Monthly Archives: August 2015

Weekday Swatch: Lavish Polish’s Mint to Be

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Happy Thursday, reader! Today’s post would have been this week’s Swatch Sunday if I hadn’t gone out of town. This is Lavish Polish‘s Mint to Be. I’m wearing three coats of Mint to Be with one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

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Mint to Be is a mint green crelly with sky blue, fuchsia, white, and baby pink glitters, as well as hot pink and white heart glitters. Application was challenging; the product consistency is quite thin and didn’t really stay put on the nail. It also didn’t seem to be able to support the glitters, because they didn’t distribute well inside the bottle, no matter how much I rolled, shook, or stirred it. This is especially true for the large glitters; I just could not get them out on the brush and really had to dig for them. On a positive note, the crelly looks fabulous with the bright matte glitters; the translucence is perfect for the layered glitter effect. This polish dried pretty quickly, about five minutes per coat, and dried with a semi-glossy finish. I added top coat to smooth out the glitters and add shine.

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Even though I had a tough time applying it, I really like the look I got. This is part of a Valentine’s Day trio, but it’s not overtly, obviously lovey-dovey. It’s colorful and cheerful, it’s perfect for springtime, and it’s not mawkish or over the top romantic. It’s adorable. This is my first Lavish Polish, and I’m looking forward to trying some new ones.

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Mint to Be may be discontinued, as it’s no longer listed in their inventory. Other Lavish Polishes are available from their shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Wacie Nail Company Release: Whitewash

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Surprise! There’s a Wacie Nail Company release today! I wanted to do it sooner; a couple of weeks ago, I showed you a manicure featuring Whitewash, a white jelly polish, as part of a jelly sandwich. I wanted to release it then, but as I’d just cut my nails back, I wanted to wait until I had a little more growth. Whitewash is being released on the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop when this blog goes live. I’m wearing two coats of Whitewash with one coat of Seche Vite.

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I’ve always loved the look of whitewash over wood; wood, especially when battered and weathered, has a wonderful amount of character. Whitewash emphasizes it; it covers yet highlights every splintery, grainy detail. I wanted to see if this applied to nails as well. I mixed a very small amount of white polish into clear lacquer base, and I got a result that was creamy and pleasantly sheer, just like a good whitewash. It covers the imperfections while highlighting what’s beautiful beneath.

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Whitewash and other Wacie Nail Company polishes are for sale in the Wacie Nail Company etsy shop.

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Also, just for fun, I’ve decided to give a bottle of Whitewash away to a lucky giveaway winner. Contest is open to US residents 18 years or older. No giveaway accounts, please. Entrants outside the US or under 18 years of age will be disqualified. Contest ends Saturday, August 8, at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified on Sunday, August 9. Good luck, players!

Weekday Swatch: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer’s BEGLove

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I don’t normally post much during the week, but I spent my weekend out of town, so my weekend swatches didn’t get posted. I’m going to get those out this week. Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s BEGLove would have been my Swatch Saturday post. This is BEGLove at three coats with one coat of Seche Vite. All photos were taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

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BEGLove is an dark indigo linear holo with deep purple shimmers. The purple shimmers give the polish a more purple appearance than indigo, I think. This was a dream to apply; I got strong color and full opaque coverage in one coat. It dried quickly — dry to the touch in under five minutes — and with a satin finish. I used top coat to emphasize the holo effect.

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BEGLove is also the name of the official Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer fan group on Facebook. This polish is a group exclusive; you have to be in the group to buy it and it’s not available to the general public. I’m torn by this: I wish everybody could wear this polish because it’s perfect, but I’m also kind of glad it’s exclusive. Like it makes us a real fan club.

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The BEGLove group is probably the reason I own so many BEGL polishes. I just really love the sense of community fostered by creator Julie and her mod team. I feel like I’m not just a customer, but a friend of the brand. Even though there are indie brands I like just as much or better than BEGL, I feel very loyal to BEGL because of that community. I always take my disposable income there first.

As I mentioned, BEGLove is only available to members of the BEGLove Facebook group. Other BEGL polishes are for sale in the BEGL shop.

I bought this polish myself.

Manicure Monday: Black Holo Marble

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Hello, reader! This week’s Manicure Monday is a doozy, if I may say so myself. Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer‘s Discontinued Limited Edition makes a beautiful watermarble and I can’t stop staring at it. The watermarble was done with Sally Hansen’s Black Out. Other nails show Discontinued Limited Edition alone at two coats. All nails are topped with Seche Vite top coat.

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I’ve swatched Discontinued Limited Edition in the past, so be sure to check out that post if you want to know the details. What I didn’t expect then was that it would work so well for watermarbling. It spreads easily and quickly, even better than the black creme polish. The Spectraflair and orange shimmers mingle with the creme, which gives an all-over holo effect. I planned to use a Spectraflair top coat and ended up not needing it. This, with Black Out’s perfect opacity and consistency, made for a painless and gorgeous watermarble.

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I hadn’t even planned the watermarble today. I was going to try my hand at galaxy nails for the first time, and I couldn’t get it right. It was terrible! I either got too much polish or not enough, got too much coverage or not enough, and just made a big mess. After three misfires, I give up and did a watermarble because it was easier. Easier! What universe is this?

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And of course it’s pouring down rain today, because why wouldn’t it be? The holo effect is a little dull in these first few photos. I used the flash in the next few, because I really needed to show you the full holo effect. It shines right through the black marbling and I cant. stop. staring.

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I’ve got to do this more often. I try not to use the polishes I love, especially when they’re as aptly-named as this one. I thought I was going to use a lot more polish, but because I only marbled two nails on each hand, I lost way less than I expected. I can’t get over how well it spread in the water, also. I want to see how other indie holos, BEGLs in particular, marble with cremes. Have I been bitten by the watermarbling bug again? Perhaps!

I bought these polishes myself.