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Nail Art for Everyone!

Jun7

Provided for Honest Review

Ok Readers, I know that like me some of you struggle with nail art.  I’m getting better but I still have way more fails than I have wins!  Well today I’m going to show you how to get awesome nail art without a lot of fancy skills!  YouPolish has made it easy for us newbs!

I’m talking about Vinyl Nail Decals naturally!!!

YouPolish - Vinyl Nail Decals

YouPolish – Vinyl Nail Decals

As you can see they come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and designs.  Before I spam you with some cute nail art looks I’ll tell you about how I feel about them!  I LOVE THEM.  That is all.  Ok no really they are awesomesauce.  They are super easy to apply, the designs and colors are great and even the the newest nail  polisher can get some super cute nail art without having to try too hard!  I recommend using a pair of needle nose tweezers to apply so you don’t touch the adhesive which could inhibit the decals from sticking firmly to your nails.  You don’t NEED to add topcoat if you don’t want to but I would recommend it in order to keep them on longer!  Now onto the spam!

Dollish Polish - It's So Fluffy, I'm Gonna Die with YouPolish Decal

Dollish Polish – It’s So Fluffy, I’m Gonna Die with YouPolish Decal

Alchemy Lacquers - Kelpie Seaweed with YouPolish Decal

Alchemy Lacquers – Kelpie Seaweed with YouPolish Decal

 

Alchemy Lacquers - Naiad of the Spring with YouPolish decals

Alchemy Lacquers – Naiad of the Spring with YouPolish decals

This last one is my favorite and I actually show BOTH of my hands.  It’s a Festivus Miracle…wait…wrong time of year right?  So anyway this one I got a little creative with so that you could see that there are also a lot of possibilities outside of just peeling and sticking them on your nails!

Knockout Lacquers - Gogoplata with YouPolish Decals (Left hand)

Knockout Lacquers – Gogoplata with YouPolish Decals (Left hand)

and now for the deliberately different right hand…

Knockout Lacquers - Gogoplata with YouPolish Decals (right hand)

Knockout Lacquers – Gogoplata with YouPolish Decals (right hand)

I mean I was totally in love with this mani!  It’s so elegant and feminine!  It also is the exact same three decals, I just cut them and placed them differently!  The possiblities are really excellent and I can’t wait to play around with more!

So it’s a little outside my normal style of posting but I really wanted you to see some things that could be done easily and quickly with these wonderful nail decals.  You can get your own vinyl nail decals at YouPolish’s Site.  You can also keep up to date on all the happenings and new designs and also find out about YouPolish’s Subscription box on Facebook and Twitter!

 

 

 

 

New Indie Brand Alert!! Hint: You’ll be Fighting to Get These!

Jun5

Provided for Honest Review

So Readers, I know you’re shocked – two posts TWO days in a row!  But, I just HAD to let you know about these lovely polishes.  This is a BRAND NEW Indie and I think that she is on the right track!  The Brand is Knockout Lacquers and they are all Mixed Martial Arts fighting themed!  I don’t pretend to know anything about fighting but I do know about nail polish!  She very kindly sent me a couple of polishes to review and that means I am going to share them with you!

The first of these two lovely polishes is V.I.  I’m not sure what that stands for, perhaps you fight enthusiasts will know.  All I know is that this is a stuntastic polish!  Holo that will knock you out!  (See what I did there?  Hehehe)  Anyway pictures!  I apologize in advance that the lighting does not do the holo justice but I tried to capture some of it so that you have some idea of how amazing it is!

Knockout Lacquers - V.I. (Over Scofflaw - Love Letter from Scofflaw)

Knockout Lacquers – V.I. (Over Scofflaw – Love Letter from Scofflaw)

I love this as a topper.  The maker says that it can be built up to full coverage and I did start that however because the fine holographic bits are in a clear base my natural nail color showed through and it was sort of yellowy (#nailbloggerproblems am I right?) from some staining I am growing out and I didn’t like the effect.  But the maker said she hadn’t used it as a topper so I decided to give it a go.  I really like the effect it had over a dark base!  As I mentioned it is fine holographic pigment/glitter in a clear base and it gives a tightly scattered (ALMOST linear) holographic effect that just explodes in sunlight.

Knockout Lacquers - V.I. - Intentionally blurred (over Scofflaw - Love letter from Scofflaw)

Knockout Lacquers – V.I. – Intentionally blurred (over Scofflaw – Love letter from Scofflaw)

This is one coat and you can see how heavily glittered (if that is what the holo sparkles are, they seem far finer than glitter to me but coarser than pigment, all in all they are just awesome) it is with one thin coat so it will easily build to opacity!  Sparkletastic I’m telling you!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Scofflaw – Love Letter From Scofflaw; Knockout Lacquers – V.I.; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Next up we have my surprise favorite.  It hits the mark for me and I am unquestionably in love with it!  Gogoplata!

Knockout Lacquers - Gogoplata

Knockout Lacquers – Gogoplata

You can see that this is a lovely pink leaning lavender shimmer just filled with the same holo sparkle that is in V.I.  These pictures showed off the holo a lot better as well which I’m pleased about.  This is just a flattering color and is so elegant and feminine while being a blinding sparkletastic holo polish!

Knockout Lacquers - Gogoplata

Knockout Lacquers – Gogoplata

This shows two coats, but honestly, I probably could have gotten away with one coat but I wanted to make sure that it was fully opaque for pictures.   The formula on this and V.I. were really stellar and I’m so impressed by the quality.  I ended up wearing this color as my mani for the first part of the week and I only sustained a small amount of chipping after some heavy housework after 5 days.  So it wears fantastic as well!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Knockout Lacquers – Gogoplata; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Overall I’m thrilled to add a new indie to my roster of brands that I would purchase from personally and I look forward to snagging Gogoplata in a full-size as soon as my no-buy is over not to mention the red one that is also in this collection.  Definitely some stunners.  Oh what’s that you want to know how to get them?  Well they are on Pre-Order TODAY!  That means you can use the stalker links below to go find out about and order your own pretties and then you too can be a KNOCKOUT!

Facebook – Store

 

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink – Featuring Dollish Polish

Jun4

Nothing to Disclose

SO dear readers.  I’ve decided to *try* (try is the operative word here) to pay homage to the awesome movie that is Mean Girls by starting up a regular post on Wednesdays that features pink in some way.   Starting this week with this post and boy howdy have I ever picked a good one for ya’ll to start off with.

Now, I pretty much adore Dollish Polish.  I have several and I just love them all.  I’ve had my eye on this baby for awhile because it is all kinds of pink and girly and therefore right up my alley!

Dollish Polish - It's So Fluffy I'm Gonna Die

Dollish Polish – It’s So Fluffy, I’m Gonna Die

Oh yes oh yes oh yes.  It’s So Fluffy, I’m Gonna Die is the most AMAZING pink crelly glitter bomb polish!  Swimming in the luscious soft pink crelly base are a plethora (like the big words?) of various glitters in all shapes and sizes and finishes.  Most importantly they are in all shades of pink!  I see matte neon pink hexes, small metallic pink dots,  small metallic raspberry dots, big holographic pale pink hexes, small satin pale pink squares and more!

Dollish Polish - It's So Fluffy, I'm Gonna Die

Dollish Polish – It’s So Fluffy, I’m Gonna Die

For a crelly glitter bomb, oh this reminds me I want to make this a thing!  I think that we should call all crelly based glitter polishes…are you ready for my awesome idea?…CRITTERS!  So for a CRITTER bomb (see how awesome is that?) the formula on this was dreamy.  I’ve described before that CRITTERs can take a bit more patience with application but they are always worth a little extra time in my opinion.  This one however was delightful and was opaque with good glitter spread in just two coats.   I *did* flip my bottle over for awhile to give some of the bigger glitters a chance to re-percolate the rest of the bottle but that’s pretty par for the course with larger glitters!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Dollish Polish – It’s So Fluffy, I’m Gonna Die; Carpe Noctem – Glitterslayer; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Get ready for all the stalker links you will ever need to start amassing your own Dollish Polish collection (which I highly recommend).    You can find Dollish Polish on Facebook and Instagram.  You can purchase your own Dollish Polish at their site and also on Llarowe where there is an exclusive collection.  Also I would be HIGHLY remiss if I didn’t mention that Dollish Polish has teamed up with Jindie Nails for some amazing famous couples through history collaboration duos that are limited edition each month.  Seriously they have been just awesome so far and I can’t wait to see what they get up to for the rest of the year!

Alchemy Lacquers – Alchemical Imaginarium – Lab Report

May28

Provided for Honest Review

Ladies and Gents I am BEYOND excited today!  I have a quartet of beautiful, ethereal, magical lacquers to show you today!  Alchemy Lacquers is releasing her Alchemical Imaginarium:  Water Fae collection and you will NOT want to miss these I assure you!  Without further ado or unnecessary rambling let’s get right to it shall we?

First up is Selkie Fur.  A Selkie is a water fae creature that changes form from seal to man.  The legend says that if you can steal its sealskin while it is in the form of the man you will bind the Selkie to you forever but they will always have something missing as they need to follow the call of the sea to be truly happy.

Alchemy Lacquers - Selkie Fur

Alchemy Lacquers – Selkie Fur

Selkie Fur is a deep steel seal gray-blue polish filled with dark gray flakies as well as some purple and aqua microshimmer and a touch of scattered holographic sparkle.   It is absolutely a stunner and is so very elegant.  I have long said that I am not a huge fan of black polishes but oh my word I love some deep mysterious grays!  Especially ones with depth like this.

Alchemy Lacquers - Selkie Fur

Alchemy Lacquers – Selkie Fur

Oh yeah I really loved this one a lot!  It’s probably in my top two four favorites in this collection!  The formula was divine and super easy to work with. This was two coats plus topcoat.

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Selkie Fur; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up is Naiad of the Spring.  Naiads are water nymphs, particularly those that are associated with and inhabit bodies of fresh water such as springs, brooks, fountains, and wells.

Alchemy Lacquers - Naiad of the Spring

Alchemy Lacquers – Naiad of the Spring

This lovely lady is a beautiful royal blue jelly polish filled with dark blue flakies and scattered holographic sparkle.  To top her off it has a strong purple shimmer interference that adds just that extra touch of something special!  I could totally see rocking this color poolside this summer!

Alchemy Lacquers - Naiad of the Spring

Alchemy Lacquers – Naiad of the Spring

The formula like Selkie Fur is absolutely flawless.  Two coats to squishy wonderful perfection all topped off with a nice topcoat.  Both this and Selkie Fur dry to a satin finish which is also quite lovely but I’m a high-shine kind of girl so I almost always add topcoat!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Naiad of the Spring; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Next up we have one that I’ve been excited about for awhile!  Sometimes I get prototypes from Rebecca well before they are ready to be released.  Usually it’s to gauge interest, wearability, formula and things like that.   I digress, let me show you Nixie Tears.  A Nixie is a figure of Germanic folklore and is a female river mermaid.  Most often in human form but can also be portrayed as a wyrm or dragon.

Alchemy Lacquers - Nixie Tears

Alchemy Lacquers – Nixie Tears

Oh my heck.  Love every single little thing about this polish.  I’m telling you I’ve been crushing on it ever since I first received it!  Nixie Tears is a aqua colored jelly with tiny gold hexes, teensie tiny teal micro glitters, flakies, and an aqua to pink to purple multichrome finish.  It’s everything you would imagine that a polish inspired by a water fae would be.

Alchemy Lacquers - Nixie Tears

Alchemy Lacquers – Nixie Tears

Alchemy Lacquers - Nixie Tears

Alchemy Lacquers – Nixie Tears

I’m so excited I managed to capture a little of that purple to aqua shift because that’s what makes this polish super super exciting in my opinion!  Classic mermaid colors always cause my heart to go pitter pat though!

The formula on this is sheer, it is a jelly.  This shows three coats plus topcoat.  I like the squishiness and sheerness at three coats but if you detest VNL as some do then you’ll want to do four coats or layer it over a pale nude or white or a similar base color to the polish.  I have said before  I’m not a fan of layering a full coverage jelly over a base color for me because it causes them to lose the thing that makes them unique but I won’t judge if you do it!  Whatever makes you feel pretty!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Nixie Tears; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat

Last but certainly not least is Kelpie Seaweed.  I saved this one for last because honestly I think that to date this is one of the best polishes that Alchemy Lacquers has ever put out and I am a huge fan of her work.   Kelpies are malevolent water spirits from the lochs of Scotland.  They are most usually depicted as a horse but can take other forms in order to lure and betray humans.  In their human forms they may give themselves away by having water weeds in their hair.

Alchemy Lacquers - Kelpie Seaweed

Alchemy Lacquers – Kelpie Seaweed

Kelpie Seaweed is a beautiful olive green multichrome linear holo.  Ok I’m going to let that sink in for a few moments.  You let me know when you’ve comprehended the awesome in that statement…

Ready for me to continue?  Ok awesome!  This polish shifts from Olive Green to Purple to Bronzy gold and has a strong linear holo.  It is to my eternal shame that I was unable to capture the beautiful holo effect due to the weather however I have the multichrome shift for you!

Alchemy Lacquers - Kelpie Seaweed

Alchemy Lacquers – Kelpie Seaweed

 

Alchemy Lacquers - Kelpie Seaweed

Alchemy Lacquers – Kelpie Seaweed

The formula on this polish was perfection.  These pictures show two coats plus topcoat.  There was no problem at all with the application or coverage on this and I cannot wait to see what else Rebecca has up her sleeve with polishes like this!  This was far and away my favorite polish of the entire collection and I thought truly that it was going to be Nixie Tears but I was wrong.  I literally gasped when I unwrapped this baby!

Polishes used:  Glisten & Glow – Stuck on Blu; Alchemy Lacquers – Kelpie Seaweed; Digital Nails – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That Topcoat.

All in all this whole collection is a HOME RUN.  I love every single one of these polishes and I will surely have to acquire the full sized versions as soon as my no-buy is over.  Kelpie is my overwhelming favorite but Alchemy Lacquers is selling them as a set so you could save by buying the whole set at one time!  These were released tonight and they are IN STOCK RIGHT NOW.  Pardon me for shouting but I don’t want you to miss out!  Stalker links below!

You can keep up with all the news and happenings on Alchemy Lacquers’ Website and Facebook page.  You can see sneak peaks, swatches, and other fun pictures on their Instagram.  Most importantly you can BUY your very own Water Fae collection from their Etsy Shop!