling (No Topcoat)

Oh yeah baby. That polish is blingarrific alright. Some of my friends tease me about my made up words but I still love them anyway. 24kt Bling is a silver textured polish with a LOAD of gold holographic microglitter and some larger silver holographic hexes.

Gothic Gala Lacquers – 24kt Bling (No Topcoat)

Application on this was great – there were no issues to report and these two pictures show two coats with no topcoat. Without topcoat it is definitely a textured polish. I love glittery textured polishes and I’m definitely not disappointed with these!

Gothic Gala Lacquers – 24kt Bling (With GGL Smooth Me Over and Topcoat)

Even though these are textured they will smooth out quite nicely. I used one generous coat of Gothic Gala Lacquers’ Smooth Me Over and then topped the whole thing off with a shiny quick dry topcoat and it was nice and smooth!

Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Gothic Gala Lacquers – 24kt Bling, Smooth Me Over; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up we have another gorgeous glittery extravaganza, Pink Ice:

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Pink Ice (No Topcoat)

While it’s obvious that this and 24kt Bling are in the same family there are some differences (aside from the obvious color difference). Pink Ice is a dark pink holographic microglitter filled texture polish and instead of holographic hexes this one has small pink metallic dots throughout.

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Pink Ice (No Topcoat)

This one actually seemed slightly more textured to me than 24kt Bling and it may be slightly. I still had no problems with application and am delighted with how easily it went on and how easy it was to clean up around the cuticles! Sometimes polishes like this the glitter wants to cling for dear life but it really wasn’t that bad!

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Pink Ice (With GGL Smooth me Over and Topcoat)

This picture shows Pink Ice with one generous coat of Smooth Me Over and a shiny quick dry topcoat. I think that once it cured and settled it could have used another swipe of topcoat to make it glass smooth but I found this to be smooth enough for me and someone would have had to come up and actually touch it to notice that it wasn’t glass smooth.

Polishes used: Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Gothic Gala Lacquers – Pink Ice, Smooth Me Over; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is my FAAAAVE-RITE! Imagine me saying that in an Oprah voice…go on do it! I love this one! Sapphire Sizzle:

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Sapphire Sizzle (No Topcoat)

Looooook at that! So, yes it is definitely purple BUT don’t be fooled…Sapphires come in every color of the rainbow and purple sapphires are gorgeous. This one is a touch sheerer than 24kt Bling and Pink Ice. Oh and where 24kt Bling has hexes and Pink Ice has dots…Sapphire Sizzle has aqua shreds in among all the glorious purple microglitter. This is officially my first polish with shreds and I love them!

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Sapphire Sizzle (No Topcoat)

I did mention that this one was a bit sheerer than the other two but I didn’t find that problematic. This is still just two coats and no topcoat. I love all the sparkly texture on these and I will be playing with them a little bit more later in a nail art application!

Gothic Gala Lacquers – Sapphire Sizzle (With GGL Smooth Me Over and Topcoat)

Look how pretty with topcoats too! I didn’t find any issues with smoothing this one out with a generous coat of Smooth Me Over and Topcoat.

Polishes used: Polishes used: Tip Top – Toughen Up Basecoat; Gothic Gala Lacquers – Sapphire Sizzle, Smooth Me Over; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

I think that these will be perfect in the coming winter months and they are universal enough to be used any time of year. Bring the Bling is going to be available after this blog post goes up!

You can purchase Gothic Gala Lacquers on their Website. Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook and Instagram for sneak peaks, sales, and other special things!

Throwback Thursday – Jindie Nails

Aug14

Nothing to disclose

Ok reader I thought I would do something fun! I like to go back to the beginning of my blog and see just how far that I’ve come. Not only in actual application of polish but also in my photography and writing style. While I really enjoy writing in this conversational style I think that it was much more stiff and a little forced at the beginning! So since Jindie Nails recently had their two year anniversary and I’m coming up on my one year blogaversary (Just a couple of months can you believe it?!) I thought I would take my blast from the past and show you new swatches of two polishes that I reviewed WAY back in October of last year!

Let’s start with Anniversary Seaquins:

October 2013:

Jindie Nails – Anniversary Seaquins (original swatch)

July 2014:

Jindie Nails – Anniversary Seaquins (Updated Swatch)

While I didn’t have any troubles with the polish the first time but I feel like I have come a long way with pictures and lighting! I definitely recommend reading my review from before because I don’t have anything different to say about this one. Love it!

Jindie Nails – Anniversary Seaquins

Another thing I started doing was adding this non-bottle shot to give a different perspective. I didn’t do this originally and I think that now these two shots (the bottle and the non-bottle) are part of my own personal style!

Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Jindie Nails – Anniversary Seaquins; Nail Pattern Boldness – Glitter Food; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

Next up let me show you Purple Universary!

October 2013:

Jindie Nails – Purple Universary (Original Swatch)

July 2014:

Jindie Nails – Purple Universary (Updated Swatch)

Night and Day am I right? Seriously I loved this polish before (but hated the old minis so glad she’s changed her minis to a different bottle shape!) But, my game is so improved now and I also picked up a trick to these mini bottles. I’ve seen some of these old minis out there on the secondary market and I always want to rescue them but I remembered my frustration with the bottle. Then I saw someone recommend using a brush from another polish (cleaned of course, I used an old topcoat brush) with these bottles and lo and behold application was SO MUCH easier!! Secondly while lack of full opacity doesn’t bother me overmuch personally I have also come to appreciate when polish is applied to its full potential! So while my initial swatch showed 2 coats that were inexpertly applied this one is 2.5 coats with a much more even and practiced application style.

Jindie Nails – Purple Universary (Updated Swatch)

Polishes used: Polishes used: Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Jindie Nails – Purple Universary; Nail Pattern Boldness – Glitter Food; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

I believe that these polishes are not discontinued so you should still be able to get them! You can find Jindie Nails here and on facebook and she is also on instagram! You’ll definitely want to follow on Facebook so that you will know when restocks are happening as her polishes tend to go very fast. Jindie Nails is also available at Llarowe and Harlow and Co as well as other fine stockists around the world.

Wingdust Collections – Swatches and Review

Aug9

Giveaway Prize

Readers far and wide! I have a lovely pair of Wingdust Collections polishes to show you today. I received these as a giveaway prize from their Facebook page and I cannot begin to tell you how delighted I was to receive them…not to mention the glass nail file (my favorite one so far) and Canadian candy that was in the package too!

First up is a lovely girly that is perfect for summer! This is Funhouse!

Wingdust Collections – Funhouse

Funhouse is a bright pastel lavender crelly based polish filled with neon pink, pastel pink, aqua, and bright purple glitters in a multitude of shapes and sizes. It would be a tragedy for me not to mention the lovely subtle shimmer that runs throughout the polish. There are triangle and star glitter in here so it’s a WIN for me!

Wingdust Collections – Funhouse

I have a small collection of Wingdust Collections polishes now and I have encountered nothing but greatness. For a crelly-based glitter which can sometimes present some challenges in application this one is really top of the heap when it comes to glitter dispersion and application. I didn’t have to fish for the shaped glitters and I didn’t have any troubles applying the polish. Pictures show two coats plus a glitter smoothing topcoat and a shiny topcoat.

Polishes used: Sally Hansen – Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment; Wingdust Collections – Funhouse (prototype); Carpe Noctem – Glitterslayer; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is After-Party @ Jimmy’s!

Wingdust Collections - After-Party at Jimmy's

Wingdust Collections – After-Party @ Jimmy’s

I LOVE this one. It’s every single thing that I love about indie nail polish. Unique? Check! Jelly-based glitter bomb? CHECK! Star Glitter? checkCheckCHECK! Doesn’t hurt that it’s in my go-to color family either…I’m just super drawn to blues and teals and this one has both…score! After-Party at Jimmy’s is a dark blue/blurple jelly base packed with shimmer. There are navy, lavender, pastel pink, magenta and teal glitter is several shapes (including triangles and stars!) and finishes.

Wingdust Collections – After-Party @ Jimmy’s

The thing that I’ve come to really enjoy about Wingdust Collections is the ease of use. I think that even polishers who aren’t familiar with these kinds of polishes would find it relatively easy to apply. I didn’t have any problem with getting glitter on the nail or spreading evenly. Because of the jelly base it has a delicious depth to it that you just don’t get with non-jelly based polish. There is a trade off of translucency but this was still only two and a half coats plus glitter smoother and topcoat.

Polishes used: Sally Hansen – Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment; Wingdust Collections – After Party @ Jimmy’s; Carpe Noctem – Glitterslayer; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

So what do you think? Gonna be adding a few Wingdusts to your collection? I highly recommend that! You can get Wingdust from her Etsy Store. Not to mention you can follow Wingdust on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on all the latest news. Wingdust is also available at different stockists around the world so that anyone anywhere can get their own bottle of Wingdust.

Boom Shaka Lacquer

For Indie Nail Polish Addicts, by an Indie Nail Polish Addict

Archives

My FIRST Chaos & Crocodiles! Swatches and Review

Bring on the Bling! New Collection from Gothic Gala Lacquers

Throwback Thursday – Jindie Nails

Wingdust Collections – Swatches and Review