Holding onto Summer as hard as I can! Alchemy Lacquers – Fire Bright Collection – Swatches and Review

Provided for Honest Review

Hello my lovelies. Fall is officially on its way. I woke up this morning and there was a nip in the air and the temperature stayed mild all day. While I love it right now because I can cruise with my windows down and my stereo blasting Queen as I’m on the highway, I’m just not ready for Fall yet! I still want summer colors and that lackadaisical summer feeling to continue on for just a bit longer.

I’m sure you’re eager to see these so I am not going to ramble forever. Let’s just say that I’m going to show you some fantastic eye-popping neon goodies from Alchemy Lacquers, and the best part? She just restocked them yesterday so they are available RIGHT NOW.

This is Alchemy Lacquers’ Fire Bright Collection:

Imagine my delight when I opened up my most recent package from Alchemy Lacquers and saw this adorable round tin staring up at me. I couldn’t wait to get that thing open because I already knew what was in it!

Alchemy Lacquers – Fire Bright (mini collection tin)

All the squees. Seriously, so much neon glitter goodness I almost passed right out. Then I had to figure out what the best way to show these would be without making you stay with me for half a year (not that you’d mind, right? RIGHT?). Anyway you shall see what I’m talking about below. First I want to show you two glitter toppers so versatile that I’m fairly certain I’ll need backups of them:

Fireworks:

Alchemy Lacquers – Fireworks

Fireworks is a glitter topper with a mix of various sizes of black glitter with a mix of neon glitters thrown into the mix. The glitters are all fairly small but the variety of sizes adds interest and depth!

Alchemy Lacquers – Fireworks

Alchemy Lacquers – Fireworks (Macro)

Awesome right? Wait, you want to know about application, formula, etc? Ok well I’m relegating that information to the end of the post because each and every polish I show you today applied exactly the same way. Talk about consistency! Honestly quality is one of those things that I just take for granted with Alchemy Lacquers.

Next up is Pyrotechnics:

Alchemy Lacquers – Pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics is the sister to Fireworks! Instead of a glitter topper with black and neon glitter, it’s white and neon. Yes, I know you can see it but I still wanted to say it! Same idea as Fireworks, multi-sized white glitter and a burst of mixed neon glitters.

Alchemy Lacquers – Pyrotechnics

Can you pick a favorite from these? No neither could I. I even donned white and black nail polish to show you these toppers (oh the horrors of plain black and white polish it’s so hard to get right!). They would look good over several different colors though so experiment away!

Ok next up are LiCl, CuSO4, CaCl, and KCl, and no I promise that isn’t just a random amalgamation of characters that I typed to throw you off…that is their names. These are the chemical abbreviations of chemical compounds:

Alchemy Lacquers - (left to right) LiCl, CuSO4, CaCl, KCl

Alchemy Lacquers – (pointer to pinky) LiCl, CuSO4, CaCl, KCl

Each of the glitter toppers in the rest of the collection is named after a chemical compound that is used in…you guessed it FIREWORKS and PYROTECHNICS. How very cool is that?? This is another thing that I love and adore about Alchemy Lacquers the themes are always well thought and exceptionally well executed. Each of this is a multi-sized neon glitter topper in one color in a clear base. LiCl is neon pink, CuSO4 is neon green, CaCl is neon orange, KCl is purple. Also there are matte and satin glitters so it gives it even more dimension!

Alchemy Lacquers – (pointer to pinky) LiCl, CuSO4, CaCl, KCl

I love that depending on the base you put them on you can get different looks. The possibilities for this collection are really endless when it comes to nail art as well!

Last but not least we have NaNO3, CuCl2, SrCl2, and NaCl

Alchemy Lacquers – (pointer to pinky) NaNO3, CuCl2, SrCl2, NaCl

So much love for these glitter toppers. I’m totally doing a mega neon skittle mani (there are ten, count ’em ten, toppers in this collection) in the near future to try to grasp onto as much Summer as I can! NaNO3 is neon marigold, CuCl2 is neon blue, SrCl2 is neon coral, and last but not least is NaCl which is neon highlighter yellow!

Alchemy Lacquers – (pointer to pinky) NaNO3, CuCl2, SrCl2, NaCl

Now of course some do show up better on black or white depending on the color but I wanted to show you both because I could. I think that SrCl2 is my favorite one although to be honest I love them all! So many things that you can do with these, you can pair these with neon polishes of a similar color to create a neon monochrome effect or with contrasting colors to really rock out your 80s throwback tendencies. Whatever you decide to do with this collection would be bright and fun.

The application of all the glitter toppers was exactly the same. I did not have to fish for the glitter at all. It’s suspended well and spread nicely. I preferred a bit of a heavier coat so I did lightly dab the polish instead of brushing which will give a subtler effect. All pics show one lightly dabbed coat over two coats of white or black with topcoat.

There you have it I’m clinging to summer like crazy. I love Autumn but when it starts to get too cold I am not a happy Relly! Per usual you should definitely check out the links below to follow, drool over, and get your own Alchemy Lacquers. I have some more stuff to show you soon but that’s for another day! Also go grab the Fire Bright Collection NOW it was just restocked yesterday!

Facebook – Instagram – Etsy Store

Fall is Almost Here! Review of Pretty & Polished Dusty Fall Cremes!

Sep6

Provided for Honest Review

Fall is almost upon us my dear readers! Hot drinks, cool days, sweaters, and gorgeous muted colors will be taking over before you know it! Ok, so where I live hot drinks, cool days, and sweaters don’t generally come out until Christmas (if we’re lucky). However, I still love good seasonal polish. I fully admit that there’s something in my brain that makes me crave muted earthy polishes for Autumn, glitzy jewel tones for winter, delicate and shimmery pastels for Spring, and OMG could they be any more Neon neons for Summer (For the record, I’m not over neons yet, I could really do those all year).

Another thing that I’ve been craving is CREME polishes. Now I know you’re saying to yourself, “But, Relly, I thought you were all about glitter and flakies?” You would definitely be right, I am. However, lately I’ve also been wanting that smooth gorgeous color that you can only get from good creme polishes. Plus, glitters need bases, and cremes are fantastic for nail art! Luckily for me Pretty & Polished came out with a stunning collection of Fall-colored Dusty Cremes. I had the pleasure of trying out five of them, which I am going to share with you!

Up first is Reflect and Ponder:

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for dark blue polish. Dark blues and all shades of gray are probably among my very most favorite polish colors. I can’t tell you how many various shades of dark or navy blue I have and I’m always delighted to add another shade to my collection (because they’re similar not the same…) This one is ever so slightly teal-leaning so it’s not a straight navy, which is just fine with me. Also, this polish is the one that conceals the “dusty” effect that each of these polishes have. Still love everything about this color and I will definitely be using it again!

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder

I’m going to hold off discussing individual formulas because in all honesty they were all so very very close in application.

Pretty & Polished – Reflect and Ponder (Macro)

Perfectly smooth and fantastic!

Next up is Saucy Marsala:

Pretty & Polished – Saucy Marsala

Such a pretty color for Fall. I love pink almost as much as I love blue. This is a rich dusty mauve pink and despite being a major Doctor Who fan I’m not alarmed at the color (It’s Mauve…the intergalactic color for danger). You can see the dusty effect in this polish and it’s like a light layer of dust throughout the polish.

Pretty & Polished – Saucy Marsala

I don’t have a macro shot of this one because apparently the photography spirits were not with me and everything I shot came out blurry. This happened with another of the colors as well – I’m tempted to say it’s the camera but honestly I’m no pro *grins*.

Now for what must be the most perfect green:

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again

I love this color so much. This is such a perfect green for nail art, to go with a lot of my glitter, and just on its own. This color is almost neutral as well. I say there’s a case to be made for muted earth toned greens to be neutral and I can imagine this in so many different manis.

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again

You can really see the “dust” effect here. It’s not quite speckles but kind of like speckles.

Pretty & Polished – Thyme and Time Again (Macro)

I’m saving my very favorite for last (and it’s not this one!), and it’s going to be a surprise I promise because you already know my preferred colors are blues, greens, teals/turquoises…

Here is Docked at Biscay Bay:

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

I’ll admit this one fought hard to be my favorite. It’s right there in the color family that I am always immediately drawn to. Gorgeous muted turquoise and it’s just smooth and creamy and everything I ever want in a creme polish.

Pretty & Polished Docked in Biscay Bay

Now onto my favorite of the ones I received:

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That?

Now I know there are a lot of purple fans out there. I’ll be honest, I’ve not always been a purple fan. However how can you resist a color like this??? This gorgeous true purple is just stunning. I love everything about it!

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That?

Quick Macro to see the perfection:

Pretty & Polished – Amethyst or Am I That? (Macro)

Let’s talk about creme polishes for a minute. I really debated with myself as to whether I should show you these with topcoat (maximum shine!!!) or without. I finally decided that I would show you these without topcoat so if there were any formulaic issues they couldn’t be hidden by a glossy layer of topcoat. One of the wonders of topcoat is that it does cover a multitude of flaws. Without topcoat you would be able to see any drags, balding, streaks, or other formula issues for yourself. I felt that this would be the most honest representation of the polishes. And as you can see I had NONE of those troubles. They all applied beautifully and leveled out so nicely.

All of these pictures are two coats of the respective color without topcoat. Almost all of them could have probably been one coat. Only the green HAD to have two coats because it’s such a light color. These all dried to a demi-matte rubbery finish. I think this is great because it gives you two options, high shine with topcoat or the natural finish which could be very cool in nail art.

Speaking of nail art….BOOM:

Reverse Stamping with Pretty & Polished Dusty Cremes (stamp is MoYou London – Explorer 07)

The buzz over these cremes is tremendous. It seems that the Indie Nail Polish community is just craving cremes like I was. This is five of the TEN piece collection. They work fabulously together and are perfect colors for fall. This collection will be available for purchase on September 9, 2015. You can pick up yours at the Pretty & Polished Shop (but don’t wait to visit the shop until then…Chels is running a Labor Day Sale from right now until September 7 at midnight. Time to pick up some of those other pretty polishes you’ve been eyeing. Use LaborDay25 to get 25% off of all polish!! That’s a killer deal right there!). For all the news and to see other pictures of this and other upcoming collections go check out Pretty & Polished on Facebook and Instagram!

New to Me Brand!!! Model City Polish!

Aug29

Nothing to Disclose

Hello my lovelies! I promised you a post today and I’m going to do a couple of things with this post. One I’m proclaiming my love of indie polish full volume. I trust indie polish, I love indie polish, and I support indie polish makers. Check out the InLinkz below to see a whole bunch of other bloggers who trust indie polish as well! I did tell you that I would not be frightened away and I will not. Also, I’m going to show you a new to me brand today as well!

So awhile back in the For the Love of Indies Facebook Group there was a thread asking what brands were on our “Brands to Try but haven’t yet” list. I answered without hesitation: Model City Polish. I’ve long lusted over the gorgeous polishes that this blogger turned maker has been putting out. However budgets and time being what they are I just hadn’t had a chance to turn my hand to acquiring some. Well, Nina, the fabulous maker behind MCP said that everyone needed some MCP in their life and sent me and a few others who had mentioned MCP a bottle of polish to try! This is one of the reasons I love indie polish, makers are interested in what people are saying, they are involved in groups with us, and they are AWESOME.

Now that I’ve got you all worked up don’t let me keep you waiting any longer to see this gorgeousness! Here is Pour Me Another:

Model City Polish – Pour Me Another

Oh yeah baby. This polish is so gorgeous. The holo is so strong with this one it’s unbelievable. I could not help it I just loved it so much! The color is a beautiful rich wine-red that leans berry-purple. This is just juicy and vampy and will be a recurring visitor on my nails in the upcoming fall season!

Model City Polish – Pour Me Another

I mean…just look at how pretty it is. Application was stunning, smooth, even and everything a nail polish could be. No dragging, skipping, or balding here no way! I actually did wear this one for several days after as part of a nail art look and it wore very well. I had minimal tip wear and no chips even after several days. And I have to tell you I’m one of those bad bloggers who don’t wear gloves when I wash dishes and I type all the time and I’m generally pretty rough on my hands and nails. Also topcoat did NOT dull that holo it shone through like a beacon.

Gratuitous Macro Shot:

Model City Polish – Pour Me Another

Oh you wanna see some nail art? BOOM gotcha covered!

Model City Polish – Pour Me Another (with MOD Lacquer – Baby Flamingo)

So first impression of Model City Polish is a great one! You know what they say about first impressions. Not only is Nina super nice but her polish is fantastic. I can’t wait to get my hands on some more of them! Tell me what you think in the comments below…what are your favorite Model City Polish colors?? Also don’t forget to visit MCP on Facebook, Instagram, and check out their Shop to get your own if you haven’t got any already or get some more if you do! Oh, and remember I said she’s a blogger too? Go check out her blog as well her swatches are just gorgeous!

An InLinkz Link-up

Boom Shaka Lacquer Update!

Aug28

Hello my favorite people! I’m sure you’ve been wondering what in the world happened to Boom Shaka Lacquer? Rest assured I have not disappeared, quit blogging, or fallen into a vat of nail polish. No, I just needed to step away for a bit. Things have been incredibly busy for me since graduation. I had anticipated having more time while I was out of school however I just managed to fill up that time with a lot of things that I had been shoving to the back burner for the past few years while I concentrated on school. I’ve been working more hours as well. I’m starting to get into a groove though and so I’m adding blogging back into the mix because I love it and my readers so much!

The good news is that I will be back in force very soon (you should see a post from me this weekend for example…yay!!!). In fact, there are a lot of fun things that I have in store for the upcoming year…What’s that? You want to know why I’m talking about the upcoming year when it’s only the end of August? Don’t forget for me my blogging year starts in October because that’s my blogiversary…I’m already thinking about the special celebration I’m going to have for you all!

I’ve had a super idea for a fun collaborative project with other bloggers that I hope to get off the ground. I hope to have more about that soon! I’m going to be taking part in a YEAR-LONG nail art challenge…that’s right! I hope that ya’ll will keep me on my toes and keep me focused as I try to keep to the challenge. I want to expand my nail art skills and this seemed like a good way to do it! Are there features or things that you’d like to see me do in the upcoming year? Feel free to comment and offer suggestions. I’m incredibly open-minded and I love to hear what other people think!

To address the issue in the indie polish community right now, I’m sure that many of you are already aware of the Mentality Nail Polish issue. This is a very scary situation and my heart breaks for those in the indie nail polish community who have been affected. I feel extremely confident that the majority of indie nail polish is perfectly safe and wonderful. I have been using indie nail polish for over three years now and blogging about it for two years and I have never had a damaging experience. I was lucky in that Mentality has never been a brand that I invested in or used (I think I’ve owned two over the past three years and I used them once each…years ago now) however many bloggers, swatchers, and customers were not so lucky. If you aren’t aware of what’s going on I highly recommend that you read this blog post by Ashley is Polish Addicted it’s a fantastic timeline that is being updated and is by a blogger that I have followed and trusted for a long time.

I bring up this issue because it’s important that we all get the word out. There may still be customers who have been affected who don’t know what to attribute their conditions to! Secondly I wanted to make a couple of promises to you. 1. I will never knowingly represent, promote, or review for a brand that is underhanded in their actions or methods. 2. When I review polishes I promise I will be as honest as I can be, yes the VAST majority of my experiences have been positive and I expect that they will stay that way, but I will not hide any issues from my readers if I detect them. 3. I will not be frightened away from what has been the most awesome thing I’ve discovered, indie polish, by the actions and behaviors of one brand. If you are like me and you still love and trust indie polish I urge you to use #itrustindiepolish in your social media posts!

So there it is my big long update on what’s been going on, what’s coming up, and my small part to raise awareness of the Mentality issue. As always you are welcome to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Commenting has been fixed so you should be able to do that as well! Polish on my lovelies, polish on!