The Polish Bar: Winter 2014 Collection Release

Tonight, I have some pretty fantastic polishes for you.  I pretty much love everything that The Polish Bar sends me, and that's for good reason!  Her holos are the glossiest and shiniest holos around.  I have no idea how she does it, but they are all as shiny as glass.  Her Winter Collection is no exception!  It will be available December 1 at her shop.  So, instead of wasting your time, let's get to the pics and reviews!  There are tons of photos, so make sure you click on the pics to enlarge them!

Press Sample

Starlight

Seriously, that name pretty much sums it up!  It's a lovely white-silver holographic with a rainbow of iridescent microflakies that give this baby more depth.  The flakies are very apparent in person, but I just couldn't get my camera to cooperate!  I used four coats for my photos, but I probably could have used just three for full opacity.  The maker suggests using it on its own as well as over other polishes as a holo topcoat.  Dry time is average, and I needed only a little bit of cleanup, probably due to the little brush from the mini bottle.  

Without topcoat, it does have a nice shine, but it's not nearly as glossy as the other holos from this collection.  Actually, all of my Polish Bar holos have a gorgeous glassy shine without topcoat!  I do end up adding a quick dry topper, though, since I have very little patience.  Here, I've added one coat of Alter Ego She Shines.

Mystic Sky

Mystic Sky is a navy blue holo with silver microshimmers.  It's a tad thicker than Starlight, but it still had pretty good application.  The tiny brush did make it a little more difficult to get an even application, but her full size brushes are AMAZING.  

Dry time is fairly quick, so you'll need to work quickly to get this stuff on your nails, otherwise it will drag a little.  Also, you should wait until the previous coat is dry before applying the next one, which will ensure that you don't have any clumping or dragging.  I used three coats for full opacity.  If you can only get one from this collection, this would be my first choice - followed closely by Starlight.

Star Voyage

Star Voyage is a lovely berry red holographic with a gold microshimmer.   Much like with Mystic Sky, it is on the thicker side.  The mini brush made evening it out a little difficult, but I know (and love) her full size brushes will make application smooth and easy.  I was in a bit of a hurry, so I did have to do some minimal cleanup.  

I used three coats for full opacity, but I left the topcoat off of this one so you can see the shine.  Although, it is a bit difficult to see how glossy it is in full sun.  Dry time is about average without a quick dry topcoat.

Cosmic Sea

Cosmic Sea is a green holographic polish with green, pink, purple, and blue holographic glitters.  If you're still looking for a Christmas mani, I would seriously recommend Cosmic Sea!  It looks like a Christmas tree with lights and ornaments on it.  It's a sheer almost jelly polish, so you can see the depth of glitter and holo together very easily.  

Although it is a sheerer and thinner formula, I was easily able to build it up in three coats.  I used one coat of She Shines, and everything was smooth and glossy.  I probably could have forgone the topcoat, but I was in a rush and didn't want it to smudge while I was taking photos.

Dream Galaxy

Dream Galaxy is a lovely indigo linear holographic base with green, blue, pink, purple, and burgundy metallic and holographic glitters.  Much like with Cosmic Sea, it is a thinner and sheerer formula than the other holos. 

I was able to build it up easily in three coats.  Cleanup was easy and didn't stain my skin like a lot of blues tend to do.  Dry time is average.

As I stated above, these lovely polishes will be available at her shop starting Monday, December 1st.  Make sure you follow The Polish Bar's Facebook and Instagram for news and updates!  Which are you most excited to grab?

The Polish Bar Summer of 2014 Collection

So, I received these next two polishes a looong time ago, had some bad breaks and bad skin issues going on, and put them to the side.  Then, I completely forgot about them because I'm a bad blogger.  My bad!!  Buuut, Janice is super cool and totally let me off the hook about it.  And what's even luckier is that these guys are still available on her store!!  So, without further ado, let's get to work on Sail Away and Pink Cosmos!

Press Samples

Sail Away

Color: Medium teal holographic with silver sparkles.

Finish:  Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.

Bottle / Brush:  Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.  I really do think that the issues I had with application on this guy was because of the mini bottle.

Opacity:  Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.

Glitter Application:  N/A

Consistency:  Thick – thick or it can be clumpy, but is easily remedied with some polish thinner.

Overall Ease of Application:  Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  However, tends to clump up a little if you go over spots that were still wet.

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.

Overall Thoughts:  Much like The Polish Bar's other holos, this little baby dries to a high gloss finish.  I just love how she manages to get that gorgeous shine in her finished product!  You don't really need a topcoat, but I use one anyway because I'm way too impatient to wait for it to dry.  This particular polish was a bit on the thicker side and tended to clump up a little without self-leveling.  However, I wholeheartedly believe that the mini bottles are the main culprit for application issues because the brush doesn't fan out enough to cover my nail in only a few swipes.  I probably could've added a touch of thinner to it, but I was running out of time and couldn't really wait for any possible bubbles from shaking the thinner in to die down.  The silver shimmer in both of these is just so pretty and gives these polishes just a little more depth than an average holo.


Pink Cosmos

Color:  Hot pink with silver shimmers.

Finish:  Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.

Bottle / Brush:  Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.  Again, I believe that the issues I had with application was because of the mini bottle.

Opacity:  Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.

Glitter Application:  N/A

Consistency:  Thick – thick or it can be clumpy, but is easily remedied with some polish thinner.

Overall Ease of Application:  Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  However, it tends to clump up a little if you go over spots that were still wet.

Stampability:  Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time:  Quick – dry to the touch without smudging in under 3 minutes.

Overall Thoughts:  Unlike most of The Polish Bar's holos, Pink Cosmos actually dries matte!  Because of that, you'll need to work quickly when you apply, or you run the risk of clumping.  Again, I think that the mini brushes on the bottles make application a little more difficult because they don't fan out very wide.  However, because it's matte, it does dry much more quickly than the high gloss holos.  The silver shimmers are probably more noticeable in Pink Cosmos than in any of the other polishes from this collection that I've reviewed.  I own a lot of pink holos, but I really love that added sparkle!

You can purchase The Polish Bar polishes at their store here.  Follow Janice on Facebook and Instagram for news and updates!

The Polish Bar's Summer 2014 Collection!

Tonight, I have a very lovely couple of polishes, both of which come from The Polish Bar's Summer 2014 Collection!  These polishes will be available starting Friday, July 11, at 10 am pdt.  There are five total polishes in the collection, which are all holographics, and I have two for you tonight!  I'll have a third for you guys later, but it got smashed in the mail, hence the lack of labels on tonight's bottles.  Yet another reason why I don't really like the post office, lol.  Without further ado, let's take a look at Berry Slushie (left) and Coral Sun (right).  Application is pretty much exactly the same for both polishes, but I'll do a full review for each anyway.  As always, click on the photos for more detail.

Press samples

Berry Slushie

Color:  medium pink with a linear holo effect and silver sparkles with a golden flash.

Finish:  Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.

Bottle / Brush:  Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.

Opacity:  Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.

Glitter Application:  N/A

Consistency:  Fluid – thin but flows easily from the brush.

Overall Ease of Application:  Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability:  Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time:  Quick – dry to the touch without smudging in under 3 minutes.

Overall Thoughts:  This little beauty is a bit of a chameleon!  In one light it looks straight up berry, in the shade it looks like a muted pink, but then at sunset, it takes on a coral glow with a golden flash.  Application was super easy, as is always the case with TPB's holos, and it dries super glossy.  I used a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top simply because I didn't have enough time to wait for it to dry on its own, but rest assured, this little baby dries to a glossy finish all on its own.  That's something I don't find in any other brand than TPB.  The finish of Berry Slushie is a bit more holo than Coral Sun, but it has that same squishy crelly texture to it.  It was easier to build to opacity, and I probably could've gone with two coats.  However, I did three just to make sure there weren't any bald spots in the photos.  The silver shimmers were super hard to pick up in my photos, but they are very apparent in person.  It gives this holo a little umph that's missing from the other berry-colored holos on the market, and I really like that!

Coral Sun

Color:  Orange-leaning coral with a linear holo effect and gold sparkles.

Finish:  Holographic – pigment gives polish a rainbow in the sunshine.

Bottle / Brush:  Round mini bottle – wand and brush are just long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.  However, the fact that it’s a mini makes application a little tricky.  Requires a steady hand to apply evenly without pooling.

Opacity:  Medium – achieves opacity at three to four coats.

Glitter Application:  N/A

Consistency:  Fluid – thin but flows easily from the brush.

Overall Ease of Application:  Easy – applies well without pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads evenly and smoothly.

Stampability:  Not tested for stamping.

Dry Time:  Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes.  Let's just ignore that dent on my middle finger, mkay?

Overall Thoughts:  Again, TPB makes some seriously glossy polishes, y'all.  This baby looked amazing even without topcoat, but it took a little longer to dry, which means I had to add a layer of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  CS isn't quite as opaque as Berry Slushie, but it did build well in three coats.  Although, I probably could've done one more coat to get a richer look.  I like the creaminess of TPB's holos, as they all tend to feel more like a crelly than a straight up creme based polish.  Much like with Berry Slushie, the golden shimmers add an extra depth that you don't get in many of the other holos on the market, and they are way easier to see in person than via my photos.  The only thing that bothers me about this polish is that my camera is a total punk and won't get the color right.  The photos show this polish to be much more orange than it really is, but it is actually a true coral mix of pink and orange.  The sunlight photos (the first three photos up top) probably come the closest to the color, but it leans even a little more pink than that.  Just keep that in mind when you look at my photos - they are just ever so slightly off.  I don't color correct, either, so I apologize that I can't fix it for you.  And, honestly, that's my only complaint - the my camera was being a jerk!  It's a seriously lovely coral polish that's pretty unique to my stash!

The Polish Bar's Summer 2014 Collection will be here in two days on the 11th!!!  Get ready to snag them at 10 am pdt.  They will cost $11 each, and you can pick them up at her store here.  Follow TPB on Facebook and Instagram for news and updates!  So what do you think?  I think I'm definitely going to need to grab Pink Cosmos (a bright pink linear holo with silver sparkles!) at the very least if not more!

Press samples