Northern Star Day Dream & Elevation Pic de Sotllo

Tonight's post is of a mani I did sometime last year.  I've been working on clearing out older photos while I go polish-free for a bit.  This is one that I was surprisingly pleased with as I wasn't sure that I would like such a bold combo.  Tonight's post features Northern Star Polish Day Dream, which I received in a swap from the maker, and Elevation Polish Pic de Sotllo, which has been my go-to klein blue for a while.  Let's take a closer look.

I purchased one and received the other in a swap.

Pic de Sotllo is a lovely bright blue creme that dries with a satin finish.  Application is easy as it has a nice consistency without pooling on my skin.  You do need to be a tad careful with application, though, because it may stain a bit if you accidentally get it on your skin.  Dry time was quick, but I used a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top to get that glassy look I love.

Day Dream is a gorgeous fuchsia jelly packed with fuchsia and gold hexes and bright blue squares.  I had been wanting to wear it for a while, but I wasn't sure what color I wanted to pair it with.  As I sat down and started going through my stash for a good match for fuchsia undies, I started to think, hmmm, maybe I could try it as accents with a blue?  As soon as I put it on, I knew that this was a match made in heaven.  

Day Dream applies easily without the need to manipulate or dig for the glitter.  It is a jelly, so I ended up using three coats for full coverage.  It's not topcoat hungry, so I only needed one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top to gloss it up.  Dry time was average, and cleanup was average for a glitter.

You can purchase Pic de Sotllo here.  Sadly, it appears that Day Dream has been discontinued, but you can purchase other Northern Star polishes here.

So, what do you think?  Do you like bold looks, or do you prefer something a little more dainty?  I think I'm definitely going to branch out and use brighter and bolder combos more often.

Red Coat Tuesday: Pahlish Blood of the Mountain

Holy wow, you guys!  I'm going on almost a full month of blogging!  I can't believe it!  I really do think that moving away from my uber detailed review has been helpful in the long run...  While I do miss the info dump, I'm hoping I still give you guys enough information to really get the gist of a polish.

Purchased myself.

Guess what time it is???  It's #RedCoatTueday!  I totally missed the premiere last week, so this is my first mani getting back into the swing of things.  I'm also missing the link up, so I'll add that as soon as I get it.  This week's episode!!!  Omg!!!  All I'll say is Jason.  Mmm mmm mmm, Jason, hah!  Ok, sorry, let's get back on track and take a look at tonight's offering, Pahlish Blood of the Mountain with an accent of Lynnderella Tidy Whities.

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First, the rules!

• Paint your nails red, do your lips red, do a shadow design in red, or do anything beauty related that is mostly red.
• Add your blog and photo to the inlinkz!  If you don't have a blog but do have an IG, you can check this link for directions on how to use your IG for inlinkz.  If you don't have a blog or IG, you can just add your photo to the linkup or send it to Color Me So Crazy, and she will get them up for you!
• Use the #RedCoatTuesday tag when you share your photos on IG, Twitter, or Facebook!

Let me just say this up front...  I'm not in love with this combo by any means.  It was one of those things where I thought it would look good in my head, but as soon as it was on my nails I knew I was wrong.  Oh well!  I'm not going to let perfectly good photos go to waste!  Let's take a look, shall we?

Blood of the Mountain is a burgundy/ox blood linear holographic with golden flakies and some on-tone red holo glitters.  Application was a bit rough.  BotM has a super thick consistency, so it was a bit gloopy for me.  The consistency made it difficult to apply, so it looks (and was) quite a bit thicker than I usually like.

Thankfully, it was self-leveling, so it looks smooth even though it was anything but when I applied it.  Because it's a thicker formula, it also took some time to dry.  Lastly, it dried a bit textured and rough because of all of the extra flakies and glitters in it.  I'm used to this and don't mind it, though.  I only needed to use one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top to give it a glossy look.

Tidy Whities is a white shimmered base packed with rainbow iridescent glitters as well as large (read chunky) matte and satin white glitters in various shapes and sizes.  The shimmered base gives it a bit of a milky feel even though it's not really a crelly or colored base.  It's just so extremely shimmered that it didn't really play well with the red undies.

Application was much like many other Lynnderellas, meaning that it's so packed with glitter that it's a bit thick, dense, and required dabbing to get even coverage.  The glitters were so densely packed into the bottle that they were very easy to get out - even the larger shapes.  The bar glitters didn't curl up, either, which is fantastic, because they usually do and that drives me insane.  I used an extra coat of topcoat to make it smooth and glossy.

You can purchase Lynnderellas at their shops here and here.  You can purchase Pahlish at her shop here.  So, what do you think?  You like?  Are you a PLL fan?  If you are, do you spend most of your time each episode screaming and throwing things at the TV because those girls are just soooo dumb?  Yeah, thought so, lol.  And that's why it's a guilty pleasure!

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Grey and Pink

Man, I almost let the post slide tonight because I've been laid up all day with a horrible fever and cough.  But, I didn't want to give in, so here we are!  Apparently, this week is going to be an Enchanted focused week!  Tonight, we're going to take a look at a lovely grey and pink combo using Enchanted Once Upon a Cloud as accents with Lynnderella Pink Sapphire Stilettos.

Purchased By Me or Gifted by Friend

Once Upon a Cloud is a lovely medium grey linear holographic with loads of pink shimmers.  This was a polish she surprise restocked, so I was very fortunate to grab it when it was listed on her shop.  Application for OUAC is pretty amazing just like with almost all of the EP's I own.  It applied easily without pooling or streaking.  You could probably wear it with just one coat, but I chose to wear it in two for my photos.

Pink Sapphire Stilettos is a pink jelly based polish packed with hot pink metallic and holographic glitters.  Even though it's a glitter, application was relatively easy, and I only needed to lightly dab to get the glitters to spread evenly.  Unlike many Lynnderella glitters, PSS is actually fully opaque on its own in two coats!  I didn't need undies, so I didn't use any this go around.  I did use an extra coat of topcoat to tame the glitters a bit and give them a glossy look.

Sadly, these two are unavailable for purchase (I'm sorry I keep doing that to you guys!), but you can find them up for sale on blog sales pretty frequently.  Otherwise, you can purchase Enchanted Polishes at her shop here and Lynnderellas at their shops here and here.

Lucky 13: Doctor Who!

So, technically, I wore this mani a while ago, but I figured I'd bring it back out again since we're back in the full swing of Doctor Who again!  So far, I'm really digging the new Doctor.  He's pretty different, so I'm definitely going to have to get used to his pacing.  However, I'm really really happy with the season thus far.  What do you guys think?  So, let's get to tonight's offering, which is a lovely duo from Lucky 13 Lacquer, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey and You Sexy Thing.  Since the name of the game recently has been getting through really old swatch photos where I stupidly didn't write down my impressions, who am I to stray from that theme!  So, check out some photos with a little bit of commentary!

Purchased myself.

First, let's talk a little bit about You Sexy Thing!

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YST is a lovely blue shimmer that only takes two coats for full opacity!  Application was super smooth and didn't pool up or flood my skin.  It required very little cleanup, too, which is aces in my book.  Dry time was quick but I wore it with a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey is probably the best quote from all of Doctor Who - hands down - and it's probably my favorite polish from this collection.

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WWTW is a blue jelly based polish packed with sky blue hexes, squares, stars, and moons.  While this jelly would build in about three coats, I decided to wear it in one coat over YST.  I really liked the look of this combo, but it is lacking the depth that you'd get if you wore it alone.  It was pretty smooth even without the need for an extra layer of topcoat.  Dry time was average.

You can purchase Lucky 13 polishes at her store here.  Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.  So, what do you think?  Who is your favorite doctor (I'm a 10 girl here)?  Are you digging Capaldi so far?

Pretty Little Liars: 100th Episode | Summer of Untrieds Glitter in Colored Base

Tonight's post will double as both #RedCoatTuesday AND! #summerofuntrieds day 8: Glitter in a Colored Base!  Normally, I try to put all of my July Untried Challenge manis into one post a week, but tonight's post really went well with the theme for today, and both polishes I used were untried!  So, let's hop to it!

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The rules are easy!

• Paint your nails red, do your lips red, do a shadow design in red, or do anything beauty related that is mostly red.
• Add your blog and photo to the inlinkz!  If you don't have a blog but do have an IG, you can check this link for directions on how to use your IG for inlinkz.  If you don't have a blog or IG, you can just add your photo to the linkup or send it to Color Me So Crazy, and she will get them up for you!
• Use the #RedCoatTuesday tag when you share your photos on IG, Twitter, or Facebook!
• Tonight's extra rule was to add a 100 in your design somewhere to commemorate the 100th episode!

For this week's challenge, I wore Nerd Lacquer Warrior Ethos with an accent of Alter Ego Nymph of the Night, which was a gift from Cynthia, Alter Ego's creative genius, as part of an indie polish maker swap.  I then used Zoya Sookie to add in the 100 and -A using the brush from a Kiss striper.  This review will focus on Warrior Ethos mostly, but I'll mention a few notes about the AE in the Overall Thoughts portion below.

I purchased the Nerd and Sookie myself.

Color: Candy red jelly base with purple iridescent, red, gold, and black glitters in varying sizes.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush:  Round bottle – the brush and wand are the standard width and length.  Easy to control and manipulate.

Opacity: High – opaque at two coats!  Yes, TWO.  A jelly based glitter that is opaque in TWO COATS.  Uncanny.

Glitter Application: Difficult – difficult to dig the glitters out of the bottle, but spreads evenly once you get them out.  The glitters are hard to get out of the bottle because they sink...  That is probably my biggest gripe about this polish.  I had to turn it upside down for quite some time to get the glitters top the top, and even then they had a tendency to settle back down as I was painting.

Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

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

Overall Thoughts:  I was so surprised when I applied WE and it was only two coats.  That is probably the thing I was most excited about, to be honest.  Plus, the glitters laid flat and didn't require the use of any tamer to smooth out.  I used one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top, and the glitter looked glossy and felt perfectly smooth, which was awesome!  There's nothing I hate more than thick layers and chunky glitters on my fingers.  Because I only needed to use two coats and one coat of topcoat, it dried super fast!  Like I said above, my only real complaint about WE is the sinking glitters, but it's not so horrible that a little flip upside down wouldn't fix.  Alter Ego's Nymph of the Night is a blackened base polish with ultra micro fine red glitters that dries matte.  Application is tough on the first coat because it's matte, so you have to work quickly to make sure it doesn't drag.  After that first coat, though, application is super easy and self leveling.  While the matte looks pretty awesome in its own right, I have to say that I fell in love with the way this polish looked with topcoat.  The subtle shimmer really pulled this look together.  I did some crappy as always nail art to commemorate the 100th episode using Zoya Sookie and a brush from my silver glitter Kiss Nail Art striper.  I'm not good at freehanding, so I wasn't really pleased with this.  I should've known better, though, because I can't even write with a normal pen much less a floppy skinny brush, hah!   That's definitely something on my list to work on - free hand nail art that doesn't look like the nail polish equivalent of macaroni jewelry...  I'll keep trying, though!

Sadly, Nerd Lacquer hasn't been the most reliable with regards to restocks...  or even actual delivery of her products.  I've really enjoyed working with this polish, though, so I would recommend nabbing it if you see it on a blog sale.  As I mentioned above, Nymph of the Night was a special edition created for a group, but you can purchase other Alter Ego polishes here.  Follow her on Facebook and IG for news and updates.  Lastly, you can purchase Zoyas at most beauty supply shops.

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Digital Nails and Ellagee Fi-Bros for Life Collab

Oh. My. GAWD.  I'm so in love with the creative geniuses that are Digital Nails and Ellagee!  Today's post is a super special one as it is dedicated to Fibromyalgia awareness because today is Fibromyalgia Awareness day!  Here's a little bit of info about the duo and the reason for its creation from the makers themselves!

Taken directly from the Digital Nails Facebook Page:

     Earlier this year I had the opportunity to hang out with Laura, the creator behind ellagee & we hit it off immediately! Other than having the common thread of being a small business owner and indie polish creator, upon countless other things, we found of that we share something way less fun, we both have Fibromyalgia!
     It is so important to keep to keep a sense of humor when dealing with anything so awful, so we decided to to a collaboration project to help bring some awareness to the public, but mostly as an excuse to hang out and just have fun with someone who really and truly understands.  I am so glad to have found a friend like Laura!
     We had the MOST fun putting this project together! We wanted to make something that symbolizes fibromyalgia and other invisible illnesses, but also wanted to keep it light because you've just gotta keep laughing.
     The two polishes we created are exclusive to the limited edition collaboration box which will be available from Monday, May 12 through Thursday, June 11. Pre-orders will begin on Monday in both shops and the first shipment will go out on Friday, May 16.

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

So, let's get started!  The package you get will include both polishes, Chronic Badass and Whack with Poo Brain, as well as a few other goodies that include nail charms!  I'm not going to show you guys all of the stuff in the box because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!  First, we'll take a look at the lovely Whack with Poo Brain!  (And before you get all O.o about the name, it comes from an Adventure Time episode.)  Get ready for a lot of photos!  As always, click on the photo to see it in greater detail!

Color: Light purple with purple, pink, white, and black hexes and dots in varying sizes and small blue/green iridescent glitters that just glow.

Finish: Glitter Jelly – glitter in a colored jelly base.

Bottle / Brush: Round bottle – the wand is the standard length, but the brush is a super fat and wide one.  If you've got smaller nails, you may have a difficult with application.  However, the larger brush makes it easier to get the larger glitters out of the bottle.

Opacity: Medium – achieves opacity at three coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency: Thick – on the thicker side but doesn't need thinner.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well with minimal pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well without much manipulation.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

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

Overall Thoughts: The first coat goes on super sheer, and I was afraid that I probably should have used undies instead of doing thick layers.  However, it was fairly opaque in two coats with just a slight hint of the nail line underneath.  I really liked the jelly sandwich look with this polish, but I think it would also look nice over a similar shade creme.  Application was relatively easy, but I had some issues getting it on my side walls.  I think that's due to user error and not polish error, though, so keep that in mind.  I like that it's purple, which is the Fibromyalgia awareness color.


Now, we'll take a look at Chronic Badass!

Color: Clear base with black and purple hexes and squares, fuchsia dots, black stars, and purple and silver holo butterflies.

Finish: Glitter Top Coat – glitter in a clear base to be worn as a top coat.

Bottle / Brush: Round bottle – the brush and wand are the standard width and length.  Easy to control and manipulate.

Opacity: Glitter topcoat – not designed for full opacity.

Glitter Application: Medium – requires the dab method, but glitters are easy to extract and spread evenly.

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 designed for stamping.

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

Overall Thoughts: This glitter topcoat is a lovely tribute to Fibromyalgia awareness as it mixes both purple and the symbol of Fibro awareness, butterflies!  I'm one of those people who loves butterfly glitters, so this topper was especially fun for me.  Application was super easy, and the glitter to base ratio was perfect, and I only needed one coat with the dab method to get great coverage.  Most photos show CB over Zoya Julie, but I've included some below that are CB over WwPB.  It was a little busy, but not in a bad way.  I received two butterfly charms, so I wore one over just Julie on my accent nail.  The charms will vary from box to box, so you may receive a different fun shape.

Here are the two layered over one another.  There's a lot going on, but it doesn't look bad.  It's actually kind of cool!  And the varying glitters give it depth!  This is three coats of WwPB and one coat of CB.

You can purchase this limited edition set at both Ellagee's and Digital Nails' stores.  They will go up for sale tonight at 6 pm central time.  They will be available for the next month, so make sure you grab one while you can!  Follow both lovely ladies on Facebook, IG, and Twitter for more updates and information on new releases!  (Digital Nails FB, IG, Twitter | Ellagee FB, IG, Twitter).  

*I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*