Case of the Blues: Sassy Lacquer Dawns Dew

With the end of this project in sight, I sighed in relief.  Until, that is, they decided to get an extension so we could continue on this insane project for another week.  Now, I'm just sighing.  There go my plans to hit up Disney this weekend!  Meh.  Oh, and let me just tell you, time changes suck.  They need to keep it one way or another.  This stupid variation is killer!!!!  Ugh.  So, I guess you can say that today, I have the case of the blues.  And the Mondays.  Maybe a little of both.  Or a lot of both?  Fitting that I'm rocking some seriously killer blue nails!

First, I want to show you a quick peek at my undies for this mani.  They'll be up on the blog shortly for a Comparison Thursday post, but here's the ombre I used as my base mani.

Deborah Lippmann Dancing in the Sheets, Elevation Alphubel, OPI What's With the Cattitude, Barry M Blueberry Ice cream, and China Glaze Electric Beat.

I chose to top these guys off with an indie called Dawns Dew [sic] by Sassy Lacquer.  (Read my interview with Carrie of Sassy Lacquer here.)

Color: Super sheer blue with fine blue and pink shimmering micro glitters.

Ignore the smudge on my middle finger...  I ran out of time, so it had to stay.  Womp womp!

Finish: Sheer – a polish that is sheer like a jelly, but has shimmer.  Not squishy like a jelly.  Best over darker colors.

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: Low – it requires several coats for opacity, but you'll never really get rid of visible nail line.  This is pretty much best used as a topper over other polishes.  It's so sheer that I couldn't get it to build up enough to cover my visible nail line.  However, it looks great over other colors and transforms darker colors into something special.

Here it is over black and white.

Glitter Application: Easy – Spreads evenly without much manipulation.  Like with Tiger Lily Wears Pink, Dawns Dew has super fine micro glitters that come out of the bottle easily and spread without any need to manipulate.

Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.  It was almost perfect.  I didn't even need to do any cleanup - and this is my right hand, guys.  I'm not so awesome at polish application with my left hand, so the application for Dawns Dew is something special.

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

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Dry Time: Medium – dry to the touch with minimal smudging in 3-8 minutes. Overall Thoughts: Dawns Dew is a very pretty blue shimmer looks best over darker colors.  The micro glitters slightly detract from lighter colors by giving them a speckled look, which is actually trendy right now so it's not really a negative.  You just don't notice the blue sheen and pink shimmers as much over lighter colors as you do over darker.  It completely transforms mid-range and darker colors showing off it's beautiful shift from blue to pink.  Application was amazing.  It applied evenly, spread well, and I didn't screw up my right hand, which is fantastic since it's now my swatching hand!  Even though I'm not usually really into sheers like this, I'm very pleased with Dawns Dew.  It's extremely pretty while also being fairly unique.

You can purchase Dawns Dew from Sassy Lacquer's store.  Follow Carrie on her blog and Facebook for more information, news, and updates.

What's your favorite sheer?

*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.* 

Wear Test: Sassy Lacquer Tiger Lily Wears Pink

Wow oh wow!  Today has been INSANE.  I have decided that my job the past week and a half goes a little bit like this:

Or maybe even...

With a little bit of...

Perhaps?  And that may even be an understatement, lol.  Between all the work and having to wear boring manis while meeting with partners at the firm, I was able to actually get in a very pretty pink, Sassy Lacquer's Tiger Lily Wears Pink, as a wear test!  First, let's learn a little bit about Sassy Lacquer's creator, Carrie!

1) What was your inspiration for this collection, other than the obvious April Flowers concept?

Spring Showers Bring May Flowers. The grass green of spring for Emerald Meadow, the dancing in the wind daffodils for the yellow one, the first flower of spring that pops through the snow-the crocus, the blue mist of the rain, the morning’s first dew, Tiger Lily’s – My Fav flower ever-had them in my wedding bouquet. 

2) What was your inspiration for your brand name?

My Last name is Sasville, I came up with Sassy Nails for a part of my blog, since it focuses on not only my life, but my hobby’s and then turned that into Sassy Lacquer for the business. I also have another side business Sassy Sweets by Carrie 

3) How did you become interested in creating your own polish line?

I don’t really remember, I have always been crafty. It was soon after my hoarding, I mean collecting of polish began, I ran into a group of Frankener’s and just ‘got’ into it...started ordering supplies, and thought hey, why not sell them....

4) Tell me 3 fun facts that people wouldn't ordinarily know about you.  (Hobbies, interests, history, etc)

I love to go on midnight drives, by myself to clear my head....most of the time just back roads or I jump on the interstate and go up an exit and back, or a couple times I have circled Tampa Bay, going over the SkyWay Bridge in St. Petersburg. (Florida)

I hide the last of the ‘good’ (meaning bad for you) food from the kids and hubby and eat it when they aren’t around or in bed, LOL!

I have another business, Sassy Sweets by Carrie. I make cakes and cookies and lots of other things. https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sassy-Sweets-By-Carrie/301067029903448

First, let's take a look at the basic rundown for Sassy Lacquer's Tiger Lily Wears Pink, then we can get into the wear test.

Day One

Color: Pink with darker pink micro glitters and pink shimmer with a slight touch of gold shimmer.

Finish: Shimmer – polish that shimmers pink and gold in the light.

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 coats.

Glitter Application: Easy – the glitter is so fine in TLWP that it spreads evenly without much manipulation.

Consistency: Thick – This one was tricky, but not for the normal reasons that a polish is tricky.  It applied thickly but was self-leveling.  The first two coats are thick and a little clumpy, but you don't notice it at all after a few minutes because it levels off on its own.  I think a drop or two of thinner couldn't hurt especially if the bottle's been open for a little while you're polishing your nails.  It's not really an issue, nor is it distracting, though.  I just wanted to make sure you guys knew to be patient while applying.  It is worth it in the end.

Overall Ease of Application: Medium – applies well without pooling.  Seems clumpy when first applying, but it levels off without any indication of clumping, dragging, or streaking once it's dry.  Spreads well without much manipulation.  However, it dries quickly, so you need to move fast in order to keep it from creating bald spots.

Stampability: Not tested for stamping.

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

Items used for wear test:

• Alcohol to dehydrate nail bed and remove oils
• Orly Bonder basecoat
• KBShimmer Clearly on Top quick dry topcoat

Day Two

Minimal tip wear, but still going strong.  One chip on my right hand thumb, but that was because I was peeling labels.  Otherwise, color was still bright, shimmer was still vibrant, and the topcoat was still shiny.

Day Three

A little more wear on the tips, but still going strong.  Sadly, I got a tear on my index finger, so I had to redo it and add a patch.

Day Four

At this point, the polish completely sheeted off of my middle finger.  I had some weakness causing my nail to flex, which made the polish lift from the nail.  The rest of my nails, though, were still looking great.  I took some shots of my right hand so you could see the wear there as well.

Overall Thoughts:  Tiger Lily Wears Pink is a fantastic pink.  It's perfect for work when you want to have something fun without drawing too much attention.  Its application is a little tricky at first, but it self-levels making the end result smooth and perfect.  The wear on this was phenomenal.  The only reason my middle nail sheeted off is because it was relatively weak causing the polish to lift from the nail prematurely.  Every other nail had minimal tip wear.  I truly wonder how long it would last had my middle nail been a tad shorter or in better shape.

You can purchase Tiger Lily Wears Pink at Carrie's store, Sassy Lacquer.  You can also follow Carrie on her blog and her Facebook page for news and updates.

What's your favorite fun but still work-appropriate polish?

*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.* 

Lynnderella Once in a Blue Rune

I apologize for the sporadic posting this past week.  After vacation, I had so much work to catch up on that I've been pretty much doing stuff just for work all week.  In fact, I've got to work most of the weekend, but I'm taking time off tomorrow since it's the hub's 30th birthday!  Anyway, I apologize in advance if my posts are brief or if I run out of time in the day to get something up on the blog.  My current project, which I am managing (ugh), will be over in 2 weeks, so I should be back on a normal schedule after that.  Oh, and don't forget to vote on the Untried Parade!  Only 25.5 more hours!  And and and!  I'm soooooo behind getting everything up to date for the reader of the month, but I should (read hope to) be able to announce a winner for both on Sunday or Monday.  I appreciate your patience, everyone!

Tonight, I'm going to show you guys Lynnderella Once in a Blue Rune, a bright blue jelly with matching blue glitters, over Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser (the review can be read here).  I don't have too much time tonight, so I'll make this quick.

Color: Blue jelly packed with blue metallic and holo glitters of various sizes and shapes.

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

Bottle / Brush: Rectangle bottle brush – ribbed cap that is a little hard on the hands to open if you have sensitive skin.  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.  Here, however, I used it over two coats of undies.

Glitter Application: Medium – requires the dab method, but spreads evenly.

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.  Spreads well manipulation.

Stampability: Not designed for stamping.

Blurry to see the holo.

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

Overall Thoughts: This polish is stunning.  Drama aside, Once in a Blue Rune is so worth the price.  It's such a vivid bright blue, which is my favorite color, so it's seriously jumped up to one of my favorite polishes.  The only bad thing about this polish, which is the same for several of the Lynnderellas I own, is that it's got so much glitter that the base is kind of goopy.  I wouldn't say that it's clumpy like what happens to Seche Vite or Rejuvacote when they get old, but it's not really fluid.  When you get the glitter on the brush, the glitter to base ratio is such that it's impossible to spread unless you use the dab method.  The drawback to the dab method, especially with Lynnderellas, is that the polish builds up pretty thickly and threatens to flake off in sheets more quickly than not.  To be honest, though, I love this polish so much that none of that really matters to me.  I mean, look at it.  It is sincerely stunning!  However, if the dab method drives you bonkers, you probably won't like this polish.

Once in a Blue Rune is a regular line polish, and you can purchase it and other Lynnderella polishes on her eBay store here.  You can follow news on Lynnderella polishes at her website as well as at the Love Lynnderella Facebook page.

Do you have a polish that is difficult to apply, but you over look it because you love the polish so much?

Indigo Bananas Klein Trink Wasser

I have another Indigo Bananas polish for you guys tonight!  This time, we're going to take a look at a gorgeous bright blue creme called Klein Trink Wasser.  Here are a few more questions and answers from my interview of Indigo Banana's creator, Andrea.

4) What was your inspiration for your brand name? 

Indigo (blue-purple, the electric indigo color not the traditional plant dye) is one of my favorite colors and I had been searching for a way to integrate that into a brand name, ideally with something memorable or funny - and barring that, a terrible pun.  I ran into an interesting article in early June '12, about how bananas glow bright electric indigo under UV light if they're ripe, and it really all clicked then.  Bananas glow indigo, and indies go bananas*. A double (triple?) entendre and a terrible pun? Sign me up. *In terms of both the occasional indie drama that surfaces and people going nuts for certain indie polishes, causing a shortage for that brand etc.

5) How did you become interested in creating your own polish line?

It just happened slowly over time, actually. I had been making top coats for friends & people I knew, and then I started collecting every pigment and glitter that I could get my hands on and making so many polishes in my free time that I started running out of room in my multiple helmers. That, combined with knowing a lot of people that had started or were already running polish shops, gave me confidence - both in the polishes I made (all of which I would wear & have tested and often revised for months) and the business side of things.  

I seriously love the fact that I can trust Andrea to adequately test her polishes for a long time before selling them.  Furthermore, you can tell how much love she puts into her creations.  It makes me happy when indie brands really take the time to make sure their work product is perfect before selling it to the general public.

Color: Bright blue leaning neon or violet-tinged blue in bright lights or certain angles.  It is a polish from the core collection is based off of the song Kein Trink Wasser by the Orbitals, found here.

This is pre-top coat.

Finish: Matte – flat almost rubbbery finish, no shine.

The finish is much flatter than this.  Unfortunately, I got some lotion and cuticle oil on it, which ruined the effect.

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: High – opaque at one coat!  I used two for the photos, though, for more even coverage.

Refrigerator light box!  This is the truest to color of all of my pics for indoor lighting.  The rest are true to color for full sun.

Glitter Application: N/A

Consistency: Medium – applies easily and doesn’t flood the cuticles.  As I said above, the handle on the cap of the mini bottle makes application a little more tricky, so you still need to be careful when applying.

Top coated.

Overall Ease of Application: Difficult – applies with some dragging and balding.  Spreads well with manipulation.  Requires quick work to get a smooth result.  This is not a bad thing, though, which I will discuss below.  You have to be very quick when applying Klein because it dries so swiftly.  If you aren't fast enough or you don't get enough polish on the brush, you could cause clumping or balding if you go back over a section of the nail that has already been polished.  As long as you get enough polish on the brush and move quickly, you won't have any problems with application.

Stampability: Stamps well with great image transfer.  Here, I've done just a quick stamp test on a paper plate.  I tried three stamps, and they all came out vivid with perfect image transfer!

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

Overall Thoughts: Klein reminds me of Revlon Royal, but without the annoying application problems that comes with Revlons.  The color is close, but even brighter and more vivid, which is probably because it's not a crelly.  Klein is actually quite the chameleon, though, as it looks extremely bright and neon in full sun and darker, more vampy in lower light.  The application is tricky for the first two nails or so, but once you figure out how quickly it dries as well as how much polish you need on your brush to make sure you don't drag, you'll be totally fine.  I wouldn't count this as a negative, either, because the effect you get at the end is simply stunning.  Also, the high pigmentation makes this polish ideal for stamping!  I will say, though, that it does stain a little if you flood your cuticles.  That's because the polish is so highly pigmented that it does stain when you apply it.  When you take it off, make sure you let your remover sit on the nail for about 30-45 seconds, then swipe it off in one direction.  Don't rub side to side.  This will help you keep the polish off your skin so it won't stain.  If you do get it on your cuticles, I found that using my Sally Hansen cuticle remover (the blue gel) worked perfectly to remove that last little bit of staining.  Also, I'd like to clarify, when I say staining, I mean only of the skin, not the nail itself.  Overall, I was really pleased with this polish.  It's so pigmented that it requires only a few coats, it stamps beautifully, it dries quickly, and it is so amazingly vibrant that I can't keep my eyes off of my fingers!

You can purchase Klein Trink Wasser from Indigo Banana's Etsy shop.  Follow Andrea at her blog and on Facebook for news and updates.

What's your favorite bright royal blue?