Fancy Taffy Pants!

Hi all!

Today's post is for the ABC Challenge but I just had to go with that cute title instead of my usual "ABC Challenge 'L': blablabla".

This mani was actually completely coincidental. I painted my nails Friday with a new polish and kept it on until Tuesday (which is forever) but I had absolutely no idea or inspiration to do some nail art for today's post. It was then I realized that the mani I had worn all weekend had a polish starting with L so I used these pictures instead. I really didn't want to share this just yet for several reasons, which I'll go into later, but I didn't want to keep missing posts.

I started with two coats of China Glaze Fancy Pants and added accent nails of Lacquerlicious Tart Taffy, which had been a long time lemming ever since I saw Mimi's pics on her blog, so when a 25% off sale appeared, I pounced.

This looked so pretty but Fancy Pants chipped HORRIBLY. Within 24 hours I already had small chips at my nail tips and eventually it started peeling off in sheets. My mom had this same mani at the same time and hers didn't even last a full 10 hours, but she also has her hands submerged in water far more than I do.

Also, I ran into some issues with my Lacquerlicious polish. First of all, it's sinking :(. I can tell she's using suspension base and I know from several people that none of her polishes ever did this so it's probably a case of a bad batch. Either way, turning it upside down for a minute takes care of the problem right quick. The other issue is that it seems like some of the glitters stained my nails. It was very very faint and barely noticeable but I saw it and thought I had a rash on my nails. I am not very logical when it comes to nails. A very wonderful person indeed had the same two polishes and is trying out this combo as well to see if it stains the nails so I will update this post later with her findings and tell you if it was just me or not.

UPDATE: My very nice tester informed me she did not have any staining with the Lacquerlicious polish and she wasn't even wearing base coat! So it might have been an adverse reaction with my base coat (Nailtiques).

Small personal announcement: I'm starting a new job on Monday! That's pretty much the reason my nails have been so sad lately, I've been running around getting everything done before I start. I don't anticipate it will disrupt the blog too much but I will let you know if anything changes.

Whew! That was a much longer post than I anticipated and I didn't even go into the whole China Glaze/Vampy Varnish situation. Let's just say that as a blogger, I'm not happy with China Glaze.

Have a great day loves!

White Owl Lacquers Heightened Emotions Collection - Swatches and Review

Hi all! ITS FREAKING FRIDAY. I'm excited about today :D.

Today I have for you the Heightened Emotions collection for Valentine's Day from White Owl Lacquers! While the first collection was inspired by Harry Potter, this is inspired by The Vampire Diaries, of which I know nothing except they inspired some pretty cool polishes. If you missed my first swatches of the brand, do the clicky here.

First up is Come To Me, a milky white jelly base with different shaped matte blue glitter, some iridescent squares and pink ROUND glitter. Application was very straightforward, only the round glitters wanted to move around but if you let each coat dry that won't be a problem. I'm showing 3 coats.

Now, there was an issue with bleeding glitter in some of the bottles so my swatches have the blue-tinged base instead of the milky white base. I actually really like the bluer base as well as the white one but if you received a faulty bottle please contact Mara and she'll take care of it.

Next up is Never Let Me Go, the pinker sister to Come To Me. This is also a milky white jelly base but with MORE round glitter and the iridescent squares. Application was a breeze as well and I used 3 coats.

And finally, A Little Danger. This is a clear based glitter topper featuring ROUND glitters and iridescent glitter. Yes, more roundies! <3. This is the only one that was a little tricky because a lot of the round glitter seemed to have settled at the bottom but turning the bottle upside down for a few minutes before applying took care of it. I've done one 'dabbed on' coat over China Glaze Def Defying.

What do you think of these? I'm especially in love with Come To Me, those bright blue matte glitters are all kinds of pretty. Also, ROUND GLITTER. I need all the round glitter in the world.

You can find White Owl Lacquers on their store here and you should like them on Facebook for important information and special offers (sometimes free shipping with minimum purchase or discounts with a special code!). Mara's also on Twitter and Instagram, yesterday she shared pictures of the new bottles and they are adorable!

Have a great day lovelies!

Disclosure: White Owl Lacquers provided to me for review. All opinions are my own. For more information please refer to my Disclosure Policy* 

White Owl Lacquers Swatches & Review

Hi all!

I am pretty excited to be able to share this brand with you today. White Owl Lacquers is a newish indie brand by Mara of Mara in Polishland! Today I'll be showing 3 of the 6 polishes from the "After All This Time" collection which was inspired by Harry Potter! I flippin' love the Harry Potter movies and books and I completely geeked out with these.

First up is Pumpkin Pasties, inspired by the candies sold on the Hogwarts Express. I don't know about you, but that cart full 'o candies always made me jealous. Application was effortless, the jelly base built up nicely, didn't thicken up during use and I didn't have to fish for glitters. 3 coats by itself.

Next up is Dwelling on Dreams, inspired by the scene in the first book/movie with the mirror of Erised. Very heartbreaking moment for Harry but it gave us an awesome polish. I've shown two coats over Orly Snowcone though you could wear it on its own at three coats.  This is one of my favorites! Formula was great again, no thickening or glooping and the glitters spread easily.

Last but not least, is Kittens and Teacups which was inspired by Professor Umbridge. I hated her so hard, like I legit cheered when she was done as headmaster. This is definitely meant as a delicate polish and not a glitterbomb. I've done 3 thicker coats by itself on most nails but my pinky needed a 4th for some reason. Application was fairly easy, no thickening during use but I did have to be careful while polishing because you could easily swipe off the glitters while polishing.

Sidenote: I have no idea why my ring finger nail is flaring out at the tips like that, I haven't changed my routing or filed it differently and it's downright depressing to see it like that :(.

Any favorites from the ones I've posted here or any other White Owl polishes you've liked? I have my eye on Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears as well as the spring collection that's coming soon! 

You can find White Owl Lacquers on their store here and you should like them on Facebook for important information and special offers (sometimes free shipping with minimum purchase or discounts with a special code).

Have a great day lovelies!

Disclosure: White Owl Lacquers provided to me for review. All opinions are my own. For more information please refer to my Disclosure Policy* 

Bitch Glitz Cosmetics - Chocolate Treasure and Strawberry Sunrise Swatches and Review

Hi all!

Sorry for being slightly MIA, I've been pretty busy between work and school and the little free time I have, I just crash.

Today I have 2 of the 3 Valentine's Day collection polishes from Bitch Glitz! The third polish will be up soon, apparently the pictures are still in the memory card or I lost them (sigh). Bitch Glitz is a newer indie brand featuring 3-free polishes with a dash of diamond dust and even coordinating eye shadows!

Formula for these polishes was the same across the board, perfect consistency and jam packed with glitter. I've shown 2 coats of the polish on their own on my ring finger and also layered them to show their versatility.

First up Chocolate Treasure, a brown based polish with various turquoise, gold and blue glitters. One coat over Illamasqua Taint and two coats on its own.

Second is Strawberry Sunrise, a fuschia, filled with silver, purple, pink and holo white glitters. One coat over black and two coats on its own.

Look at that shimmah! Over black you can really see the depth of the shimmery base and the mix of glitters.

I'm seriously loving these two polishes, I can picture different nail art looks with each one and the fact that they're so opaque is wonderful.

You can find Bitch Glitz on Etsy here, all full size bottles are $10 and the set of all 3 Valentine's Day polishes is $26. Make sure to like them on Facebook for new releases and previews. Ketlyn is also on Twitter (here) and Instagram (here).


I sincerely hope you're having a better day than I am!

*BG Cosmetics products were provided for my honest review. For more info, please see my Disclosure policy*

It's a Serious Love Affair - KBShimmer Shipwreck

Hi all!

Today I'm sharing what was actually my first mani of 2013! Yes, it took me this long to post because between reviews and challenge posts, this kind of got left behind. But don't let my delay in posting fool you, this is easily one of my top polishes EVER. And there is one specific reason why, which I'll mention in a second.

For this mani I started with a base of Illamasqua Cameo (amazing vivid periwinkle shade) on all my fingers then I layered two coats of KBShimmer Shipwreck. I have no words apt to describe the beautious amazingness that is Shipwreck, so I'll use Kb's own description "Ships lost at sea, churning waters, mythical creatures, and lost treasures, inspired this polish. I started with a base of a deep blue green color. Then, added several sized of hex glitters in teals, blues, greens, and purple. I can almost see these colors being on a beautiful mermaid. A hint of gold, and a pop of copper sparkle like hidden treasure and add depth to this polish". ACCURATE.

There is just so much depth in this polish, how the different glitters catch the light and look like they're floating in water with the awesome jelly base and the COPPER SPECKS. I die for those little copper glitters, I've always loved blue and copper and in this case it works SO well. As with all polishes I love, I'll give you another macro for further appreciation.

My infatuation with the copper glitters can be illustrated like so:

Source

I believe this can be built to opacity on its own in three coats and that's how I plan to wear it next time. Formula was excellent, no clumping or thickening and the glitters spread effortlessly. The jelly base might be a bit patchy on the first coat but a little careful application can prevent that.

You can find KBShimmer on their own site, their Etsy shop and Harlow & Co. for international orders, prices range depending where buy.

I'm sorry I gushed but I really like this. What do you think? Do copper bits make you as happy as they make me? Any other KBShimmers I should check out?

Have a great day and enjoy your weekend!

I Love NP - Purple Stuff Swatches & Review

Hey ladies!

Today I'm showing the 3rd I Love Nail Polish (or I <3 Nail Polish) shade that I have, Purple Stuff. Purple Stuff is"purple, wine, periwinkle, and white glitters along with a dash of white bars" (from I Love NP's etsy shop). I've done two coats over Bettina Camila, though you could get the same coverage from dabbing on a thicker coat instead.

Words cannot explain how much I love this polish. I was actually planning on buying this one (and maybe others) when I got the package from Barbra! I just love purple and I can tell this would look great over lots of different colors. Application was a breeze (as with all I Love NP polishes) and now that I have had them sitting around for a while I can say without a doubt that there is no sinking or bleeding glitter in these. Everything about the brand is high-end quality. Including the packaging!

Each polish comes in their own box with an adorable heart cutout so you can see the label on the front. If that's not your style, both the box and the polish bottle also have labels on the bottom! Also, rubberized handles make everything better. I really can't say enough good things about I <3 Nail Polish.

You can find I Love NP on Etsy and Facebook. Since I found the brand a couple of months ago, her shop is always stocked and she has amazing customer service. She also has a blog where she shares swatches of her polishes as well as regular manis.

Have a great day! (Even though its Monday :P)

*I Love NP polish was sent for review. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure policy*

I Love NP - Little Mermaid Swatches and Review

Hi all!

I wanted to lump together the other I <3 Nail Polish brand polishes in one post but I just haven't had time to swatch them and I've been actually *gasp* wearing and enjoying them! Today I'm sharing Little Mermaid. Little Mermaid is an awesome mix of small teal hexes, tiny skinny slivers and short bar glitter with some small holo pink hexes as well as teeny tiny pink squares.

One coat of Little Mermaid over Bettina Orchidea, although I think you may be able to get this opaque on its own in 3 coats.

I'm going to be honest here, I wasn't expecting to love this one as much as I did! I'm usually one for chunkier glitters that you can see from afar but, these nails gave such a nice, sparkly but soft look. Almost princessy, if you wil (see what I did there?). I also have to mention Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney movies so I was excited to have this based on the name alone :D. 

As with the previous I Love NP polish, application was like butter, clump free and no dragging. Bonus: this just needs one coat of topcoat to be smooth! I love that Barbra makes such nice glitters but they're not topcoat hungry or gritty. 

You can find I Love NP on Etsy and Facebook. Since I found the brand a couple of months ago, her shop is always stocked and she has amazing customer service. She also has a blog where she shares swatches of her polishes as well as regular manis.

Have a great day! 

*I Love NP polish was sent for review. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure policy*

New Year's Nails - I Love NP 11:59!

'Ello!

Today I'm sharing the mani I was wearing while I rung in the new year! I meant to do nail art but I was short on time and inspiration so I went with some really awesome polishes instead. I had recently received a package from Barbra, creator of I Love Nail Polish brand (you might have seen it as I Love NP or I <3 NP) and inside was this awesome glitter from her New Year's collection called 11:59 and I immediately knew I'd incorporate it into my NYE nails someway, little did I know it would be the whole mani!

I layered one coat of 11:59 over Nails Inc. Baker St. for this look. 11:59 applied beautifully, no clumping or dragging and it wasn't too thick at all. I just dabbed lightly and then polished normally to get an even coating. I topped it with just one coat of top coat and it was completely smooth! It's worth mentioning that her polishes have a different smell than most. It hit me when I first opened the bottles but it sort of dissipated after a while and it wasn't noticeable after top coat (at least to me, I always have a stuffy nose and don't really smell everything 100%).

11:59 has a variety of black glitters and gold glitter, including some type of gold flakies and CIRCLE GLITTER. I die for circle glitter, it's my new obsession. IT'S SO ROUND. I'll give you another macro so you can see the magic again. 

I love this combo so much! These pictures were taken on day 3 and you can see there's no sign of tip wear, just the tiniest amount of growth and I'm actually still wearing it as I type! Although I am itching to change it out and try some of the other I Love NP polishes I got. When I post those polishes I'll go more in depth about the packaging, which is so top notch you could forget it's an indie brand.

You can find I Love NP on Etsy and Facebook. Since I found the brand a couple of months ago her shop is always stocked and she has amazing customer service. She also has a blog where she shares swatches of her polishes as well as regular manis!

Are you as into round glitter as I am? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and I hope you all had a great and safe new year's!

*I Love NP polish was sent for review. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure policy*

Glitzology Skeleton Key & Pixie Dust - Swatches and Review

Hey everybody!

I meant to have this post up yesterday but apparently I forgot to post it... No matter though! I still have time in this year :D

Today I'm showing you the last two Glitzology polishes I have! First up is Skeleton Key. This is the last one I bought during her $5 sale. I saw black and white glitter with purple shards and hexes and it was instant love. I've shown one coat here over China Glaze Elephant Walk. Formula was a dream, a little thick but chock-full of glitter.

Finally, Pixie Dust has very fine pink holo glitter and satiny pink hexes and translucent squares in a shimmery (almost frosty but not really) base. I've shown one coat over a lavendery pink polish from Charlotte Russe. This particular polish is not my favorite because I'm not a pink lover, but it's a beautiful soft look depending on the base you use.

What do you all think of these two Glitzology polishes? I'll admit Skeleton Key is one of my favorites but I really loved all the polishes! There's something for everyone with the glitter mixes and Stacy is always willing to help with anything. I definitely have come to appreciate the personalized service from most indie sellers, you can tell there's a person behind the brand and it shows in the personal touches and it shows with Glitzology as well.

Remember to like Glitzology's page on Facebook and check her stocked Etsy shop for new polish releases and sales, right now she's having a new year's sale for 25% off with the code NEWYEARSKISS25 and if you order 4 full sized bottles, she'll include one more full sized polish for free! She's also started offering cuticle oil at her shop too, cupcake scented :D

Have a great day lovelies and a happy new year if I don't see you before!


*Glitzology Pixie Dust was sent for review. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure policy*

Glitzology Cotton Candy & As You Wish - Swatches and Review

Hi all!

Today I have a couple more Glitzology polishes to share. I bought these during her last $5.00 sale after seeing swatches on Globe & Nail. Both polishes were pretty thick and loaded with glitter but it helped to apply easily since you don't have to fish to find glitter on the brush.

First up is Glitzology Cotton Candy. It's a mix of pastel glitters in a sheer tinted base. I've shown one coat over Wet 'N Wild On a Trip and the accent nail is China Glaze It's a Trap-eze. I did this mani in a rush for a friend's birthday party and the whole look was very candy like. The tinted base in Cotton Candy has a delicious shimmer with a slight blue flash to complete the candy frosting look. I think she really nailed the inspiration from cotton candy!

Next is As You Wish, inspired by the movie The Princess Bride! I love that movie so hard, I had to have this based on the name alone but, thankfully, it's one of my favorites from Glitzology so far! I've shown one coat over SOPI Cartwheels on the Catwalk. As You Wish features matte white and holo-y teal big hexes with an assortment of smaller lavender and purple glitter. This would look great over a light purple too!

I really have to take a second to mention how sweet Stacy is. I initially messaged her because of shipping prices through etsy and she replied quickly and helped me out, no questions asked. Every single interaction with her has been great and she really is invested in creating her brand so she'll offer some things that other sellers just can't/won't. For example, she can create a custom order if you wanted to a discontinued color or want one of her polishes without bar glitter.

For news and sales, like Glitzology on Facebook and check out her stocked Etsy shop! I know she's releasing new colors (starting today, I believe) and she's currently holding a 25% off sale with the code NEWYEARSKISS25 and, if you purchase four (4) full size bottles, she'll include one more for free!

What do you think about these? Tired of glitter yet? ;)