Part 1 Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Release and Restock: April Showers

Yeah, how last week slipped by without a single post is pretty shocking for me.  I thought for sure I was back on track!  I got so wrapped up with this latest restock and all of the customs I've been working on that I just worked my butt off on polish-making without any actual time to do much of anything else!  In case you haven't been privy to my spam, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer's next restock is this coming Sunday! So, let's take a look at the April Showers Collection set for release on April 27, 2014 at 3:30 pm edt!  Get ready for some swatch spam coming your way!  Since there are so many photos, I'm going to split this reveal into two posts so I don't drive you guys crazy with too many photos!  As always, click on the photos to see them in greater detail!

As the old adage goes, April showers bring May flowers!  This is the exact image I wanted to evoke when I created my April Showers Collection.  Soft colors with unique shimmers giving a vibe of florals coated in rain.  Stock will be relatively low, but, depending on popularity, I may bring some back for the special May restock!  Here is the collection in total.  From left to right: Peruvian Lily, Cherry Blossom, Dogwood, Purple Phlox, Hydrangea, and Lady Slipper.

Peruvian Lily

Peruvian Lily – pastel orange crème with a red to gold shift.  Shown are three coats of Peruvian Lily with one coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  All photos are taken under artificial light.  The photos make it difficult to see the shimmer and shift, but it's much more vibrant in person.

Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom – pastel pink crelly with a teal to purple shift.  I've used four coats of Cherry Blossom to ensure that it would be fully opaque for my photos, but you could most likely do only three coats and be fine.  I've used one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top and photographed under artificial light.

Dogwood

Dogwood – white crelly packed with silver shimmer, purple micro-flakies, and multicolored iridescent flakies.  These photos show three coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top under artificial light.  The bald-looking spot on my ring finger is actually a large flakie.  I have no idea why it looks bald, but it's definitely not!  The flakies are a little shy, but they're definitely there!  The shimmer is super vivid even in person!

A few of the older Core Line, Winter Collection, and Valentine’s Day Collection polishes will also be restocked during this sale, which includes Watch the Walls, Self Satisfied, Tacky Winter Sweater, Skating in the Snow, Idealistic Future, and the December Duo.  Prices for these polishes will be reduced to $6 for each individual polish and $10 for the Duo.  These polishes will be retired as soon as they have sold out.

Please note, sadly, my cost of production has increased due to the rising prices of raw materials.  As such, I have had to increase the cost of future collections.  All old collection polishes will retain their old pricing.  From here on out, the pricing structure on all new collections will be as follows: $8.50 for glitters/cremes/shimmers, $12 for shifters/duos/holos, and $13 for LEs.  I appreciate your understanding!

You can purchase Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers at my store here.  Follow me on Facebook for news, updates, and giveaways!  Make sure you sign up for my newsletter to get the first look at all upcoming Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer releases as well as insider information and special discounts!

I look forward to seeing you all at the restock!  Have a great week!

Comparison Friday: Black and White Glitter Toppers

So, I'm writing this post on Thursday to auto post today because I'm at Six Flags with the hubby and a friend!  Yay!  It's been so long since I've been, so I'm pretty excited.  This week's comparison is a bit of a rehash, sort of...  I've already done a comparison here with four black and white glitter toppers, but I've since acquired the mother of all black and white glitter toppers - Lynnderella Connect the Dots!  Every time I hear Connect the Dots I think: 

So, that being said, let's take a look at Connect the Dots versus Cover Band's Sticks 'n Stones!

I purchased all of the polishes in this review.

First, here's a photo of the first comparison in case you don't feel like clicking on the link up top.

And now on to the main event!  First, the similarities.  Well, there's the obvious that they're both black and white with hexes, squares, and bars.  Also, both have some sort of iridescent shimmer to them, but that's pretty much where the similarities end!  All photos are taken with one coat of glitter topcoat over OPI Rumples Wiggin and one coat of topcoat in my old lighting setup.

Connect the Dots

Connect the Dots has a densely packed silver iridescent flakie shimmered base where Sticks 'n Stones is in a clear base with larger iridescent glitters.  Furthermore, CtD has several smaller glitters than SnS, too, with a bevy of tiny black hexes.  Application of CtD is easiest of the two, with a great glitter to base payoff.  The glitters come out of the bottle easily without the need for fishing and spread without much manipulation.  There was no danger of flooding my cuticles because I didn't feel the need to load up on polish to get enough glitter on the brush.  Cleanup was easy, and removal wasn't too bad.  You can purchase Lynnderella polishes at their store here, and since Connect the Dots is a mainstay of their core line, you can easily purchase it here!

Sticks 'n Stones

Sticks 'n Stones is lacking in the smaller glitters and the shimmered base as compared to CtD.  It's got a clunkier look as compared to CtD.  Application wasn't that great, to be honest.  The glitter to base ratio is in favor of base instead of glitter.  If you loaded up on glitter on the brush, then you'd definitely have flooding of the cuticles.  So, if you want a more dense look, you'd definitely need more than one coat.  As you can see, the middle of my nails with SnS on them have some bald spots.  That's because the glitters slid down to the sides of my fingers while it was drying.  Not awesome or cute.  Furthermore, I did have to dig some to get the glitters out of the bottle.  You can purchase Sticks 'n Stones from Ninja Polish.

So, it's pretty obvious that my choice is the Lynnderella.  What about you?  Which is your favorite?

I purchased all of the polishes in this review.

Golden Oldies Thursday: Coral

Ok, so now that I'm back on track with the Golden Oldie Thursday Challenge, let's take a look at this week's theme - Coral.  I don't own too many corals, so I was about to have to pull out something that wasn't quite a year old.  And then I had an epiphany!  I have the perfect coral that I've only worn once!  Enchanted Polish Shrimp Cocktail!  Yes, my bottles are half gone, but that's because I love my friends and try to share whenever I can.  Ok, let's hop to it!

Here is the GOT Polish schedule of events if you would like to follow along or participate.

Remember the rules:

• The polish you use must be at least a year old.
• If you haven't been a polishaholic for that long, you can use the oldest polishes you have.
• The polish should be previously used, but if you're stuck, you can use a polish from your untrieds stack.
• You can use more than one polish as long as it fits the rules.

I purchased all polishes in this post.

Shrimp Cocktail

Color:  Red leaning coral with a gold shimmer (my photos make it look a little more orange than it really is, but I couldn't fix it with my camera settings...)

Finish:  Shimmer – a polish that shimmers in the light due to fine particles that refract light.

Bottle / Brush:  Rectangle bottle - smooth cap makes for easy opening versus the ribbed caps on Lynnderellas and Elevations.  The wand is the standard length, but the brush is a little too thin to pick up large / shaped glitter without fishing.  The brush's width is also an issue for spreading.  It doesn't fan out and pretty much requires you to dab polishes that are densely packed with glitter.

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

Glitter Application:  N/A

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

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 is a lovely coral that applies easily without any cleanup, really.  This is three coats, but I can still see visible nail line, so I'd probably do four next time.  I was in a rush, though, and wanted to get everything dry before bed.  The shimmer is gorgeous and is simply lovely in the light.  I'm still wearing it, and it's going strong even after a day of cleaning the house and making polishes!  I am interested to see if it stains, though, because it's such a bright color.

Flamingo Freckles

Color:  Clear base with a sprinkling of scattered holographic pigment, purple iridescent shards, red and hot pink hexes in varying sizes.

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

Bottle / Brush:  Rectangle bottle - smooth cap makes for easy opening versus the ribbed caps on Lynnderellas and Elevations.  The wand is the standard length, but the brush is a little too thin to pick up large / shaped glitter without fishing.  The brush's width is also an issue for spreading.  It doesn't fan out and pretty much requires you to dab polishes that are densely packed with glitter.

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.  Floods the cuticles a little bit, but not very badly.

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:  This polish is way more awesome than I had imagined it would be...  The scattered holo was a surprise as I didn't really see it in the bottle.  On the nail, though, it's just stunning.  I was able to get the glitters out of the bottle easily and they spread easily on the nail.  I did have a bit of issues with pooling, but I think that's more of a user error than issue with the polish.  I also love how it pairs with Shrimp Cocktail.  It's like they were made for one another!

You can purchase Flamingo Freckles exclusively at Mei Mei's Signatures.  Shrimp Cocktail may or may not be released again via one of Enchanted's etailers like Mei Mei, but it hasn't been at her main store in quite some time.

An InLinkz Link-up

Golden Oldies Thursday: Pastels

A week late, but here I am!  I'm not overly fond of this combination, but I didn't have time to redo it, so it'll have to do.  I should've gone with either a lighter blue or maybe even a pale pink or green.  Oh well!  I'll have to try a new base color next time I wear this topper!  Let's take a look!

Here is the GOT Polish schedule of events if you would like to follow along or participate.

Remember the rules:

• The polish you use must be at least a year old.
• If you haven't been a polishaholic for that long, you can use the oldest polishes you have.
• The polish should be previously used, but if you're stuck, you can use a polish from your untrieds stack.
• You can use more than one polish as long as it fits the rules.

I purchased or received as gifts all polishes in this post.

For this challenge, I used Deborah Lippmann's Let's Hear it For the Boys and By Dany Vianna's Soft Pastels - yes it has my name on it!  I topped the look using Cult Nails Wax This...

Let's Hear it for the Boys is a pastel baby blue creme.  This is three difficult coats.  Unfortunately, LHIFTB doesn't self level, which caused some issues when it came to application.  There were some bunching issues as well as balding and clumping.  I used thicker coats to try and make it even, which made it almost impossible to dry despite the fact that I used a coat of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top before I applied the wax coat.

LHIFTB was also a mess to apply.  I got it all over myself, and the milkiness of it made it very difficult to remove from the skin.  If I had Zoya Blu for over a year, I would've much rather have used it instead.  While Blu is paler than LHIFTB, it's definitely got a much better application.  Dry time for LHIFTB took forever to dry, too, so it's definitely not in my list of top favorites.

Soft Pastels is a lovely and delicate glitter topcoat made up of mint green, lavender, and baby pink matte glitters in varying sizes.  The glitter to base ratio is light on the glitter and heavy on the base, so if you want a more dense look than what I have here, you'll need more than one coat.  Due to the glitter payoff being a bit light, you may have to fish some for the glitters.

Otherwise, application and dry time were pretty average.  The top handle and wand are a bit different, and the brush is a little more pliant than I'm used to, but I've noticed that about other Brazilian polishes as well.  It's not a bad thing by any means, but it's just a bit different.  Lastly, it's important to note that Dany's polishes are not billed as 3-free, so make sure you know this before you purchase!

You can get Deborah Lippmann's at beauty supply stores.  You can purchase By Dany Vianna polishes at Mei Mei's Signatures!

Oldie but Goodie: Color Club Glittering Wonderland

Man, the past few weeks have been insane!  Lots of stuff going on at the Blue-Eyed Girl household - cleaning the house, organizing, packaging sales, and setting up new items for my blog sale.  I've got a bunch of new items up on my blog sale, so you should definitely check them out before they're all snatched up!  I've got Lumina's, Emily de Molly's, and Nerd Lacquers as well as a ton of mainstreams and other indies.  Tonight's post is an oldie but goodie, so this is with my old lighting setup.  Let's take a look at Color Club Glittering Wonderland from the Color Club Winter Affair collection from 2012.

*I was not financially compensated for this post.  All items in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*

Color:  Deep purple with purple and blue shimmers.

Finish:  Shimmer – a polish that shimmers in the light due to fine particles that refract light.

Bottle / Brush:  Color Club – square bottle is not too hard to hold.  The wand length and brush are average.  Easy application.

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:  Hard – applies with some pooling, dragging, streaking, or balding.  Spreads well with manipulation.  Requires quick work to get a smooth result.

Stampability:  Not tested for stamping.

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

Overall Thoughts:  This was a lovely polish, but it was also scented...  While I don't normally mind certain scented polishes (see the lovely scented polishes by Model City Polish), I wasn't overly fond of the Color Club Winter Affair scents.  They were too artificial and processed for my liking.  Plus, they were wicked strong well after the initial application.  Application was a bit more difficult because there was some flooding of the cuticles.  It was a bit hard to apply evenly as well, and cleanup wasn't the best.   But just look at it...  All of the issues I had with application and the scent were made up for by the gorgeous color and stunning shimmer.  I just love a good shimmer!  

Unfortunately, these polishes have been discontinued, but you may be able to find them still lingering about at some Sally's Beauty Supply stores or on blog sales.

*I was not financially compensated for this post.  All items in this review were purchased by me for my own use.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy in the tab above.*