All That Glitters

White Glitter? I'm there.

I used one coat of All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Light over two coats of China Glaze Surfin' For Boys. I finished the manicure with Butter London Matte Finish. Oh, I love BL's matte topcoat. Spotty can be a bit thick so I recommend dotting on the glitter. Surfin' For Boys applied really well. I recommend two to three coats to reach opacity.

Now, I think the base color looks a bit brighter when matte and a touch more pink than what these pictures show. The following picture is from my cell phone:

Surfin' For Boys is not this bright or pink, however, I think my index finger shows the true undertones of the polish.

Matte-y goodness.

All That Glitters polish can be purchased on Etsy for $8.

Hot Mess Lacquers Cupcake

The pictures I took of Hot Mess Lacquers Cupcake were challenging to edit. I struggled to decide between indoor lighting, outdoor, lightbox, etc. because Cupcake's base looks so different in all of these situations. Sure, that can be said of every color ever, but Cupcake is special... because I said so. I think the following pictures show the polish in a well-lit or outdoor lighting situation.

This is three coats of Hot Mess Lacquers Cupcake with one coat Seche Vite top coat.There's some VNL, but I don't mind. This polish is good candidate for layering, so I may just try it and post results later.

Cupcake's base reminds me of photos I've seen of Nars Orgasm blush, except with awesome color-shifting square glitter (orange-green), large silver holographic hexes, gold glitter, and some awesome purple micro glitter (color-shifting, maybe?). 

Here's a cell phone shot to show a pretty neat effect I wasn't able to capture with my point and shoot camera:

Oooh, holographic glitter. Ain't it grand? Check out the macro shot below to see all (or most) of the complexities of Cupcake.

Cupcake applied really smoothly. However, the large holographic glitters were stuck on the sides and bottom of the bottle (usually happens in transit). I simply placed the bottle upside down and after a couple of minutes, I was able to get some holo glitter on the brush (victory!). 

The base color of this polish isn't what I normally reach for, however, the selection of glitter swayed me. This decadent polish is a winner.

Oh! I couldn't fit the mailers in my lightbox all that well, so I just went with the lazy-day-in-bed way to show you the cute packaging of HML!

Hot Mess Lacquers can be purchased on Etsy for $9* and Copious for $10*. HML also has cuticle balm for $4-$9. (I'll review that in a few weeks.)

You can use my referral link to earn $10 to spend on Copious.

*Prices may vary.

Lush Lacquer Birthday Cake

I'm going to party like it's my birthday...in 2013. My birthday has come and gone, but that's no reason to forego wearing this cute polish.

 

When I first got Lush Lacquer Birthday Cake I felt like a huge mistake; the polish was thick and basically a (small) glitter bomb on the brush. So I kept in my helmer for months feeling like it would be a hassle to apply and not worth the trouble. Today I decided would the day to finally use thinner and hope for OK application.

Well, folks, I was so wrong about this polish. It is a small glitter bomb and it does look thick, but with thinner it is easy to apply (phew). I used two coats of Birthday Cake on each finger. The only thing one has to look out for is the short bar glitter not going over the free edge, but that's easy to resolve. I love the mix of pink, purple, orange, blue, gold, and green glitter.

Lush Lacquer Birthday Cake can be purchased on Etsy for $8.75 (15ml). 

Nightmares and Gemscapes

Today I have a polish made my boyfriend, a Stephen King fan.

Nightmares and Gemscapes is a black jelly polish that has red, green (metallic) , teal, purple, and white glitter. I applied two coats of Nightmares and Gemscapes on each nail, with the exception of my ring finger, which is one coat Nightmares and Gemscapes over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out. I apologize for the bubbling, I was in a hurry and didn't let each layer dry :X

Underwater Refuge

Today I have some more of my polish swatches!

 I used two coats Underwater Refuge over each nail, not including my ring finger. On my ring finger I used one coat Underwater Refuge over one coat China Glaze Calypso Blue. (I injured my middle finger, so I decided to cover up the injury with a heart.)

Underwater Refuge has green, pastel green, teal, aqua, blue, and navy hexes and green shimmer in a medium blue jelly base. In the macro show below the blue glitter is the largest glitter, followed by the teal glitter. The green glitter (third smallest) looks teal in the photo, but is indeed green glitter.

Iceberg Ahead

This is two coats of Iceberg Ahead. IA has aqua shred glitter and aqua shimmer in a "dirty" blue base. It is sheer at one coat but builds to opacity in two to three coats (that, of course, depends on how thin/thick each coat is). My favorite thing about this polish is the base color - it goes from a smoky blue to a medium blue, depending on the lighting of the room you are in. The macro shot below shows a few more details.

Edit: Well, now I'm rethinking the name Cloudy Disposition. Iceberg Ahead, maybe. Yep, I changed it.

Unnamed polish

This is two coats of my unnamed polish. It has orange and red hex glitter with copper shimmer in a vibrant blue base. The base can sometimes look dark blue (indoor lighting) or bright blue, depending on the lighting. Sometimes the base can even look purple (or blurple). The macro shot below gives you a clearer picture of the glitter.

I'm still fiddling around with my lightbox lighting, so my photos aren't where I want them to be. Hopefully I'll have all that figured out soon!

Floam!

L to R: Nail Venturous Floam and Coverband Sticks 'n' Stones

Floam has neon yellow and teal/blue glitter in a clear base. Application can sometimes be tricky, but I find brushing it on to be easy as long as the previous coat has dried. Patting on the glitter also works well for any patchiness.

Who has heard of using PVA glue as a base coat for glitter nail polish? I've read really good things about using it, so I decided it to give it a try under two coats of Floam. SUCCESS! It was so easy to remove Floam. Most of the nail polish came off in full sheets and the tiny bits left behind were easy to peel/scratch off. No (visible) damage was done to my nails. I think this method will encourage more glitter polish usage :X

You can purchase Floam (and other Nail Venturous polish) on Ninja Polish for $9.

Hand Mixed Nail Polish

L to R: unnamed, cloudy disposition, nightmares and gemscapes, and underwater refuge

Oh, how I love my polishes! I really enjoyed making these, except for nightmares and gemscapes - that is my boyfriend's creation. I eventually want to sell small batches of these polishes, because I really do feel proud of these creations and if someone has similar taste, they might like them too. I haven't figured out a brand name or when to open up shop (mid-late October, maybe).

Nightmares and Gemscapes and Underwater Refuge have been marinating for about 3-4 months, the unnamed polish is at 2-3 months, and Cloudy Disposition is at 1 month (I tested CD's glitter in base beforehand, now it is just marinating in its final form to insure I've made a good product!). So far so good.

Swatches coming soon...

Rainbow Honey Koi Pond

I've had Rainbow Honey Koi Pond for months and during that time I wondered what to layer it over. Last night I finally decided on China Glaze Agro. 

I used one coat of Koi Pond over two coats of Agro. Agro's application was flawless. Koi Pond is a tad thick, so I brushed it down the center of my nail, then patted on the rest of the glitter I needed. Some people find this annoying, but I don't find it to be a huge problem. I used one coat Gelous followed by one coat Seche Vite. 

Koi Pond really is a brilliantly put together polish. The color scheme is just phenomenal and has my favorite color combination (blue and orange). 

You can purchase Rainbow Honey polish on their website for $10 (15ml) and $5 (mini).